Workout of the week: 30-min full-body strength workout

ALL LEVELS / full-body strength workout / 30 minutes

Equipment: Kettlebell, dumbbells, dips bar & gym mat

Regular exercise has plenty of benefits: it reduces high blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, and cancers. The benefits, however, are not exclusively physical. Exercise also influences changes in your brain, releasing the famous feel-good chemicals such as endorphins, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Plus, studies show that cardiovascular exercise creates new brain cells, making it a natural brain boost.

Today we will take this last benefit literally, with a workout that is a physical challenge and a math one, too — don’t worry, though, it’s not calculus.

Our full-body strength workout has 3 groups, each of them with 2 exercises. The first exercise will start with 50 reps, while the second will begin with 9. You will perform this for 5 rounds. Every subsequent round you’ll subtract 10 reps of the first exercise and add 3 on the second. Only after completing all 5 rounds do you move on to the next group. You are allowed 1-minute rest between each group. In total, this workout should take you around 30 minutes to perform.

1st group

Kettlebell swing
Dumbbell military press

2nd group

Dips
Dumbbell deadlift into squat

3rd group

Dumbbell flys
Burpees over mat

Ready? Let’s go!

WORKOUT SETUP

3 groups with 2 exercises
5 rounds
1st exercise: 50 reps
2nd exercise: 9 reps
Each round subtract 10 reps in the 1st exercise
Add 3 reps in the 2nd
30 minutes
Equipment: Kettlebell, dumbbells, dips bar & gym mat

WORKING OUT FROM HOME? NO PROBLEM.

If you don’t have the equipment originally needed for this workout, you can substitute it with these everyday items or use these alternative exercises.

Alternative equipment

Kettlebell = bag with some weights, such as books, cans of food
Dumbbells = water bottles filled with water and / or sand
Dips bar = stable chair or small table

WORKOUT EXERCISE LIST

5 rounds each group

1st GROUP

1 – KETTLEBELL SWING

1st round 50 reps
2nd round 40 reps
3rd round 30 reps
4th round 20 reps
5th round 10 reps

Hold the kettlebell with your two hands and hinge the hips to initiate a swing.
Make sure you keep your core tight and squeeze the shoulder blades together.
Rapidly drive hip extension to swing the kettlebell upwards.
Control the down swing with a hip hinge swinging the kettlebell between the legs.

2 – DUMBBELL MILITARY PRESS

1st round 9 reps
2nd round 12 reps
3rd round 15 reps
4th round 18 reps
5th round 21 reps

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Set the shoulders and engage the core.
Lift your arms up so that they make a straight line with your shoulders.
Bend your elbows to a 45-degree angle.
Lower the dumbbells and return to the 45-degree angle starting position.
Throughout the whole exercise, maintain your core tight, shoulder blades squeezed together and your torso upright.

2nd GROUP

1 – DIPS

1st round 50 reps
2nd round 40 reps
3rd round 30 reps
4th round 20 reps
5th round 10 reps

Grab the bars and boost yourself up. Engage the core, looking forward.
Bend your knees — it will help you with stabilisation.
Keeping your elbows at your side, lower your body. Your triceps should be parallel to the floor.
Bring yourself back up without locking your elbows.
Repeat.

2 – DUMBBELL DEADLIFT INTO SQUAT

1st round 9 reps
2nd round 12 reps
3rd round 15 reps
4th round 18 reps
5th round 21 reps

Begin by standing, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Engage the core and begin the movement by bending the knees slightly and hinging the hips. Then continue the bending by pushing the hips backwards, lowering the dumbbells as far as comfortable.
At the bottom of the movement, actively engage the glutes, push the feet into the floor and drive the hips upwards and forwards to perform the rest of this compound movement.
Bring the dumbbells over your shoulder and perform a squat.
That’s one rep.

3rd GROUP

1 – DUMBBELL FLYS

1st round 50 reps
2nd round 40 reps
3rd round 30 reps
4th round 20 reps
5th round 10 reps

Pick a pair of suitably weighted dumbbells.
Slightly bend your knees and lean forward until your body is almost parallel to the floor. Allow your arms to hang straight down from the shoulders.
Inhale and pull the dumbbells up using the rear deltoids.
Slowly lower your arms as you exhale and return to the starting position.
Repeat.

2 – BURPEES OVER MAT

1st round 9 reps
2nd round 12 reps
3rd round 15 reps
4th round 18 reps
5th round 21 reps

Stand tall, parallel to the mat and engage the core.
Begin the movement by quickly bending down, reaching the hands towards the floor in front of the feet. As you do this, simultaneously jump, bringing your legs back and land on the floor in a push-up position.
Drive the hips up rapidly and jump into a squat position.
Then, in a single movement, explosively jump over the mat while returning to the upright position.
Repeat.