The Two Dumbbell At-Home Workout

Complex Training

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

  1. Hold one dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Stand tall and soften the knees.
  3. Push the hips directly backwards while reaching towards the floor with your hands stopping just below the knee.
  4. 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

  1. Stand tall, soften the knees and bend down to a position similar to the bottom of your Romanian deadlift.
  2. 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.
  3. Lower the weights to the starting position and repeat for 8 repetitions.
Dumbbell Bent Over Row Start Position
Dumbbell Bent Over Row Contracted Position

3. Dumbbell Squat to Press

  1. Hold the dumbbells in the front rack position.
  2. Squat down to your full squat depth.
  3. Explode upwards pushing the weights overhead as you do.
  4. Seamlessly begin the next rep. Repeat for 8 repetitions.
Dumbbell Squat to Press Starting Position
Dumbbell Squat to Press Bottom Position
Dumbbell Squat to Press Top Position

4. Dumbbell Push-Up

  1. Place the dumbbells on the floor about 1.5 times shoulder width apart.
  2. Perform full range push-ups touching your chest to the floor each time.
  3. Repeat for 8 repetitions.
Dumbbell Push-Up Starting Position
Dumbbell Push-Up Bottom Position

5. Dumbbell Plank Row

  1. Place dumbbells about two inches apart.
  2. Assume a push-up position on the dumbbells with your hands narrow and your feet about 2 times hip width wide.
  3. 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.
  4. Repeat for 8 repetitions per arm.
Dumbbell Plank Row Starting Position
Dumbbell Plank Row Contracted Position

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.

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Find out more HERE.

Dane Woodland

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

I came to JKC through recommendations from my peers from lululemon. As a current ambassador, I’ve been introduced to legacy ambassadors, like Jon, and I knew a bunch of other people from the store were working out here so I wanted to give it a go. I often dread lower body workouts so I started coming here to do legs. I’ve had such great progress that I now come twice a week— and, I no longer hate leg day!

I’ve never experienced this sort of hybrid between group workouts and personalized service. Many group strength training services offer a sort of one-size-fits-all workout for the general population, which has never been of interest to me, because I want my workout tailored to my needs! I LOVE that you can be in a group setting while doing your own personal program; I love the camaraderie and community at JKC, and, I’ve seen incredible results thus far! Jon is always so attuned to what I need.

Norbert Lake

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

My original reason for joining JKC was to get some sage advice to help with my running. I had been looking for awhile, came across Jon, met for an assessment, and was quite happy with how that all went. Apart from the running specific strengthening and conditioning approaches, JKC is different from other gyms as I am a fan of the small group sessions where everyone has their own goals and individualized programs. As well, the run coaching is super. All the coaches go the extra mile to make sure you get the best out each training session. They are fantastic motivators! My favourite memory is deadlifting 330lbs. Making a lot of great friends and meeting some really cool people is pretty high up on that list, too.

Dave Sullivan

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I’ve always struggled with both my weight and anxiety throughout my life. As a writer you live a pretty sedentary lifestyle filled with both realistic and unrealistic deadlines, so I needed something to get me off my butt and to get me moving. JK has been a godsend during this past year and a half in particular. The pandemic has been tough, but workouts with both Thomas and Jon have really helped reduce the stress and strain of a global pandemic, and added an anchor of normalcy back into my life — which has been worth its weight in gold.

JKC has created an incredibly inclusive environment that’s filled with all kinds of supportive folks from all kinds of different backgrounds. For folks like myself, being surrounded by people with such athletic ability can be intimidating in most gyms. It can actually be a deterrent, and it sometimes has been for me. But, at JKC it’s far from that — it’s inspirational. Everyone supports one another. Which is something that’s not easily found in this day and age, inside of a gym or out. Not to sound like a total cheeseball here, but it really feels like a family.

Tracy Roche

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

I chose JKC originally to help prevent rowing injuries. I’m a rower and we won the St. John’s Regatta in 2019 but I rowed through a rib stress fracture and missed significant time in the boat during the racing season. Training at JKC consistently since the pandemic helped me stay injury free this year and made me the strongest I’ve ever felt, which helped me help my team win the 2021 St. John’s Regatta! Jon adds variety and mixes the exercises up well so that the workout goes by quickly and strength is gained. The gym is very personable and I like the eclectic mix of people that are there. JKC is much more intimate and personal than other gyms.

Bruce Dyke

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

JKC is different from other gyms/fitness regimes I have tried in the past because of my level of comfort with the facility and other JKC clients and the amount of knowledge both Jon and Thomas demonstrate through personal attention to form, core development and overall strength is outstanding. JKC is by far the best training hands on attention that I’ve experienced period and I have experienced many over a lifetime of activity and playing various sports. The facility has everything you require plus, as you will learn there are many ways to use every piece of equipment and Jon and Thomas are very creative! There are many age groups and professions who attend this gym from elite athlete’s to the rest of us and the casual but focused atmosphere in the gym makes each visit interesting, friendly and challenging at all levels.

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