Dynamite Dumbbell HIIT Workout — Full Body is Day 45 in Caroline Girvan‘s EPIC Heat program. OMG. This workout kicked my a$$! I have been doing a lot of Caroline’s dumbbell HIIT workouts lately and I think this one might be the most intense of hers that I’ve done yet. This is a cardio workout using dumbbells to increase the intensity. Because of this you are moving at a brisk pace and cannot lift heavy dumbbells. I used 8-16.5 pound dumbbells but I stuck primarily with my 10s and 12s. In spite of this being primarily intense cardio, the title is correct–your entire body will get some strength training. My shoulders especially were feeling it. I was struggling by the end. I feel like her pace in this workout was even brisker than it is in her other dumbbell HIIT workouts. I try to keep pace with her during these workouts to ensure I get the intended cardio/HIIT effect and I was successful through most of the workout but by the last couple of exercises I was just pushing to get through. And during the finisher, by the time we got to the 3rd exercise, I did not even try to keep up with her. Another excellent and intense total body metabolic HIIT workout.
This workout is done interval style: 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the upper left hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery Caroline previews your next exercise. If an exercise includes impact, Caroline also shows a low impact modification during the recovery. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage.
Dynamite Dumbbell HIIT Workout — Full Body is 37:05 minutes; 1:27 minute intro, no warm up and 3 minute stretch. Equipment: light dumbbells and a fitness mat. Caroline is using 6kg/13 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Clean to squat (swing DBs to shoulders hammer curl style and squat w/ DBs at shoulders, lower DBs when standing) (12# DBs)
- Jack press (hold one DB in both hands, do jumping jacks while pressing DB straight overhead; low impact alternative: step out jacks rather than jumping jacks–arms still press DB overhead) (one 10# DB)
- Lateral lunges (hold one DB in both hands in front of chest, legs are wide, torso is hinged forward, stationary side lunges, alternate sides to a brisk pace) (one 15# DB)
- Squats (squats done to a brisk pace w/ DBs at shoulders) (12# DBs)
- Squat to press (squat w/ DBs at shoulders, when you stand do an overhead press) (10# DBs)
- Over dumbbell burpees (set one DB on the floor as a marker, do one full burpee beside the DB, at top of burpee do a lateral jump over DB and repeat; low impact alternative: step out burpees and step laterally over DB)
- Single arm squat to press (one DB is held in one hand, squat w/ DB at shoulder, when you stand do a single arm overhead press) (one 10# DB)
- Repeat #7 on other side of body
- Plank to squat (squat and place DBs on floor, jump feet out to plank, jump feet back into squat and raise DBs off floor and stand; low impact alternative: step out to plank) (16.5# DBs)
- Repeat #5
- Lunge to press (stationary/static lunges, DB held in one hand, do a single arm overhead press at top of lunge) (one 10# DB)
- Repeat #11 on other side of body
- Static/stationary lunge (done to a brisk pace) (12# DBs)
- Repeat #13 on other side of body
- Repeat #5
- Push ups over dumbbell (set one DB on the floor as a marker, start in plank w/ DB between hands, do one wide arm push up then step one hand over DB so both hands are on one side of DB (still in plank), do one tricep push up, step hand back over DB back to start, alternate sides when stepping over DB with one wide push up between each tricep push up)
- Bunny hop over DB (stand DB on floor on it’s end as a marker, place hands on floor and hop feet side to side over DB; low impact alternative: place DB on floor as a marker, in beast pose (hands and toes on floor, knees bent and hovering a few inches off floor) step feet side to side over DB)
- Alternating bent over rows (done to a brisk pace) (12# DBs)
- Close squat to lateral raise (one narrow squat w/ DBs at sides, at top of squat when standing do a straight arm side raise) (8# DBs)
- Repeat #5
- Single arm burpee (hold one DB in one hand, place hands/DB on ground, jump feet out to plank and lower body to floor, raise back into plank, jump feet into hands, stand and do a single arm kettlebell swing with the DB, raising DB overhead; low impact alternative: step feet out to plank) (one 12# DB)
- Repeat #21 on other side of body
- 2x DB burpee (holding DBs in both hands, place DBs on ground, jump feet out to plank and lower body to floor, raise back into plank, jump feet into DBs, stand and do a double arm kettlebell swing with the DBs; she did not show the low impact alternative but it would be the same as for #21 & 22: step feet out to plank) (10# DBs)
- Maker (start in plank, do one renegade row each arm, jump feet into DBs so you are in squat, do a double arm bicep curl, stand w/ DBs at shoulders, do one overhead press, squat and place DBs on the floor, jump feet back to plank and do one push up; low impact alternative: step feet out to plank) (10# DBs)
- Repeat #5
- Alternating renegade rows (16.5# DBs)
- Toe reach to hollow (hold one DB in both hands, extend arms/DB and straight legs to ceiling, crunch upper body, reaching DB to toes then straighten body until arms/DB and legs are a few inches off the floor) (one 10# DB)
- Sit up to press (holding one DB in both hands, lay on mat with legs straight, do a full sit up with an overhead press at top of sit up) (one 10# DB)
- Leg lower (lay on back on mat, holding one DB in both hands, arms are straight and reaching DB to ceiling, hold arms in this position the entire interval, raise straight legs to ceiling then lower then until they are a few inches off mat) (one 10# DB)
- Repeat #5
Finisher: (90 seconds; each exercise below is done for 30 seconds with no rests/recoveries)
- 1/2 squats (hold DBs at shoulders, lower to bottom of squat but only raise halfway) (10# DBs)
- Push press (double arm overhead press, palms facing ears, bend knees when DBs are at shoulders and straighten legs, using the power from the lower body to assist in pushing your DBs overhead) (10# DBs)
- Squat to press (10# DBs)
For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
