One dumbbell, five moves and 30 minutes is all you need for a total-body workout

When you don’t have time, or limited home gym equipment, working out can feel like a waste of time. But, we all know ‘the only bad workout is the one you didn’t do’, and this full-body workout isn’t just quick, but it requires minimal kit too, aka a single dumbbell (or kettlebell). In 30 minutes, it promises to work everything from your legs to your core, chest and arms.

You may be wondering whether even a 30-minute workout is even worth it, but it is. According to the Mayo Clinic: “You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute strength training sessions a week.” A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that 30-90 minutes of resistance training may lower the risk of early death from any cause by 10% to 20%.

After a thorough warm-up, complete three rounds of each exercise below, resting for 60-90 seconds between sets. If your dumbbell or kettlebell is slightly on the lighter side, add on some extra reps (you want the last two to feel challenging!), but make sure that your form remains solid. Here’s your workout:

• Gorilla rows – 10 reps each arm
• Cossack squats – 20 reps
• Clean up and overs –10 reps
• Suitcase squat – 10 reps each arm
• Push up dumbbell tap – 10 reps

Now, the next time you repeat this workout, try and aim to either increase the weight, reduce your rest time, or increase your reps – this will ensure progressive overload, which is key to seeing strength and muscle gains. If, however, you’d like a different, but similar workout, here’s another short full-body workout – although this time you’ll be needing two dumbbells. Alternatively, if you want to stick to one dumbbell, then give this 30-minute strength workout a go.