This 4-Week Workout Program Uses Just 1 Dumbbell

EB’S ULTIMATE 10 FOR 2019
This month, in the ninth installment of our yearlong series that’ll get you the specific workout results you want, we work every muscle in your body with just a dumbbell. Next month, we’ll give you more.

Yes, you can work every muscle in your body with one piece of old-school gear. We love kettlebells, med balls, and resistance bands, but if we had to choose one piece of equipment, it would be a single dumbbell.

The game plan this month: Three times a week, you’ll grab the simplest tool in the gym and use it to build muscle and banish fat in a super-dense half-hour workout. It’s the most effective way to fry body fat, and it’s the perfect way to train for the holidays. It’s also exactly how Hollywood-based trainer Ben Bruno, C.F.S.C., guides time-strapped A-listers like Justin Timberlake and NBA star Klay Thompson. “They want quick, efficient workouts that hit everything,” Bruno says. “So we need to move fast.”

It doesn’t get more efficient than this light-speed, one-dumbbell workout.

Circuit A

Do 4 rounds of this circuit.

1. Single-Arm Standing Shoulder Press

Stand holding a dumbbell at your left shoulder, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, glutes squeezed, and core tight. Keeping your chest level, straighten your arm to press the dumbbell overhead (b). Pause, then slowly lower the dumbbell back to your shoulder. That’s 1 rep; do 8 per arm.

2. Goblet Reverse Lunge

Stand holding a dumbbell at your chest. Tighten your core and step back about three feet with your right leg. Keeping your chest up and the dumbbell high, bend your knees and lower your torso until your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Your right knee should be a few inches from the floor. Pause, then push off your right leg and stand back up. That’s 1 rep; do 10 per leg.

Eb says: Squeeze your glutes when you stand up. This will help you avoid lower-back pain when doing lunges.

3. Single-Arm Chest-Supported Batwing Row

Set a bench to a 45-degree angle and position yourself so your chest is against it; squeeze your abs and glutes. With your left arm out at shoulder height, hold a dumbbell in your right hand, arm hanging naturally. Squeeze your shoulder blades. This is the start. Keeping your shoulders and hips steady, row the dumbbell to your right hip. Pause, then return to the start.That’s 1 rep; do 10 per arm.

Eb says: This is more than a back move; your glutes and abs should be into it, too. Tighten them up so your torso doesn’t tip down to the side of the weight.

Circuit B

Do 3 rounds of this circuit.

1. Hollow-Body Single-Arm Press

Lie on your back, holding a dumbbell in your left hand, arm straight, directly over your chest. Press your lower back into the floor and lift your legs slightly off the floor; lift your shoulder blades slightly, too. This is the start.Bend at the elbow and shoulder, lowering the dumbbell to your chest without losing torso position. Press back to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 8 per arm.

Eb says: Struggling with the position? Bend your knees to make it easier.

2. Single-Leg Body-weight Hip Thrust

Lie on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your right foot off the floor and tuck your right knee toward your chest. Tighten your core. Driving your left heel into the ground, push your lower back off the floor; squeeze your left glute as you do this. Pause, then return to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 10 per side.

3. Plank Row

Set up in pushup position, glutes and abs tight, right hand gripping a dumbbell. Squeeze your shoulder blades. Pull the dumbbell off the floor, rowing it toward your rib cage but keeping your hips and shoulders square. Pause. Return the dumbbell to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 8 per arm.

Eb says: Focus on flexing the oblique on the rowing side as hard as you canto keep your hips level.

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