A trainer shows you how to get a full-body workout with dumbbells in just 15 minutes
Blast your legs, arms and shoulders with this superset dumbbell workout
When I’m short on time but need a workout that delivers results, I turn to supersets. This strength training method pairs two exercises back to back with minimal or no rest in between.
What I love about supersets is that reduced rest periods save time and increase workout intensity. This not only activates more muscles and promotes muscular endurance, strength and growth but the continuous effort keeps your heart rate elevated, adding a cardio element to your training.
If you’re ready to give supersets a try, fitness instructor Stacey Roberts has created a 15-minute upper-body superset home circuit.
How to do Stacey Robert’s workout
A post shared by Stacey Roberts | Home Workouts | Fitness for all (@fitness_momness)
A photo posted by on
Superset one
- Sumo squat
- Standing overhead press
Superset two
- Elevated heel squat
- Alternating biceps curl
Roberts recommends performing eight to 12 repetitions (reps) of each exercise and repeating each superset three times.
"Choose a very challenging weight, heavier than normal, and adjust the reps down a few. You might have to decrease reps a little each set," Roberts writes in her Instagram caption.
Get the Fit&Well Newsletter
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
You'll likely need at least two different sets of dumbbells for this, as what feels heavy for an overhead shoulder press won't feel heavy during a sumo squat. Adjust the weight so it feels challenging, but not impossible, for each exercise.
Can you really get a full workout in 15 minutes?
Roberts has helpfully added diagrams to her Instagram video showing which muscles are being worked by these exercises. With just four moves, you'll target lower-body muscles including the quads and hamstrings (thigh muscles) and glutes (butt muscles) along with shoulder muscles, arm muscles, and the core.
The workout is efficient because it uses compound exercises, which are moves that recruit multiple muscles at once.
It's also in a handy superset format. This cuts your workout time, as you combine two exercises together before taking a rest. With less recovery time between exercises, your heart rate stays elevated, creating a cardio element within your session.
Maddy Biddulph is a freelance journalist specializing in fitness, health and wellbeing content. With 26 years in consumer media, she has worked as a writer and editor for some of the bestselling newspapers, magazines and websites in the US and UK.
She is also a qualified L3 personal trainer and weight loss advisor, and helps women over 40 navigate menopause by improving their physical and mental strength. At Maddy Biddulph Personal Training, she runs one-to-one and small group training for menopausal women who want to get fit to ease symptoms and feel like themselves again.
-
Hello Cyber Monday! Zappos just slashed the price of New Balance’s top trail shoe in half
Deal One of New Balance's most advanced trail running shoes, usually $200, is now down to $100
By Lou Mudge Published
-
This is the warm-up you need to improve upper body mobility, according to a certified trainer
workout Try this five minute upper-body warm up
By Maddy Biddulph Published