One dumbbell and five exercises to build full-body functional strength

ActiveOne dumbbell and five exercises to build full-body functional strengthIt’ll take you less than 20 minutes and improves stability tooWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

It’ll take you less than 20 minutes and improves stability too

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Getty)

Woman doing a dumbbell curl in the gym

(Image credit: Getty)

Just because someone looks muscly, doesn’t mean they’re strong, and just because someone is strong, doesn’t mean they can perform every day movements with ease. This is where functional fitness comes in – it looks to build strength across your entire body, while incorporating movements that are transferable to everyday activities. If you haven’t given it a go yet, then this workout is perfect for dipping your toe in the water to achieve a stronger, healthier body and all you need is one dumbbell (so take a look at ourdumbbell guide).

This workout particularly focuses on movements that help build up our core strength so that we have more stability. Why? Because a strong core is pretty much connected to everything we do. It helps us have better balance, posture, reduces the likelihood of injuries and back pain. If it’s notjustyour core you want to target though, don’t worry, as you’ve got upper and lower body exercises too.

You’ll have five exercises to complete during this workout and you’ll be doing each one for 40 seconds with a 20 second rest in between. Once you’ve finished all five, you’ll then have a 60 second before starting the workout again. You want to aim to complete it three times. Make sure you’re wearing a good pair ofworkout shoes, to help create a stable base and support you through the movements. A couple of moves are also floor-based, so grab yourself anexercise/yoga mattoo, get ready, as here’s what you’ve got to do:

It’s best to opt for a light to medium dumbbell, you want something that will challenge you, but that you’re able to complete your reps with. The purpose of the dumbbell is to add some extra resistance to the exercises and fire up your core more, not to make the workout impossible to complete. If you don’t own a pair of dumbbells, then just buy an adjustable dumbbell instead, then you’ll be able to easily choose the weight to suit you. If you enjoyed this workout, then we’ve got another greatthree-move functional fitness workout that uses no equipmentand will build strength, as well as stamina.

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