I have an absolutely awesome workout for you today–Xtreme Badass Dumbbell Ladder Workout. I have to admit, even if it's super short, it's also super tough and it took me quite a bit of pushing to get trough this!
But first of all, thanks so much to all of you who took a few minutes to answer the survey I emailed you about earlier this week. If you didn't have a chance to answer, please do it here. I really appreciate it!
Based on the results that I received, most of you come to Urban Jane to get more workout ideas. That makes me happy, because it means that you do love to workout 🙂 And working out is a huge source of happiness for me too. So what's better than sharing my best workouts with you!
Xtreme Badass Dumbbell Ladder Workout
So, I'm listening you guys! I did this workout last week and man, it was killer. Definitely not one of those low intensity workouts (that we all need once in a while, with no doubt, but this one is just not one of them). I promise to keep this in my rotation, especially for days when I'm extremely short in time.
I call today's workout Xtreme Badass workout, because after finishing this one, that's exactly how you feel–like a badass. If you do it, you do deserve a Badass Badge. I'd give you one if I could.
What You Need
For this workout, all you need is two dumbbells. Choose weights that are appropriate for you. In case you missed my post from Wednesday, check it out here to find how working out with heavier weights may help you bust through a plateau, kickstart your fat loss and help you gain more muscle definition.
I used 25lbs dumbbells for this workout, but you may need to go heavier or lighter. If you have access to multiple sets of weights, you can always switch to lighter ones later when you feel that the ones that you started with are getting heavier rep by rep… (I swear that that's how it feels sometimes. 25 lbs seems to magically turn into 35 lbs as the workouts goes on 🙂 So feel free to adjust your weights accordingly.)
If you're working out at home, are thinking of getting your own set of dumbbells, I recommend getting adjustable ones. You can always add or remove a few pounds from the handles in a matter of seconds. These adjustable dumbbells save you time and money, and they're investment for years.
This workout is as simple as it can be, consisting of only three movements. Two of them are done with dumbbells and on with bodyweight.
You knew that the “bodyweight one” is burpees, didn't you? 😉
Here's the Workout:
Check out the video:
Here's how to do the exercises:
Dumbbell Cleans
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, take a dumbbell in each hand and keep you arms straight by your sides. Swing the weights slightly back, then bend your elbows and curl your arms so that the dumbbells end up on your shoulders. At the same time, do a squat. Come back up and bring the arms down back to your sides. Repeat.
Dumbbell Thrusters
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart while holding the dumbbells on your shoulders. Do a full squat, as low as possible. Make sure your knees are not turning inwards! If your toes are turned slightly out, so should your knees. If your toes are pointing exactly forward, the knees should point the same way during the squat.
From the squat, push yourself up and press the arms overhead. Bring the arms back to your shoulders and get into a squat again. Repeat.
Burpees
Put your hands down on the mat in front of you. Jump your legs back. Lower your upper body to touch the ground, then push yourself up and jump the legs back to the starting position. Finally, jump up and also bring your arms overhead. Repeat.
About the Workout
All three exercises are full body exercises that work absolutely everything from your legs to core to arms. But this workout is not only weight training; when you do this workout, you quickly realize that it gets your heart rate up in no time at all, so you get your cardio and conditioning done at the same time.
This is a super short workout – I was done in about ten minutes. How long it takes depends on how challenging weights you use and how many breaks you take, but it shouldn't take you longer than 15 minutes.
If You Liked It, There's More!
If you finished this workout, I'm sure you agree that despite being super short, it was super intense. If you'd like more workouts like that, that are intense but will take you no longer than 15 minutes to complete, check out this course where I share some of my favorite dumbbell HIIT workouts that I do all the time.
Let me know if you did this workout! You're an Xtreme badass, so you have every right to show off and tell everyone about it! 😉
Enjoy the weekend, friends!
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