By Thomas King, MSc, CSCS, CEP
It’s only Day 2 off work from the COVID-19 related measures and I’m already starting to go a bit stir-crazy. Food is flying off supermarket shelves and your children may be driving you nuts at this point. If you would like a 30-minute distraction from the chaos that has become everyday life this last week, give the following workout a try.
To minimize the amount of equipment you’ll need, it will be a five-exercise “complex” workout. This means you do all five exercises with the same two dumbbells without putting them down. For the workout, try starting with 8 reps per exercise. Do 8 reps per exercise and transition to the next one. When you get to the end, rest about 2 minutes and repeat again for 3 to 5 rounds.
For added benefit, add our “5 At-Home Stretches for Total Body Flexibility” in your warm prior to doing this workout.
1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- Hold one dumbbell in each hand.
- Stand tall and soften the knees.
- Push the hips directly backwards while reaching towards the floor with your hands stopping just below the knee.
- Contract the hamstrings to pull yourself back up while squeezing the glutes hard. Repeat for 8 repetitions.
2. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
- Stand tall, soften the knees and bend down to a position similar to the bottom of your Romanian deadlift.
- Hold this position and row the weights up until you feel a good squeeze in the shoulder blades. Be mindful that you are not shrugging your shoulders while doing this.
- Lower the weights to the starting position and repeat for 8 repetitions.
3. Dumbbell Squat to Press
- Hold the dumbbells in the front rack position.
- Squat down to your full squat depth.
- Explode upwards pushing the weights overhead as you do.
- Seamlessly begin the next rep. Repeat for 8 repetitions.
4. Dumbbell Push-Up
- Place the dumbbells on the floor about 1.5 times shoulder width apart.
- Perform full range push-ups touching your chest to the floor each time.
- Repeat for 8 repetitions.
5. Dumbbell Plank Row
- Place dumbbells about two inches apart.
- Assume a push-up position on the dumbbells with your hands narrow and your feet about 2 times hip width wide.
- Row one dumbbell up, return to the ground and row the other one up. Ensure your hips do not rotate while doing this to properly engage the core.
- Repeat for 8 repetitions per arm.
There you have it. Complex workouts are a great way to squeeze a high quality workout into a short amount of time. If your dumbbells are heavier, try for 4-6 reps/exercise. If they are lighter, aim for 10-12 reps/exercise.
Only have a resistance band? Check out our “One Band Full Body At-Home Workout“
~Thomas 🏋️♀️
Do you have weights at home, but not sure what to do? We offer Online Strength Coaching. Receive a custom workout based on what equipment you have, your goals, needs, and current ability. Only 1-week commitment required.
Find out more HERE.
300 Inspired Ultimate Sandbag Home Workout
From my initial consult with Julia, she was professional and knowledgeable as both a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and athlete. She was interested in my nutrition and fitness goals and the development of a plan that would set me up for success.
Julia designed weekly meal plans that were complete with recipes and shopping lists. The food choices were nutritious, easy to prepare, and ensured that I felt well nourished and energized throughout my training and non-training days. Not only do I feel leaner and more fit, but I have more energy and I feel much more in tune with my body and food choices. Julia really helped me put everything in place so I can continue this process going forward- I cannot thank her enough!
I heard somewhere that achieving your health goals is determined largely by what you do in the kitchen. I am grateful to have found Julia who brought direction and accountability to this most important piece for me. Having Julia in my corner has brought me confidence and certainty that I am on my way to achieving my goals. I highly recommend her if you are serious about making a change and feeling better about your health.
My initial goal was to find qualified personal training services in a personalized small gym setting. I have never been a fan of large gyms. JKC offers a friendly, happy gym experience that motivates me to strive for bigger and better results every week. Jon, Thomas and Craig are genuinely talented and always excited to celebrate everyone’s success.
I have a passion for challenging myself to achieve or beat goals. My favourite memories take me back to greater wins than I ever imagined with deadlifts and after a lot of determination and hard work, being able to do multiple chin-ups. Training at JKC has been one of the best experiences of my life – thank you for your commitment to helping me stay fit!!💪🏼😅
I joined JKC because I wanted to better care for my physical health, but didn’t really know how, or where, to begin. Seeking help from a trainer seemed like a wise choice, and I had heard great things about the staff at JKC. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate exercising. So, I’ve only ever tried sticking with a gym routine twice in my life. Each experience consisted of me wandering around, not knowing what to do, and settling for an elliptical machine or something else that seemed comfortable and non-threatening. Each session was the same, and I felt like I was wasting my time.
Each session at JKC, however, is specifically crafted for me. I don’t have to think about what to do, because I’m told what to do. I don’t have to worry about how to do things properly, because I’m shown (sometimes multiple times!) how to accomplish each task. I don’t have to be concerned about slipping into a comfortable routine, because Jon and Thomas won’t let that happen.
I was looking for something to augment my 20+ year yoga practice with a focus on strength conditioning. I am friend’s with Jon’s sister in-law and over the years always heard great things about JKC, especially with respect to the top quality trainers they have and programs they run. After talking to Jon about my goals, and hearing his thoughts on a training plan, I knew that this was going to be an awesome experience … and it sure has been. JKC stands out from other gyms because of the attention to detail, the high quality of the staff and the facilities. Also, the amazing people that train there. And no one posing and taking selfies. I’m 41 years old and I started in Dec 2021.
Tag: calorie burning workout
