Used the right way, a single piece of equipment is all you need to build the body – and get the almighty pump – we all really want. This workout, drawn up MH Fitness Editor Andrew Tracey, can be performed with whatever you can lay your hands on: a sandbag, some dumbbells, two kettlebells, or a barbell.
Whatever you have a hold of, you're going to stay rooted to one spot, as you go down and up a “ladder” with minimal rest. Begin with 10 reps of each move, then decrease the reps by one with each round. Once you get to 1 rep of each, start working back up to 10. Rest when you need to, but try to complete each round of deadlifts, hang cleans and push press without dropping the weight, or you'll only end up doing extra work getting it back up again. Trust us on this one - it's worth hanging on.
Whether in the gym or your garage, you’ll get a functional pump like no other. While the ladder format will ramp up your metabolism to keep you burning fat long after the last rep. Grab a metre of space and get ready for some hard work.
01) Dumbbell Deadlift
10-1-10 reps
Start with a full-body primer to prepare your muscles for the (many) reps to come. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides, palms facing in (A). Keep your chest up and shoulders back as you bend at your legs to touch the weights to the floor (B). Drive through your legs to come up.
02) Dumbbell Hang Clean
10-1-10 reps
Go straight into the cleans without dropping the weights. In the top position of the deadlift
(A), bend your knees slightly, then drive the dumbbells up to shoulder height (B), locking your knees when you’re at the top. Take a breath at the summit of each rep to fight the inevitable feeling of burnout.
03) Dumbbell Push Press
10-1-10 reps
The end of the clean serves as the starting point of this one. From the top of your clean, bend your knees slightly (A), then explode up, driving the weights above your head. Lock your arms out at the top (B), so your biceps almost touch your ears. As you lower the dumbbells back to the front rack position, bend your knees and go straight into the next rep two.
Finished the workout? Try this next:
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David Morton is Deputy Editor at Men’s Health, where he has written, worked, edited and sweated for 12 years. His areas of particular interest are fitness, workouts and adventure.
