Our full-body dumbbell workout is perfect for building muscle AND losing fat
Get ready to sweat with PT Angie Bell's full-body dumbbell workout, filmed especially for Fit&Well
Want a full-body circuit that will both build muscle using dumbbells and bodyweight moves, and help you burn fat by revving up your metabolism? Yes, you can do both simultaneously with this routine from expert personal trainer Angie Bell.
Originally filmed for our Instagram as a live, follow-along workout, we've uploaded the full video here as Angie takes us through a 30-minute dynamic routine of moves like lunges with weights, squats, push ups, dumbbell presses and more. All you need is some comfortable clothes, a mat and the best adjustable dumbbells.
If building muscle is your goal, it's also worth investing in a protein powder.
Check out the routine below:
Dumbbells workout: Check out the full routine below
Dumbbells workout: Why do this routine?
This full-body blast is a great workout which will tax your muscles and make you sweat. Not only are you using lots of energy by burning calories, but your muscles will need lots of oxygen after being taxed by those demanding resistance training moves. This process of oxygenating your muscles means your body works harder even after you finish the workout, which burns even more calories at rest.
The amount of calories your body burns at rest is known as your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. The more muscle you have in your body compared to fat, the higher your BMR tends to be, which means you burn more calories at rest. This means building muscles leads to better weight loss long term.
Building muscle doesn't mean you have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger: building even a small amount of functional muscle can help you look better and be fitter. Squatting will improve your walking and running, helping you to run faster. Doing upper-body exercises and a dumbbell arms workout can help improve your grip strength, which has been linked to better cardiovascular health even in old age.
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In addition, doing dumbbell exercises can literally turn back the hands of time. As you get older, your muscles shorten and waste away in a process called atrophy. Building muscle slows and reverses this process, as more muscle takes longer to waste away, ensuring you stay fitter for longer.
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Matt Evans is an experienced health and fitness journalist and is currently Fitness and Wellbeing Editor at TechRadar, covering all things exercise and nutrition on Fit&Well's tech-focused sister site. Matt originally discovered exercise through martial arts: he holds a black belt in Karate and remains a keen runner, gym-goer, and infrequent yogi. His top fitness tip? Stretch.
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