If you want to strengthen your core, boost your balance, and improve your posture but prefer weight training to bodyweight exercises like sit-ups and crunches, this personal trainer’s five-move dumbbell workout is a great place to start.
If you’re training at the gym, choose two fixed-load dumbbells that’ll challenge your muscles to get through a set, but won’t affect your form. For home workouts, it’s worth investing in a set of the best adjustable dumbbells, as you can quickly switch the load and they’re easier to store.
Then, with weights by your side, you’ll be ready to take on this short, effective routine from Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer and expert tutor at The Fitness Group. “This workout consists of five exercises with the aim of strengthening your core muscles,” Nicoll explains.
Your core, a section of mid-body muscle that includes the rectus abdominis six-pack abs muscle, helps connect your upper and lower body and plays a vital role in your balance, stability, blood flow, and workout performance, so it’s worth dedicating time to core-strengthening exercise.
How to do the 5-move dumbbell core workout
Although Nicoll says that you can do these moves in any order you like, and with one or two dumbbells, he suggests performing all five exercises as a circuit, completing 10-12 repetitions of each move before starting on the next exercise.
Then, Nicoll suggests that: “Once you have completed all 5 exercises take a 90-second rest. The aim is to repeat the circuit up to five times. Depending on your ability you can build up to 5 rounds over time.”
1. Plank dumbbell pull-through
“Try to keep your hips square to the floor as you reach under and pull the dumbbell across to the opposite side and repeat,” says Nicoll.
- Start in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders, arms and back straight with a dumbbell on your left behind your left wrist
- Reach your right hand under your body to grab the weight and drag it over to your right side behind your right wrist
- Repeat the process with your left hand. That’s one rep
2. Dumbbell hot hands
According to Nicoll: “This is a great exercise for building strength and stability throughout your entire core, particularly the deep core muscles. Focus on keeping tension in the core by sucking your belly button to the spine and keeping your hips and spine in a neutral position."
- Start in a high plank position, with your hands under your shoulders, arms and back straight with a dumbbell placed on its end directly in front of you
- Maintain the plank position, and lift your right hand to tap the top of the dumbbell, with your hips square to the floor
- Place your right hand back on the floor, and repeat the process with the left hand
- Continue alternating until you hit your rep target
3. Dumbbell crunch press
“This is a great exercise for the rectus abdominis (six-pack muscles). There are a couple of variations depending on your experience level,” says Nicoll. “You may need to put your feet under a weight or chair or even have a partner help to hold them down.”
- Lie down with your back on the mat, knees bent and feet flat on the floor
- Hold a dumbbell above your chest with a hand on each end
- Then crunch up towards the knees ensuring the weight stays above you and press the dumbbell overhead
- Engage your core and lower back to the starting position with control. That’s one rep
4. Overhead dumbbell march
Nicoll explains that although “this may look easy but with an adequate weight you will really notice the challenge in your lower abdominals. The key points with this exercise are to maintain a neutral spine and ensure that your arms are locked out overhead.”
- Stand tall with a dumbbell in front of your chest and a hand on each end
- Lift the dumbbell directly overhead until your arms are straight and your core is engaged
- Raise your left knee and pause when your leg is at 90 degrees to your body, then slowly lower back to the starting position
- Repeat the process on the other leg and continue alternating
5. Dumbbell Russian twist
“This is a great exercise for building core strength and stability, and you can do this either with your feet elevated or on the floor,” notes Nicoll. “The key element here is completing each rep under control and not trying to race through the set.”
- Start in a sitting position on your mat with your knees bent and a dumbbell in front of your chest, and lean back to a 45-degree angle with your heels touching the floor
- Rotate at the waist until the dumbbell to your left side until the weight is just above the floor
- Return to the starting position and seamlessly rotate to the right side
- Continue alternating until you hit your rep target
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