FUEL Series 30 Min DUMBBELL CARDIO Workout – Giant Sets | Day 5

30 Min Dumbbell Cardio Workout – Giant Sets is Day 5 in Caroline Girvan‘s Fuel Series. Another tough and intense workout. That is clearly what the Fuel Series is all about. Getting your heart rate elevated while also giving you excellent and intense strength work. Caroline works your entire body while also getting your heart rate elevated. I went a little conservative on my weights due to the giant-set aspect of this workout. It still burned my muscles out!

This workout is made up of giant sets, which is 4 exercises done back to back without any rest. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds. Between each giant set you get 30 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the upper right hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recovery. During the recovery Caroline previews the next giant set. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage. This workout is done to music with plenty of visual cues as well as “dings” to keep you on track.

30 Min Dumbbell Cardio Workout – Giant Sets is 38:39 minutes; 2:50 minute intro, no warm up and 3 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a high step or chair and a fitness mat. Caroline is using 10kg/22 pound dumbbells and a 20 inch box. The weights listed below are what I used.

Giant Set 1:

1. Double arm bent over row (25# DBs)
2. Double arm bent over supine row (palms facing in front of you) (25# DBs)
3. Plank row to side plank (in straight arm plank, holding one DB in one hand, row DB to shoulder then rotate into side plank while continuing to lift the DB to ceiling) (one 10# DB)
4. Repeat #3 on other side of body
5. 30 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5

Giant Set 2:

1. Lunge x2 dumbbells (static/stationary lunge holding one DB in each hand) (20# DBs)
2. Lunge x1 dumbbell (same as #1 except you are holding one DB in same side hand as front leg) (one 20# DB)
3. Lunge to squat (do one squat then step back into reverse lunge, hold one DB in same side hand as front leg) (one 20# DB)
4. Repeat #3 but body weight only/no DBs
5. 30 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 3:

1. Hammer press (hold one DB in both hands and do an overhead shoulder press) (one 25# DB)
2. Frontal raise (still holding one DB in both hands, do a straight arm front raise) (one 25# DB)
3. Standing diamond press (holding one DB in both hands at chest level (both hands are gripping the bar), push DB in front of you then bring it back to chest) (one 20# DB)
4. Decline push ups (push ups with feet on box/step/chair and hands on floor)
5. 30 seconds rest
6. Repeat #1-5

Giant Set 4:

1. Step into curtsy lunge (holding DBs at shoulders, step back into a cross-back/rear curtsy lunge) (20# DBs)
2. Static curtsy lunge (DBs still at shoulders, so a stationary curtsy lunge) (20# DBs)
3. Curtsy to squat (do one squat then step back into a rear curtsy/cross-back lunge, hold one DB at same side shoulder as front leg) (one 20# DB)
4. Repeat #3 body weight only/no DBs
5. 30 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 5:

1. Single arm snatch (stand with legs wide holding one DB in one hand, squat reaching DB to floor and as you stand, pull DB up upright row style, flipping wrist at top of row and pushing DB up into overhead press) (one 20# DB)
2. Single arm overhead shoulder press (arm is out to side goalpost style) (one 20# DB)
3. Clean to press (stand holding one DB in one hand, swing DB up to shoulder bicep curl style into an overhead shoulder press) (one 20# DB)
4. Uneven push up (push ups with one hand on DB)
5. 30 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 6:

1. Staggered squat (single leg squat holding DBs at shoulders, back leg is in kickstand) (20# DBs)
2. Reverse lunges (20# DBs)
3. Body weight reverse lunges
4. 1/2 rep step up (no DBs/keep one foot on box/step/chair, raise up onto box lifting back foot off floor, tap top of step/box/chair then lower foot back to floor)
5. 30 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Finisher: (each exercise is done for 20 seconds w/ no rests/recoveries)

1. Close squat (squat w/ legs close together, DBs are at shoulders) (25# DBs)
2. Regular squat (same as #1 but feet are further apart) (25# DBs)
3. Squat to press (squat w/ DBs at shoulders, at top of squat do an overhead press) (20# DBs)
4. Push press (overhead shoulder press using lower body to push DBs overhead explosively) (20# DBs)

For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.