You only need this four-move, 12-minute workout to build muscle all over

Just grab a pair of dumbbells and get ready for a few minutes of hard graft

Man performing dumbbell shoulder press
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In an ideal world, many of us would like to hit the gym for an hour or two, with a decent warm-up, a well-thought-out workout and a gentle cool down. But life doesn’t always allow the time for that. In these circumstances we need something that’s quick and effective: enter the AMRAP workout. This speedy 12 minute session won’t just get your heart racing, but your muscles pumped too. Just grab two dumbbells and we suggest your gym water bottle too.

If you don’t already know, AMRAP stands for ‘as many rounds as possible’, and it’s where you try and work through as many exercises as you can until the clock runs out. As you can imagine, this style of workout gets your heart racing, burning lots of calories in the process, but by also throwing some weights into the equation, it’s going to torch your muscles too.  

This workout from MiraFit is super simple; you've got four dumbbell exercises that you'll do four different reps and you just keep repeating these moves until your 12 minutes is up. While you want to push yourself, you don't want to go out too hard too fast, or you'll blow out too quickly. The nice thing about this workout though is that the reps decrease with each exercise. Ready? Here's your workout:

  • Dumbbell push press  - 15 reps
  • Dumbbell goblet squat  - 12 reps
  • Push-ups - 10 reps
  • Dumbbell lunges  - 8 reps (each side)

If you enjoyed this workout, we've got plenty of others on T3 just like it. Check out this 10-minute AMRAP workout from Arnold Schwarzenegger, another great one for building muscle, but a little less intense than this workout. If you have more time on your hands though, then we definitely recommend checking out this EMOM workout from CrossFit athlete Lauren Fisher, it's slightly longer, but is only four exercises and you don't need any equipment for it. 

Bryony Firth-Bernard
Staff Writer, Active

Bryony’s T3’s official ‘gym-bunny’ and Active Staff Writer, covering all things fitness. In her spare time, you will find her in her natural habitat - the gym - where her style of training is a hybrid of bodybuilding and powerlifting. Bryony loves writing about accessible workouts, nutrition and testing innovative fitness products that help you reach your fitness goals and take your training to the next level.