Exercising doesn’t have to be difficult. Yes, a full week training program consisting of various chest exercises, back exercises, and leg exercises can eventually give you the results you are looking for, along with proper diet, but it comes at the cost of a lot of time.
This is where performing several simpler exercises at once for a specific period of time can be helpful. They don’t require a huge investment and can (usually) be completed anywhere you happen to be.
A perfect example of one of these workouts has come courtesy of Bill Maeda, personal trainer and owner of FitPro Hawaii. Bill has become something of a TikTok star, posting regular videos of his workouts that are easy to follow but incredibly effective. One of his latest shows him performing three moves while holding a pair of lightweight dumbbells, which he says will “bomb his core while improving balance, agility and cardio in one short workout.”
The three moves included in Bill’s workout are a swing lunge, a narrow stance squat, and an overhead press, and when combined together, they make a great combo. Here’s how to do them:
- Swing lunge: A swing lunge is similar to a reverse lunge, however instead of simply putting one foot behind you and keeping the dumbbells at your sides to perform a reverse lunge, there is a different movement pattern. Instead, you want to hold the dumbbells in front of you at shoulder height and swing to your sides and behind you as you perform the reverse lunge. The final position should be down in a full lunge position with the dumbbells behind you and just above your calves. Start with the dumbbells held in a supine grip in front of you, and then throughout the movement, rotate your wrists to hold them in a neutral grip (palms facing in).
- When you return to the starting position after completing a side lunge, hold the dumbbells in a supine grip at shoulder height and perform a narrow stance squat. Your feet should be in a natural standing position (in line with your shoulders). Squat down, bracing your core before you squat (tucking your pelvis in can help maintain stability), and make sure your knees don’t go over your toes.
- As you return to a standing position from the squat, push the dumbbells up over your head and continue to hold them in an underhand grip. Make sure you don’t overstretch your elbows.
- Once you’ve completed these three moves, go through them again, only this time, perform the swing lunge on the opposite side of your body. Throughout the duration of the exercises, keep your eyes fixed on an object in front of you.
Bill posted a follow up video to answer how many sets and reps you should be doing as many users were asking. He says that he has a “different perspective on this one” and adds “first, you need to make sure you can perform each part of this exercise without weights before you fully chain them.”
“That in itself could be multiple workouts, but combining the moves becomes a skill.”
“When learning a new skill like driving, there are too many variables at play that break down into sets or reps. Treat this exercise similarly, as a skill that cannot be learned under the limits of fatigue or time limits. By then, you will know what is appropriate to program for yourself.”
Essentially, practice training using only your body weight to achieve technique so you can move fluidly from one movement to the next. From here you can start adding weight, but as Bill says at the beginning, you only need to use light weights (Bill uses 15lb dumbbells for reference).
This is something that fitness trainer Paul Sklar has encouraged himself, stating, “If you have the right mind-muscle connectionno matter how much weight you use,”
“Get the most out of any exercise you do, because each one can work a lot more than you think.”
Try Bill’s three-move dumbbell workout next time you’re at the gym, or have some free time at home and not only will you get an incredible burn, but it could help you strengthen your entire body.
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