Home Workout with Dumbbells and Body Weight

We don’t all have access to a gym, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do resistance training. So here we go, another fun, heart-pumping full-body workout you can do at home.

If you have dumbbells, great, use them. If you don’t, then just do the exercises with your bodyweight or grab something heavy you have in the house (like a pair of heavy books or full water bottles)

If you have mobility issues or weak knees, skip the two first workouts in the video and do the two alternative leg exercises at the end of the video instead.

Equipment needed: Dumbbells

Time needed: 30-40 minutes

Alternative workouts:

• • The same workout in a gym using machines and free weights
  • A full-body workout using resistance bands

Instructions

Do 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions (reps) for each exercise. That means that you’ll do one exercise for 12-15 reps, rest for 30-60 seconds, do 12-15 more reps, rest again, and then do the last set of 12-15 reps.

The reason why I’m giving you a range is that you should pick a weight that really challenges you between 12 and 15 reps. If you can only do 11 reps, the weight is too heavy, and if you can easily bang out 15, it is too light.

Of course, you probably don’t have dumbbells of every different weight at home, so use whatever you have. If you only have light dumbbells and 15 reps feel too easy, just keep going for as many reps as you can.

As always, when you do resistance workouts, please remember that you may see an impact on your insulin sensitivity 24-36 hours after your workout, so be diligent about watching your blood sugars. If you aren’t used to resistance workouts, I really recommend you read my post about how resistance training affects your blood sugar before you do this workout.

Exercises

Squats

1) Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. You can place your hands behind your head or in front of your body to keep balance.

2) Begin the movement by flexing your knees and hips, sitting back with your hips.

3) Continue down to full depth if you are able, and quickly reverse the motion until you return to the starting position. As you squat, keep your head and chest up and push your knees out.

Lunges

1) From a standing position, take a step forward with your right leg and lower your body down while keeping the torso upright and maintaining balance. Do not allow your knee to go forward beyond your toes.

2) Push back up using mainly the heel of your foot.

3) Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions and then switch leg.

Incline Push Ups

1) Get in the pushup position with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart on a couch or bench (do the pushups on your knees to lower the difficulty).

2) Next, lower yourself downward until your chest almost touches the couch. Press your upper body back up to the starting position while squeezing your chest.

3) After a brief pause at the top contracted position, you can begin to lower yourself downwards again. Continue until failure (until you cannot do another pushup).

Hyperextensions

1) Place your upper body on a couch or bench with your feet on the floor. Your hips should be at the edge of the couch.

2) Now, while keeping your lower body motionless, lift your head and shoulders of the couch using your lower back. Keep your hands under your head and your neck in a neutral position.

3) After the brief pause, slowly lower your upper body back to the couch.

Renegade Rows

1) Place two dumbbells on the floor about shoulder width apart. Get into a pushup position with your hands on the dumbbells.

2) Lift one dumbbell straight up along the side of your body, keeping everything except the arm motionless and lifting with your back muscles.

3) Perform this move for the desired number of reps before changing arms.

Shoulder Press

1) Sit on a couch or chair with a dumbbell in each hand.

2) Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height, using your knees to help lift them into position. The palms of your hands should be facing forward.

3) Push the dumbbells upward until they touch at the top. After a brief pause at the top, slowly lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.

For more workouts you can do at home, please see my Workout Video Library