Sometimes all you have is one dumbbell – and sometimes it’s all you need. Perhaps you’re traveling, in a crowded gym, or simply looking to try something new. These five exercises will ensure you get a great workout in with minimal equipment and minimal space required. Try it as a circuit to increase the intensity!
Begin your workout with this tough full-body exercise.
1. Turkish get ups
Photo credit: Men’s Fitness
- Lie on your back and press the dumbbell up with your right arm.
- Bend your right knee and place your right foot flat on the ground. Your left leg and left arm should remain extended and flat at a 45-degree angle away from your body.
- Begin sitting and rotating up by pushing through your left elbow and right foot. Be sure to keep your shoulders down and away from your ears, tight in the socket.
- Next, come up with your left elbow onto your left hand. At this point, your goal is to have the dumbbell in a straight line right over the top of your left hand.
- Then, fire your glutes and swing your hips through into a high bridge, holding yourself up with your left hand.
- From there, push your hips back so that you can sweep your right leg through into a kneeling position. Your left leg is now bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Rotate to an upright position.
- Next, lunge up and step through so that both your feet are now on the same plane, right underneath your pelvis, hip-width apart.
- Control your descent back to the floor. Lead with your left leg down into a kneeling position and sweep the leg underneath your right glute a bit to assist your left hand in finding the floor.
- Ease back into the lying position from here and repeat the movement from the beginning.
Keep your eyes on the dumbbell throughout the movement. Perform 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps per side.
2. Goblet squat
Photo credit: Lean It Up
- Hold a dumbbell vertically at chest height with your elbows pointing downwards.
- Keeping your feet flat and hip-width apart, push your hips back and descend into your squat.
- Try to keep your chest tall and core braced throughout the movement.
- At the bottom of your squat, your elbows should be right inside of your knees.
- Drive through your heels to return to your starting, upright position and squeeze your glutes and swing your hips through at the top.
Perform 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps.
3. Plank single arm dumbbell row
Photo credit: POPSUGAR
- Start in a plank position with your plank hand right underneath your shoulder and your row hand right outside of your chest.
- Place your feet about hip-width apart with your heels pressed backward.
- Maintain a neutral spine by keeping your eyes focused down on the floor and keeping your belly button pulled in tightly.
- Row the dumbbell upwards from the floor, right outside of your torso.
- Keep your elbow in tight and try not to rotate your hips as you row.
Perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per side.
4. Single arm clean and press
Photo credit: Men’s Health
- Begin in a squat position with the dumbbell on the ground between your feet.
- Hold the dumbbell with an overhand grip and keep your chest up.
- From here, drive through your heels and perform an explosive movement – pulling the dumbbell upwards and flipping it once at chest height so that now you can catch it with your palm facing forward and the dumbbell right outside of your shoulder.
- Then, exhale as you press overhead.
- With control, bring the dumbbell back down to your shoulder and back down to your starting position on the ground.
Perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per side.
5. Woodchop lunge
Photo credit: Greatist
- Begin by holding the dumbbell with both hands above your left shoulder.
- Step forward with your right leg into a stationary lunge position.
- Pause here in the bottom of your lunge and pull the dumbbell diagonally across your body from your left shoulder to your right hip.
- Exhale as you rotate across with fully extended arms.
- Then return the dumbbell to your left shoulder and step back up into your starting stance, an upright position.
Perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per side.
