Full Body Workout with Dumbbells in Just 5 Minutes: Fitness Over 50

Can you really get a Full Body Workout with Dumbbells done in 5 minutes?

The answer is: “HECK YES”.
And that’s exactly what we’re doing today!

In the next 5 minutes, we’re doing a quick NO MUSS, NO FUSS Full Body Workout with Dumbbells.

I’m Alicia Jones from Alicia Jones Healthy Living. For over 16 years, I’ve helped transform the health and lives of women over 50 through fitness and weight loss strategies.

Many of my Fitness Over 50 clients need quick, high quality workouts they can easily squeeze into their busy lifestyles. In this quick workout, we’ll get the job done!

This Full Body Workout with Dumbbells will:

rev up your metabolic rate
tone your entire body
strengthen your bones
and of course, make you feel Fit & Fabulous!

YUP, all of that is really possible in 5 minutes or less.

So for this full body workout with dumbbells you will need… dumbbells 😉 More precisely, you’ll need two weights of the exact same size. Pick a weight that feels heavy yet doable for your biceps. That is the size of weight you’ll need for this whole workout.

Now get your weights, start the timer and let’s go!!

Exercise 1: Chest press with bridge

I love where we begin this full body workout, because we’re going to start lying down. Who doesn’t like lying down when they exercise?

In this first exercise, we’re going to multitask. We’re going to work many parts of the body at the same time. This is called a compound exercise.

Grab one weight and hold on to each side of this weight, with one hand on each bobble.
Start with your knees up and your feet underneath your knees. You’re holding the weight above your head, on the floor as you’re lying down.
Then exhale and lift that weight up and put your arms up straight in the air. At the same time, lift your bottom up high off the floor.
You really want to squeeze the tush when you do this. Pretend that you’ve got a quarter in between your tushy and you are squeezing to hold it there. Another way to think of this is as you’re at the high point, you would take that same quarter, place it on the top of the knee and it would roll all the way down to your hips.
Come back down with everything. Your weight is above your head again and your bottom is on the floor.
Do a total of 15-20 repetitions. Then put your weight down next to you.

Note: this exercise is ESPECIALLY good for you if you are a beginner who doesn’t feel comfortable doing push-ups yet (feel free to check out this workout for beginners as well!).

So we’re toning the backs of the arms, the bottom, the core, and more. Everything comes all the way up and all the way back down.

Everything is working in this full body workout with dumbbells! You’re off to a great start.

Exercise 2: Overhead tricep extension with bridge

Next up, we’re going to continue on with those bridges. The leg muscles are bigger, so they can handle doing a few more repetitions.

Grab your second weight. Remember, you’re looking for a dumbbell that’s the same size as your first one.
Make sure you’re lying down with your knees up again. Hold both weights, one in each hand. Your elbows are on the floor at chest height. Your forearms are at a 90-degree angle from the floor.
Now on an exhale lift those weights and punch them straight up in the air. At the same time, lift your bottom high off the floor again. Remember to squeeze that tush!
Check that you’re flaring your elbows. You do not want to bring the weights into the centre point above you. A lot of time when people do this exercise, they start to bring in their weights until they almost touch. But today we’re looking for straight-up punching.
Then come down until your elbows and bottom touch the floor again.
Do a total of 15-20 repetitions. After that, gently place the weights to the side while keeping full control over the weights.

This exercise works really well for the serratus muscles. These are the muscles that help stabilize the shoulder joint.

I like to think of the serratus muscles as the Patrick Swayze muscles! There’s this one scene in Dirty Dancing when Patrick Swayze is doing some twists and he’s got these BEAUTIFUL fly muscles in his chest.

I mean… am I right???!

All joking aside 😉 The serratus muscles are really great for stabilizing your shoulders. They can even decrease shoulder pain!

If you care about your fitness, you want to make sure that you’ve got really strong serratus muscles. It actually trumps doing exercises for the chest. Because chest muscle exercises often pull the shoulders forward. So that’s where the difference comes in for your shoulder stability.

Exercise 3: Row in middle squat

For this next exercise, we’re going to stand up.
Grab both your weights and come into a squat position. You’re going to hold your weights with straight arms. Lift your head up and bend your knees a lot.
If you cannot bend your knees a lot, that’s okay. Just go wherever feels most comfortable for your knees.
Now with the weights on each side, squeeze your shoulder blades together. The weights are rolling from your knees to your tummy.
Let the weights roll back down as you let your shoulder blades go again.
Do a total of 15-20 repetitions. Then rise up so you stand up straight again while holding your weights.

Can you feel the squeeze in those shoulder blades? I love that squeeze! It lets you know that you’re getting fit.

This is a really quick exercise, yet it hits the full body. Obviously, we’re working the legs. Meanwhile, we’re also working the core. We’re working the arms as well. And finally, we’re working the back. Everything’s working all over again here!

And I can’t stress this enough: it’s SO important to do back muscle exercises to improve back pain and maintain a healthy posture. We’re really strengthening the bones of the spine with this one.

We have 1 more exercise to complete our full body workout with dumbbells with just 2 minutes left on the timer.

Will we make it?? Let’s find out!

Exercise 4: Stand to bicep curl

At last, you’ve made it to the final exercise. Don’t give up now, because you’re almost there!

You’re still standing up and holding a weight in each hand. Your weights are down at your hips.
Now let your hand palms face forwards. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Exhale and pull the weights up towards your shoulders. Make sure to keep your elbows in the same place, so you’re only moving the forearms.
Inhale and let the weights come down to your sides again.

Do you have a little bit more energy? I know you do! Let’s add on that squat from exercise 3.

Squat down and pull the weights up towards the shoulders. You don’t need to squat all the way down if you’ve got knee issues. You can do a mini bend in your knees instead.
Rise up and let the weights drop down to your sides in a controlled way.
Do a total of 10-15 repetitions.

That’s it! You did it! You completed the Full Body Workout with Dumbbells!

I’ve got 4 minutes and 57 seconds on my timer. Pretty impressive for a full body workout with dumbbells that revs up your metabolic rate, tones your entire body and as an added benefit, strengthens your bones too. One and done in 5 minutes or less, as promised!

Do you need really quick workouts that you can fit into your busy schedule?

Then click here to join the waitlist for Over Fifty Fit & Fabulous!

Inside Over Fifty Fit & Fabulous you’ll find the Busy Lifestyle Back-Up Plan.

I’ve taken standard lengthy workouts and turned them into quick, time-efficient, 10-minute toning videos. You can do these quick workouts anytime, anywhere. This is all you’ll need to keep up your Fitness Over 50!

The doors to Over Fifty Fit & Fabulous open just a few times a year. Join the waitlist here.

For motivation and support, join the Get Back to Fit Over 50 Facebook group