Now that restrictions have been lifted and we are back to a more comfortable state in our local gyms, some of you might be wondering where to start when returning to a regular fitness routine. If you are a new member at FFC, I highly recommend taking advantage of the complimentary training sessions that you receive when joining the club. These sessions give you access to a professional coach who can help you create a plan that works best for you and your goals.

If you’ve already completed your complimentary training sessions, try your hand at this simple full body workout that I have designed for you. In this full body dumbbell workout, you’ll be using your body weight and dumbbells to add resistance and build strength. Now, let’s get to it!

The Warm Up

Let’s start out with a few dynamic stretches:

Complete 5 repetitions on each side of the body, one time through.

  1. Trunk rotations
  2. Knee hugs
  3. Knee circles
  4. Arm circles
  5. Straight leg toe touches
  6. Straight leg kicks
  7. Lateral lunges

After you’ve completed these dynamic stretches, we’ll go right into this 6 minute bodyweight cardio routine to ramp up the heart rate:

Perform each move for 30 seconds each, no rest between exercises. Complete this series three times through.

  1. Jog in place
  2. Jumping jacks
  3. High knees
  4. Lateral shuffle

Warming up prior to lifting is an important process that primes our bodies for the physical stress we put ourselves under during a workout.

Related: HIIT Workouts For Beginners

The Full Body Dumbbell Workout

After you’ve completed the warm up, grab some water and get ready to start the full body dumbbell circuit. All the exercises listed can be done with 2-3 different sizes of dumbbells:

  1. A heavy one to start your circuit out strong with your heart rate elevated.
  2. A medium dumbbell for the rest of the exercises.
  3. A medium or light dumbbell for the core circuit finisher.

It’s important to pick weights that challenge you. We are looking for simple but not easy.

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Perform 3-4 sets of these 5 exercises. No rest between exercises; 30 seconds rest between sets.

1. Single Arm Clean To Squat To Press (Heavy): 5 repetitions each side, alternating

Single Arm Clean To Squat To Press

2. Double Dumbbell Deadlift (Medium-Heavy): 12 repetitions

Double Dumbbell Deadlift

3. Dumbbell Bridge To Press (Medium-Heavy): 12 repetitions

Dumbbell Bridge To Press

4. Dumbbell Lunges (Medium): 10 repetitions each side, alternating

Dumbbell Lunges

5. Dumbbell Stability Row (Medium): 10 repetitions each side

Dumbbell Stability Row

Related: Looking for more workouts? Download our free e-book with 3 challenging workouts to try at the gym.

Core Finisher

Dumbbell Pull Under (Light-Medium): 10 repetitions each side

Dumbbell Pull Under

Dead Bugs (Bodyweight): 10 repetitions each side, alternating opposite arm and leg

Dead Bugs

Bird Dogs (Bodyweight): 10 repetitions each side, continuous opposite arm and leg

Bird Dogs

The Cool Down

Your workout is complete! Spend 20-30 seconds in each of these cool down stretches to properly lower your heart rate and relieve tension in the muscles you’ve just worked.

  1. Cobra position
  2. Child’s pose
  3. Downward dog
  4. 90/90 hip stretch
  5. Low lunge

If you have any questions about any of the exercises or stretches in this program, or if you are looking to work with a trainer to improve your strength and conditioning, feel free to reach out to me: mriley@ffc.com. We can set up a session to speak and go over your goals. In the meantime, happy lifting.

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Post written by FFC Personal Trainer Mike Riley.