DUMBBELL PYRAMID WHOLE BODY WORKOUT
By Loren Bakker Fitness Education Online
Life’s busy right?!
When covid hit, I really took the time out to assess how I have been living and showing up in all areas of my life. What became apparent is that I had been busying myself with a lot of the things that didn’t actually bring a lot of value or return for the time I had been investing into certain tasks.
I made myself a promise that when coming out the other side I was going to do things differently. I was not going to fill my already full plate with the things that didn’t benefit myself or my family in any way just because I felt I couldn’t say no, and I was going to always remind myself why I would invest my time into something….that reason is the people I love and doing what makes me happy.
I’m proud to say that I still do this but…..somehow I have managed to fill my schedule to the brim again, but this time I’m very particular with what i give my time to and have let go of what does not serve me….and definitely smarter with how I train, because my daily workout is a non negotiable for me!
And this is how this workout was created…..I had 30 minutes before the craziness of my house started, and I wanted to HIIT it hard!
THE WORKOUT
I chose six multi muscle exercises to get the biggest impact from this circuit and to hit as many muscles in as little time as possible. All you need is 2 moderate dumbbells ( I used 10’s ) a timer and a killer playlist, trust me on the playlist part…..this workout gets intense, tuning into some music is a huge motivator!
The biggest impact you will notice is the increase in work time and the decrease in rest as you layer on the exercises throughout the circuit.
EXERCISES
- SQUAT TO OVERHEAD PRESS
- REVERSE LUNGE & CURL
- LATERAL BOUNDS TO DUMBELL PICK UP
- TRICEP PUSHUP TO RENEGADE ROW
- HALF KNEELING WOODCHOP
- PLANK
HOW IT WORKS
Perform exercise 1 for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds rest.
Then perform exercise 2 for 30 seconds, followed by exercise 3 for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds rest….
Continue to layer on until all exercises are completed.
Once done, perform the pyramid in reverse, starting with the plank for 30 seconds, half kneeling woodchop for 30 seconds etc. until all 6 are completed with the 30 second rest, but this time dropping off the plank, and then the wood chop….decreasing the work time.
Obviously we would love you to try our dumbbell exercises and let us know how you go, but also play around with it and make it your own…..so many variations you can make to this format that will feel like a totally different session.
You could try bodyweight only for online sessions if your clients have little to no equipment, or switch up the equipment with what you have on hand ie. TRX, powerbags, slam balls and Kettlebells would work really well in live sessions.
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Loren Bakker
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For more articles like this check out
The “ACCUMULATING AMRAP” Workout
The “100 CLUB” Challenge Workout