There seems to be a lot to train for these day. You want to be bigger, stronger, faster, and fitter. And somehow, we need to do it all in as few sessions as possible while also fitting in, well, the rest of our lives.

Fortunately, with some clever workout programming, you can have your fitness cake and eat it. This 30-minute dumbbell session is designed to build full-body fitness, increase size, and improve stamina, all while cultivating the mental grit needed to keep pushing when your mind is telling you to give up.

Form Check

Targeting your chest, back, shoulders, legs — and of course, your heart and lungs — you’re going to be working in a ladder format. Set a timer for 30-minutes and begin with one rep of each movement, then two of each, then three of each. Keep climbing the ladder in this fashion until the buzzer sounds.

Rest as necessary to maintain impeccable form, but keep it brisk if you want to fortify your fitness. When you reach the point where you can’t perform the prescribed unbroken, use the ‘rest/pause’ to push past failure and continue on up the ladder. Then, simply stop, take 5-6 deep breaths and jump back in. Continue in this fashion until you hit your rep target, then move on to the next movement.

1.Renegade Row + Push-Up x 1,2,3,4 etc… (on each arm)

Drop into a strong plank with both hands on your dumbbells. Perform a push-up, and return to the top position (A). Shifting your weight onto your left hand, row the right dumbbell towards your hip (B). Pause briefly, then lower the weight under control. Repeat on your left side. Push-up+Left+ Right = one rep

2. Devil’s Press x 1,2,3,4 etc…

From your press-up position, jump your legs in and perform a burpee (A). As you begin to stand back up, use the momentum to swing the weights between your legs then directly overhead (B). Lower under control, back to the ground and repeat.

3. Front Squat x 1,2,3,4 etc…

Once you’ve completed your devil’s presses, perform your squats by dropping the bells back down onto the front of your shoulders (A). From here, drop into a front squat until your thighs pass parallel to the ground (B) before driving back up. By this point, your grip and upper back may be tiring but don’t relax. Keeping your core tight throughout is crucial.

4. Push Press x 1,2,3,4 etc…

After your final squat, keep your dumbbells on your shoulders with palms facing in. Take a breath and brace your core. (A) Dip at the knees and use your legs to help (B) press your dumbbells overhead. Lower under control to your shoulders and repeat.

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With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.    

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.   

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.   

 You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.