6 Full-Body Dumbbell Moves For Maximum Muscle Gains
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Full Body Beatdown
Working out for over an hour is just not feasible for many busy people. Therefore finding the right exercises to incorporate into your workout program will prove vital to your bodybuilding success. If your time is limited, you can still find a way to illicit substantial muscle gains and fat loss by incorporating these full body movements into your workout regimen. Each move allows for time under tension, efficiency and variation.All you’ll need is a pair of dumbbells, some space to move and the perseverance to fight through the pain of these 6 full-body moves.
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Rear Foot Elevated Squat to Hinge
How to do it:Get a bench, box or anything comfortable enough to rest your back foot. Place one foot behind you raised on the bench and stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Slowly lower your knee to a light touch on the ground keeping your chest up. At the top of the squat perform a hip hinge movement while maintaining your posture.What it works:This works your glutes, quads, core, hip flexors, calves and posture. I love this move because it’s a big time glute-builder! If you thought lunges made you sore wait until you try these out.
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Split Squat to Lateral Raise
How to do it:Start in a split squat stance with a dumbbell in each hand. Slowly lower your knee down to the ground with your back leg while keeping your chest up. Simultaneously bring your arms down to your sides. Immediately pop back up and raise arms directly out to sides. Come back down and repeat with the back leg and arms. What it works:This exercise targets your glute muscles, quadriceps, shoulders and your core. I particularly like this move because you have to transfer strength from the ground up. If you core is relaxed you are not going to be able to get those dumbbells up. Stay strong and keep your core tight throughout the move.
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Man Maker
How to do it:Start standing holding a dumbbell in each hand. Go right to the floor and hit a pushup with dumbbells still in hand. At the top of the pushup row each arm individually without swaying your hips. Bring your feet under you and stand up. While standing up perform a bicep curl and then press your hands over your head for a shoulder press. Bring the bells back down to your shoulders softly. Perform one forward lunge on each leg and then repeat.What it works:There’s a lot of time under tension and you literally are hitting every muscle fiber you have with one sequence of movements.
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Lunge w/ Overhead Reach
How to do it:Stand with a dumbbell in each hand and perform a lunge (toes pointing forward). At the bottom of the lunge stay down and raise both hands over your head then bring your hands back down staying in that low position. Drive your foot back and stand up and then repeat on the other side.What it works:This works your gluteus medius, shoulders, abs, inner groin, and helps a lot with hip and ankle mobility. This move is highly effective for flexibility and lateral hip drive. Do these two to three times per week and watch your hips become stronger and more flexible.
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Valslide Weighted Crawl
How to do it:Grab two valslides or anything that will move smoothly over a surface (i.e. towels on a gym floor) and place them under your feet. Grab two fairly heavy dumbbells or kettlebells. Keeping your core straight from head to toe start crawling with just your arms keeping them straight. Go for twenty to thirty yards keeping your core locked into place.What it works:You will feel this instantly in your core and shoulder muscles. Just maintaining that position alone is tough to do but when you the weight it just crushes your muscle fibers from head to toe.
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Gladiator Press
How to do it:Start lying flat on the ground with one arm holding a dumbbell pointed straight at the ceiling (think Turkish get up position). Slide your opposite elbow under you as if you were picking yourself up off the ground. Push up to your hand (keeping your other arm pointed straight at ceiling). Elevate your hips off the ground and slide one leg over the other leg. Bring your feet together and go into the side plank pose on your hand that is down on the ground. Raise the top leg up then bring it back down to where you started.What it works:An excellent move for shoulder stability, core strength and mobility. It targets your obliques, and really forces you to have total-body control. It’s a great exercise for combat athletes.
Working out for over an hour is just not feasible for many busy people. Therefore finding the right exercises to incorporate into your workout program will prove vital to your bodybuilding success. If your time is limited, you can still find a way to illicit substantial muscle gains and fat loss by incorporating these full body movements into your workout regimen. Each move allows for time under tension, efficiency and variation.
All you’ll need is a pair of dumbbells, some space to move and the perseverance to fight through the pain of these 6 full-body moves.
Rear Foot Elevated Squat to Hinge
How to do it:
Get a bench, box or anything comfortable enough to rest your back foot. Place one foot behind you raised on the bench and stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Slowly lower your knee to a light touch on the ground keeping your chest up. At the top of the squat perform a hip hinge movement while maintaining your posture.
What it works:
This works your glutes, quads, core, hip flexors, calves and posture. I love this move because it’s a big time glute-builder! If you thought lunges made you sore wait until you try these out.
Split Squat to Lateral Raise
How to do it:
Start in a split squat stance with a dumbbell in each hand. Slowly lower your knee down to the ground with your back leg while keeping your chest up. Simultaneously bring your arms down to your sides. Immediately pop back up and raise arms directly out to sides. Come back down and repeat with the back leg and arms.
What it works:
This exercise targets your glute muscles, quadriceps, shoulders and your core. I particularly like this move because you have to transfer strength from the ground up. If you core is relaxed you are not going to be able to get those dumbbells up. Stay strong and keep your core tight throughout the move.
Man Maker
How to do it:
Start standing holding a dumbbell in each hand. Go right to the floor and hit a pushup with dumbbells still in hand. At the top of the pushup row each arm individually without swaying your hips. Bring your feet under you and stand up. While standing up perform a bicep curl and then press your hands over your head for a shoulder press. Bring the bells back down to your shoulders softly. Perform one forward lunge on each leg and then repeat.
What it works:
There’s a lot of time under tension and you literally are hitting every muscle fiber you have with one sequence of movements.
Lunge w/ Overhead Reach
How to do it:
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand and perform a lunge (toes pointing forward). At the bottom of the lunge stay down and raise both hands over your head then bring your hands back down staying in that low position. Drive your foot back and stand up and then repeat on the other side.
What it works:
This works your gluteus medius, shoulders, abs, inner groin, and helps a lot with hip and ankle mobility. This move is highly effective for flexibility and lateral hip drive. Do these two to three times per week and watch your hips become stronger and more flexible.
Valslide Weighted Crawl
How to do it:
Grab two valslides or anything that will move smoothly over a surface (i.e. towels on a gym floor) and place them under your feet. Grab two fairly heavy dumbbells or kettlebells. Keeping your core straight from head to toe start crawling with just your arms keeping them straight. Go for twenty to thirty yards keeping your core locked into place.
What it works:
You will feel this instantly in your core and shoulder muscles. Just maintaining that position alone is tough to do but when you the weight it just crushes your muscle fibers from head to toe.
Gladiator Press
How to do it:
Start lying flat on the ground with one arm holding a dumbbell pointed straight at the ceiling (think Turkish get up position). Slide your opposite elbow under you as if you were picking yourself up off the ground. Push up to your hand (keeping your other arm pointed straight at ceiling). Elevate your hips off the ground and slide one leg over the other leg. Bring your feet together and go into the side plank pose on your hand that is down on the ground. Raise the top leg up then bring it back down to where you started.
What it works:
An excellent move for shoulder stability, core strength and mobility. It targets your obliques, and really forces you to have total-body control. It’s a great exercise for combat athletes.
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