Distinct Dumbbell HIIT Workout – Full Body is Day 40 in Caroline Girvan‘s EPIC Endgame program. This workout is similar to Caroline’s Day 20 Dominant Dumbbell Full Body HIIT. Both are cardio workouts that use light dumbbells to increase the intensity. And this workout was intense! I was definitely in my cardio zone throughout. You cannot lift heavy dumbbells because of the speed Caroline does the moves. Sure, you can do the moves slower, but then you are missing the point of the workout–to elevate your heart rate. This is a cardio workout, not a strength workout. However, ss the title indicates, this workout makes use of lots of full body compound moves (done fast!), so your entire body gets worked. My shoulders were fatigued by the end of this workout, especially since the finisher was 100 reps of a single arm snatch! I burned 300 calories in the course of this workout. I ended with Caroline’s Unwind 20 Minute Full Body Stretch Routine.
All of the exercises in this workout are done interval style: 30 seconds of work followed by 15 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 the next exercise. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage. If a move has impact, Caroline shows a low impact modification.
Distinct Dumbbell HIIT Workout – Full Body is 34:12 minutes; 1:20 minute intro, no warm up and 2 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells and fitness mat. Caroline is using 4kg/8.8 pound dumbbells. I used 15, 8 and 5 pound dumbbells.
- Uneven squat to rotate press (holding one DB in one hand, squat w/ DB at shoulder and when you stand, rotate torso to side while also punching DB overhead to opposite side) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat #1 on other side of body
- Rear lunge pass through (step back/reverse lunges, pass one DB under thigh to other hand each time you are in lunge) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat #3 on other side of body
- Push press (overhead press, use lower body to assist) (8# DBs)
- Repeat #5
- Dumbbell burpee (stand holding DBs, squat and place DBs on mat, jump feet back to plank, lower body to mat and push back up to plank, jump feet back into DBs, stand and do a double arm kettlebell swing with the DBs, swinging DBs from between legs to overhead) (8# DBs)
- Repeat #7
- Forward and back lunge (holding DBs at shoulders, step forward into forward lunge then directly into reverse lunge with the same leg–pendulum lunge) (8# DBs)
- Repeat #9 on other side of body
- Repeat #1 & 2
- Curtsy to lunge (holding one DB at same side shoulder as working leg, alternate one curtsy lunge w/ one reverse lunge, leg remains behind you the entire time) (one 15# DB)
- Repeat #12 on other side of body
- Frontal then lateral raise (alternate one double arm front raise with one double arm side raise) (5# DBs)
- Repeat #14
- Curtsy to squat (alternate one curtsy lunge w/ one squat, holding one DB at same side shoulder as working leg) (one 15# DB)
- Repeat #16 on other side of body
- Hover to kick thru (holding one DB in one hand while in hover/bear pose (on hands and toes, with knees bent and elevated a few inches off the floor), kick one leg under body, rotating torso and raising opposite hand w/ DB off floor, reaching DB to ceiling) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat on other side of body
- Repeat #1 & 2
- V sit alternating pass through (sit on mat in V sit (torso leaned back, legs raised off mat, knees bent), bicycle legs while passing one DB to other hand under thigh when knee pulls into chest) (one 5# DB)
- Repeat #21
- Russian twist (holding one DB in both hands, lean torso back and raise legs off floor, rotate DB hip to hip) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat #23
- Hollow to one side pass thru (lay on back with shoulders and legs elevated, do a V sit but only pull one knee into body, pass one DB under leg to opposite hand when pulling knee in) (one 5# DB)
- Repeat #25 on other side of body
- Stagger squat to Arnold press (single leg squat w/ back/non-working leg in kickstand, hold one DB in same side hand as working leg, squat w/ DB at shoulder, palm facing you, when you stand do an Arnold press, pushing DB overhead while rotating DB so palm faces in front of you) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat #27 on other side of body
- Repeat #1 & 2
- Clean to squat (hold one DB in one hand, squat and when you stand, swing DB to shoulder bicep curl style) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat #30 on other side of body
- Push up to side plank (holding one DB in one hand, do one push up then rotate body into side plank, reaching DB to ceiling) (one 8# DB)
- Repeat #32 on other side of body
Finisher: (one 8# DB)
- Single arm snatch, 25 reps (squat, reaching DB toward floor, as you stand, pull DB up upright row fashion until you get to shoulder level then flip elbow so weight of DB is in palm and do an overhead press)
- Repeat #2 on other side of body
- Repeat # 1 & 2
For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
