Two dumbbells and six moves are all you need to build strength and endurance at home
Pick up some dumbbells to lift your mood, build muscle all over and reduce your risk of heart disease
Just because you don't have much time to exercise, doesn't mean you can't stay in shape; it's all about picking efficient workouts that match your goals. And strength-boosting sessions don't come much more efficient than this dumbbell exercise routine.
The workout, designed by Sweat app trainer Britany Williams, uses just six moves to target muscles across your entire body.
Watch the videos below for a demonstration of each exercise, take a few minutes to warm up, then grab your dumbbells and get started.
How to do Britany Williams' full-body dumbbell workout
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To do this routine, perform each of the exercises for three sets of 10 repetitions (except the lateral lunge and raise, which you'll do for 10 repetitions on each leg). Williams recommends "resting as needed", so start by taking a 60-second break between exercises then cut this down if you want to take things up a notch.
This routine is an example of a strength training workout, challenging your muscles to contract against some form of resistance (in this case, dumbbells) to complete set movement patterns. This is a great way to build a resilient body, increasing the size and strength of your muscles as well as bolstering your bone health, leading to a decreased risk of injury.
But these aren't the only advantages of this type of exercise. Lifting weights can also help you maintain a healthy body weight, which is why it makes sense to do some strength training exercises if you want to lose weight.. According to the Harvard School Of Public Health, regular strength training can also lower your risk for heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
It's even been linked to improved mood. So, next time your spirits need lifting, consider lifting some dumbbells.
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Harry Bullmore is a Fitness Writer for Fit&Well and its sister site Coach, covering accessible home workouts, strength training session, and yoga routines. He joined the team from Hearst, where he reviewed products for Men's Health, Women's Health, and Runner's World. He is passionate about the physical and mental benefits of exercise, and splits his time between weightlifting, CrossFit, and gymnastics, which he does to build strength, boost his wellbeing, and have fun.
Harry is a NCTJ-qualified journalist, and has written for Vice, Learning Disability Today, and The Argus, where he was a crime, politics, and sports reporter for several UK regional and national newspapers.
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