The Two Dumbbell At-Home Workout

By Thomas King, MSc, CSCS, CEP

It’s only Day 2 off work from the COVID-19 related measures and I’m already starting to go a bit stir-crazy. Food is flying off supermarket shelves and your children may be driving you nuts at this point. If you would like a 30-minute distraction from the chaos that has become everyday life this last week, give the following workout a try.

To minimize the amount of equipment you’ll need, it will be a five-exercise “complex” workout. This means you do all five exercises with the same two dumbbells without putting them down. For the workout, try starting with 8 reps per exercise. Do 8 reps per exercise and transition to the next one. When you get to the end, rest about 2 minutes and repeat again for 3 to 5 rounds.

For added benefit, add our “5 At-Home Stretches for Total Body Flexibility” in your warm prior to doing this workout.

1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hold one dumbbell in each hand.
Stand tall and soften the knees.
Push the hips directly backwards while reaching towards the floor with your hands stopping just below the knee.
Contract the hamstrings to pull yourself back up while squeezing the glutes hard. Repeat for 8 repetitions.

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Start Position

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Stretched Position

2. Dumbbell Bent Over Row

Stand tall, soften the knees and bend down to a position similar to the bottom of your Romanian deadlift.
Hold this position and row the weights up until you feel a good squeeze in the shoulder blades. Be mindful that you are not shrugging your shoulders while doing this.
Lower the weights to the starting position and repeat for 8 repetitions.

Dumbbell Bent Over Row Contracted Position

3. Dumbbell Squat to Press

Hold the dumbbells in the front rack position.
Squat down to your full squat depth.
Explode upwards pushing the weights overhead as you do.
Seamlessly begin the next rep. Repeat for 8 repetitions.

Dumbbell Squat to Press Starting Position

4. Dumbbell Push-Up

Place the dumbbells on the floor about 1.5 times shoulder width apart.
Perform full range push-ups touching your chest to the floor each time.
Repeat for 8 repetitions.

5. Dumbbell Plank Row

Place dumbbells about two inches apart.
Assume a push-up position on the dumbbells with your hands narrow and your feet about 2 times hip width wide.
Row one dumbbell up, return to the ground and row the other one up. Ensure your hips do not rotate while doing this to properly engage the core.
Repeat for 8 repetitions per arm.

There you have it. Complex workouts are a great way to squeeze a high quality workout into a short amount of time. If your dumbbells are heavier, try for 4-6 reps/exercise. If they are lighter, aim for 10-12 reps/exercise.

Only have a resistance band? Check out our “One Band Full Body At-Home Workout“

~Thomas 🏋️‍♀️

Do you have weights at home, but not sure what to do? We offer Online Strength Coaching. Receive a custom workout based on what equipment you have, your goals, needs, and current ability. Only 1-week commitment required.

Find out more HERE.

Mike Ladha

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

I was referred to JKC by my sister-in-law and had heard good things about it from many people in the running community. I also saw Jon’s picture on the wall at lululemon years ago! I really like the personalized training and the variety the guys provide. I started for strength training for running. I love cardio and do tons of it but wasn’t motivated to do much strength work on my own. Jon mixes up my strength work week to week so I don’t get bored but also lets me work in a hard circuit for the last 20 minutes of most sessions to get my cardio fix

Jodi Dodge

Darrin Goulding

Lloyd Hussey

I started at JKC in January of 2014 and I’m 67 years old. When I had my Initial Assessment, I knew – almost immediately – that Jon knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I was overweight, out of shape, and in serious need of someone, like Jon, who could get me back on a fitness/conditioning routine that suited me, my age, my less than acceptable physical condition, my sometimes intermittent RA, and my need for a structured, consistent and yet flexible training and conditioning program that would work for me.

Fundamentally, if I made a choice at all with respect to JKC – it was to continue to come back each week. I have not been in a lot of gyms. To be honest, they used to intimidate me. What makes JKC different is their approach to each and every one of their clients. Jon and Thomas – and now Craig – tailor each training regime to the particular needs of each client. That ensures that the training regime will suit each client upon the start of training and changes as the client improves. It adjusts for any physical setbacks such as injuries and it adjusts for success. It is just that simple.

It is also the consistent encouragement that comes from Jon, Thomas and Craig. That voice that comes to you while you are in the middle of a particularly difficult set – rear-foot elevated split squats comes to mind immediately – that says “good job” or “keep it up” or “just a couple more reps.” To know, in that moment, that you are not alone and the trainer is paying attention to what you are doing. That is priceless for me.

Tara Stuckless

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I heard really good things about it from my sister, and I could see the positive results she was getting. I needed to do something. I was overweight, depressed, and recovering from a back injury. I had reached a point where simply getting up out of a chair was becoming difficult. I knew that if I didn’t do something about it my senior years would be very burdensome to the people close to me. I’m so glad I did! After just a few weeks my day-to-day pain was drastically reduced, and my mobility increased. I had the confidence to try sea kayaking, and I now play ice hockey twice a week!

The key difference is the expertise. The trainers know the gym equipment and the exercises, but they also have degrees in kinesiology, and can apply what they know to your workout. As someone who was in poor physical condition starting out, I was worried about hurting myself. Previously I tried an outdoor weekly bootcamp and injured my knee by pushing too hard. The trainers at JKC constructed a program that started at the right level for me, evolving it as I grew stronger and more fit. I feel well looked after.

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