Your home workout routine does not have to be time-wasting or include expensive equipment to be effective. Through body-weight exercises and multi-joint workouts that use dumbbells, you can strengthen large muscle groups, burn calories, and enhance your overall health. Try these top four home workout routines every other day for six weeks to see results. Wear your workout gloves to protect your hands from the friction of the dumbbell handles or wear wrist wraps to support proper wrist position for body-weight exercises. Aim to complete one to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions.
1. Burpees
Also known as squat thrusts, burpees burn lots of calories and are a great total-body strengthener. Stand tall with your feet approximately hips-distance apart. Bend your knees, lean forward, and place your hands on the floor either in front of or next to your feet. Shift your weight onto your hands and hop your legs straight out behind you. Land with your toes on the floor and in an upper push-up position. For a more intense challenge, perform a push-up. Then, hop your feet to your hands and return to a standing position. As your strength improves, instead of standing, add a jump and then land in the starting position.
2. Dumbbell Row to Triceps Kickback
Combine two exercises into one movement to build your back and triceps. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Stand and lean forward slightly to allow your arms to hang straight down from your shoulders. Face your palms toward each other. Exhale, bend your elbows, and raise the weights to your hips. Then, keeping your elbows lifted, extend your arms behind you to target your triceps. Slowly reverse the movement and repeat.
3. Reverse Curl to Shoulder Press
Boost biceps and deltoids with dumbbells and one movement. Stand and hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your sides and your palms facing behind you. Position your elbows at your sides, bend your elbows and lift the weights to your shoulders. Then, extend your arms overhead into a press. Slowly reverse and repeat.
4. Mountain Climbers
Begin in a plank position with your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders. Bend your right knee and position your right foot on the floor under your torso. Then switch so your left foot is underneath you and your right is behind. Quickly alternate foot positions for approximately 30 to 60 seconds.
