If you only have 20 minutes, two dumbbells and one weights bench, you’d be hard pushed to find a more effective dumbbell workout than this one. This 20-minute dumbbell workout involves six exercises and very little rest as you work through three rounds.
While it’s not a proper full-body dumbbell workout, you will hit the biggest muscle groups in the upper and lower body. The first pair of exercises target your chest, the second pair your back and the final pair are both leg exercises. By shifting the muscles you work every two moves it means you can go through the whole circuit without rest, elevating your heart rate to stimulate fat loss.
You need a bench as well as weights for the session, so for most it won’t be a home dumbbell workout unless you have a well-stocked gym in your house. If you don’t have the bench at home, or all the weight benches are taken at the gym, try this dumbbell circuit, instead.instead. Or if you have 10 minutes longer for your session, this 30-minute dumbbell workout hits the whole body and gets your heart pumping.
20-Minute Dumbbell Workout Instructions
Do the six dumbbell exercises in order, sticking to the reps detailed, without resting until you finish all the reps of the sixth and final move of the circuit. Rest for two minutes, then repeat the circuit. Do three circuits in total. As you progress you can add another circuit.
20-Minute Dumbbell Workout Overview
- Incline bench press x 10
- Incline dumbbell flye x 10
- Prone row x 10
- Prone reverse flye x 10
- Dumbbell squat x 10
- Split squat x 10 each side
20-Minute Dumbbell Workout Form Guides
1 Incline bench press
Reps 10 Rest 0sec
Lie on a bench set at a 30-45° incline holding dumbbells at chest height with your elbows below your wrists. Press the weights directly overhead and squeeze your pecs at the top of the move, then lower back to the start.
2 Incline dumbbell flye
Reps 10 Rest 0sec
Lie on a bench set at a 30-45° incline holding a dumbbell in each hand above your face with your arms straight. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, lower the weights to the sides in an arc, then contract your pecs to raise them again.
3 Prone row
Reps 10 Rest 0sec
Lie on a bench set at a 30-45° incline holding a dumbbell in each hand, allowing them to hang straight down. Row the dumbbells up to your sides, leading with your elbows. Squeeze your back muscles at the top of the move.
4 Prone reverse flye
Reps 10 Rest 0sec
Lie on a bench set at a 30-45° incline holding a dumbbell in each hand, allowing them to hang straight down. Without shrugging your shoulders, raise the weights out to the sides in an arc, keeping your arms straight.
5 Dumbbell squat
Reps 10 Rest 0sec
Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend at the hips and knees simultaneously to lower until your thighs are parallel with the floor, then straighten up.
6 Split squat
Reps 10 each side Rest 2min
Stand upright holding a dumbbell in each hand with your feet in a staggered stance, approximately a metre apart. Bend both knees simultaneously until your back knee is nearly touching the floor, then straighten back up.
Not sure which pair is right for you? Our guide to the best dumbbells can help.
