We’ve been at these 30-minute workouts for a few months. Whether you use them at home, at the gym or simply scroll through to get inspiration for your own workouts, you’re doing it right. It makes me so happy to know we’re able to provide you with ways to sweat in just 30 minutes.
I also know how boring it can be to work out if you do the same things regularly; sometimes I see a workout full of the exact same moves I did the day before in rearranged order and I think to myself, “I’d be better off taking a nap.”
Today’s 30-minute workout is inspired by that feeling. You’ll have dumbbell exercises but you’ll use the equipment in different ways. Test out these moves and let us know what you think in this short survey.
Here’s your workout of the day:
You’ll go through the full set of nine dumbbell exercises for one minute each. After you’ve completed your weighted exercise, you’ll have a two-minute challenge that will call for you to complete a certain number of reps of a set of bodyweight movements.
You’ll do a total of three rounds. So after your first round through, you’ll go back to the top and do the second two-minute challenge, then you’ll go back to the top, doing all of your weighted exercises and do the third bodyweight challenge to finish.
These are the dumbbell exercises you’ll do for :60:
- Right leg lunge and thread your weight underneath your front leg
- Left leg lunge and thread your weight underneath your front leg
- Plank taps
- Right side scissor hold and thread your weight
- Left side scissor hold and thread your weight
- Low jacks
- Alternating hammer curl from plank
- Weighted high knees
- Feet in and out over weight (abs)
These are your two-minute challenges:
- After round one:
- Then do 8 squat jumps and 8 half-burpees and so on, decreasing your rep-count of both moves by two.
- Do 10 squat jumps, then 10 half-burpees.
- After round two:
- First do 2 tuck jumps and 10 jackknife crunches (each time you crunch it counts as one rep, not right and left side).
- Then do 4 tuck jumps and 8 jackknife crunches and so one, increasing by two reps the first move and decreasing by two reps the second.
- After round three:
- You’ll start with five full burpees and then do 50 high knees (every time a knee comes up it counts as one rep).
- Then do 4 burpees and 50 high knees and so on. You’ll always do 50 high knees in between your burpees, but your burpee count will decrease by one each time.
These are all the moves:
Lunge and thread your weight underneath your front leg: Start standing with one dumbbell in your right hand. Lunge your left leg forward so that both knees are in a 90-degree bend. With the weight in your right hand, pass it under your left knee to your left hand, pass it back over your left thigh to ends up in your right hand again. Stay low in your lunge and continue threading for 60 seconds behind the left leg, then switch to your right leg lunge, starting with the weight in your left hand.
Plank taps: Start in a plank position, your body in one line – shoulders, hips, heels and top of your head reaching forward. With your dumbbell an arms distance away from you, reach one hand for the weight, then the other. Keep your hips steady as you move.
Scissor hold and thread weight (:60 with right leg extended, :60 with left): Lie on your back with a weight at your chest. Extend one leg straight up and either plant your bottom leg on the ground or flex your foot and hover it in front of you (a harder variation). Without craning your neck forward, lift your shoulders up and thread the weight around your lifted leg (:30 in one direction, then switch directions). Then switch which leg is lifted and thread again for another :60, moving for :30 in each direction.
Low jacks: Hold one dumbbell at your chest. Sit your hips back to a narrow squat position, then hop your feet wide and narrow (like a jumping jack), keeping your hips low and even the entire time.
Alternating hammer curl from plank: Set up in a plank position with your hands on dumbbells. If it’s too much on your wrists, keep the dumbbells beside you and alternate holding one in each hand as you’re performing the movement and keep the other hand on the ground. Keeping your hips square to the floor, exhale and raise one dumbbell to your same-side shoulder, bending at your elbow, to perform one hammer curl. Lower back down to your plank and repeat with the other arm.
Weighted high knees: Hold one dumbbell at your chest as you lift one knee up and then quickly switch to the other knee. Move as slowly or quickly as you’d like, keeping your core engaged and chest lifted the entire time.
Feet over weight: Place your dumbbell(s) vertically on the ground and set up in a boat pose, tucking your tail bone under and lifting from your chest as you extend your legs out either to a 90-degree bend or straight out in front of you. Press your feet together over the weights, then separate your feet and lower them to outside the weights. Exhale to bring your legs back to the top to tap together and repeat.
Squat jumps: From an athletic stance, sit your hips back, tuck your pelvis and lower down as low as you can, keeping your knees behind toes and chest lifted. Exhale to jump into the air, extending your hip flexors. Land softly back into your squat.
Half-burpees: From a plank position, lower all the way down to your belly and release your hands. Keep your core tight, press your hands back down into the ground and press back up to a plank. Hop your feet outside your hands, keeping your hands firmly on the ground. Hop back to your plank and lower back down.
Tuck jumps: Start standing on the ground in an athletic stance. Exhale as your jump up from standing, bringing your knees towards your chest as you do so. Inhale as you land softly in a standing position.
Jackknife crunches: Lie flat on your back with your left arm extended by your ear. As you crunch up, bring your left arm and leg up at the same time to touch (you can bend your left knee or plant your right foot on the ground as a modification). Alternate sides.
Full burpees: Squat down, placing your hands on the ground and jump back into a plank. From there, lower down to the ground with your body in a straight line. Push back up, jump back forward and stand or jump at the top.
High knees: : Quickly drive one knee and the opposite arm up. Land softly on the balls of your feet and switch sides.
(Disclaimer: This workout is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor is it a replacement for seeking medical treatment or professional nutrition advice. Do not start any nutrition or physical activity program without first consulting your physician.)
