Build muscle, burn fat, and get stronger in just 30 minutes with this full-body dumbbell workout

Train your core, develop strength, and boost your metabolism with this workout and a set of dumbbells

Woman performing dumbbell renegade rows
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Traditionally, if you wanted to lose weight, you'd jump on a treadmill. And if you wanted to build muscle, you'd do single-muscle isolation exercises with weights like bicep curls. But with this 30-minute dumbbell routine, you can hit all of your fitness goals in a single workout.

Whether working out at the gym or training at home, you only need a pair of dumbbells for this routine. If you prefer home workouts, it's worth investing in a set of space-saving, customizable weights like the best adjustable dumbbells.

Before you pick out a load for this session with these beginner strength training tips, the fitness trainers behind this workout—Juice & Toya—suggest that "you [go] slightly heavier than you normally would to get the most out of this workout."

If you're worried this means the routine might be a bit too much, the duo notes that "if any of the movements are too difficult, Toya has you covered with a few modifications," so you can train with heavier weights without impacting your form.

You'll do each exercise for 40 seconds, take a 20-second rest, then start the next move. If you're looking to improve your technique, you can follow Juice & Toya's demonstrations as they do the workout along with you.

Watch Juice & Toya's 30-minute dumbbell workout

The routine includes muscle-building exercises like goblet squats, weighted lunge variations, and deadlifts, so be sure to read up on how to deadlift with dumbbells to get the most from the move before you get started.

These exercises work multiple muscles simultaneously, a variety known as compound exercises. It's a time-efficient way to develop strength, which is why even Chris Hemsworth's trainer favors compound moves.

But how you work out also plays a crucial role in this session. Juice & Toya's 30-minute routine is an example of high-intensity resistance training (HIRT), where you exercise in short, intense bursts with minimal rest.

This works your muscles hard but keeps your heart rate high, burning energy during your workout. Sustaining an elevated heart rate by minimizing the number of breaks you take also helps boost your metabolism, the amount of energy you burn at rest.

If you can't fit in a 30-minute workout one day, it's worth picking up one of the best kettlebells and learning how to do kettlebell swings. This compound move works your whole body, raises your heart rate, and builds core strength.

James Frew
Fitness Editor

James is a London-based journalist and Fitness Editor at Fit&Well. He has over five years experience in fitness tech, including time spent as the Buyer’s Guide Editor and Staff Writer at technology publication MakeUseOf. In 2014 he was diagnosed with a chronic health condition, which spurred his interest in health, fitness, and lifestyle management.


In the years since, he has become a devoted meditator, experimented with workout styles and exercises, and used various gadgets to monitor his health. In recent times, James has been absorbed by the intersection between mental health, fitness, sustainability, and environmentalism. When not concerning himself with health and technology, James can be found excitedly checking out each week’s New Music Friday releases.