You only need 25 minutes to build upper-body muscle and boost your metabolism
Build muscular arms, burn fat and grow stronger with this dumbbell workout
You don’t need to spend hours in the gym to get a good workout. This quick dumbbell routine from training duo Juice & Toya strengthens your entire upper body in just 25 minutes.
It’s split into two sections, with the first focused on strength training and the latter on cardio. Juice & Toya recommend using different weights for each exercise, so that you can challenge your muscles appropriately.
You might want to use adjustable dumbbells for this reason, so you can adapt the load for each move, or do this workout at a gym where you can access a wide range of weights.
CAP Barbell Adjustable Dumbbell Weight Set: was $55.61, now $42.80 at Amazon
Save $12.81 A pair of the best adjustable dumbbells will usually set you back $300 or more, but there are cheaper alternatives. Take this 40lb spinlock pair from CAP Barbell, for example. It comes with interchangeable weight plates so you can alter the load on each dumbbell (making them a good fit for this workout), and it costs less than $45 thanks to an ongoing deal on Amazon.
How to Juice & Toya's dumbbell workout
Benefits of this workout
By combining a strength training session with a HIIT workout, this routine delivers ample bang for your buck.
“This workout gives you the best of building strength and muscle, and high-intensity exercises, to challenge your conditioning,” the trainers explain.
“It’s an ideal workout to do if you're looking to tone your arms, get stronger and shred some body fat.”
The session twins short bursts of work with even quicker rest periods, raising your heart rate, spiking calorie burn and training your heart and lungs. It also fits strength training exercises into this format, helping you build strength and muscle.
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By building muscle, you can boost your metabolism too (the rate at which your body burns calories). This is because muscle is a metabolically active tissue, needing energy to maintain and grow. So, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at rest.
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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