With all the errands and activities you need to pack into each day, you might think you don't have enough time to get any exercise in. But you can make some big fitness gains in just a short amount of time if you structure your workouts correctly.
If you're looking to maximize your workout time and increase your strength, stamina, muscular endurance and heart health in less time, then a full-body workout with compound exercises (moves that use more than one muscle group at a time) might be for you.
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Not only that, but they're also easy to fit into your day, they're an instant mood booster and they promote good general health.
This 20-minute workout will target your biceps, triceps, shoulders, core, glutes and legs. Using dumbbells will help build strength and using exercise sliders will help improve single-leg stability and core strength. The exercise sliders will also provide an unstable surface, meaning your muscles will undergo some serious time under tension (the amount of time a muscle is under strain) while doing these exercises.
Check out more of our 20-minute workouts here — we’ve got something for everyone.
How to Do This Workout
Do each exercise for 50 seconds with a 10-second break in between exercises. Rest for 1 minute once the first round of the sequence is complete before starting back at the top. Perform the second round on the opposite side of your body you worked in the first round. This workout will take around 20 minutes.
Things You'll Need
A set of dumbbells
A set of exercise sliders
An exercise mat is optional, but recommended
1. Exercise Slider Sprawl
- Start standing with an exercise slider underneath each foot, with your feet hip-width apart.
- Reach down and put your hands on the floor, then slide your feet out to high plank position with your wrists under your shoulders and your core engaged so your body forms a straight line from heels to ankles.
- Tuck your knees into your chest to slide your feet toward your hands.
- Stand up and repeat.
2. Dumbbell Squat With Biceps Curl
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees slightly, engage your core and maintain good upright posture.
- Position your arms so that your palms are facing forward. Hold onto the dumbbells, but don't grip them so tightly that you feel strain in your forearms.
- Bending at the elbow, lift both dumbbells up toward your shoulders by flexing your bicep muscles. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your feet flat on the floor and your back straight, brace your core and push your hips back and down until your thighs are parallel to the ground (or as low as you can comfortably go).
- Pause here for a brief moment, then drive through your heels to stand back up.
- Lower the dumbbells the same way you raised them until your arms are fully extended in the same position you started in.
- Repeat.
3. Exercise Slider Lateral Lunge With Hammer Curl
- With an exercise slider underneath your right foot, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides (palms facing in).
- Root your left foot into the ground and slide your right foot out to the side.
- Bend your left knee, keeping it in line with your left foot, and sit your hips back like you're going to sit on a chair. Reach the dumbbells down toward the ground with your left foot in between your hands.
- Push off your left leg and return to standing.
- Keeping your elbows pinned to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height.
- Then, slowly lower the weights back down with control.
- Repeat.
4. Exercise Slider Curtsy Lunge With Lateral Raise
- With an exercise slider underneath your right foot, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides (palms facing in).
- Put your weight onto your left leg and slide your right foot back and to the side.
- Bend both knees into a curtsy.
- Hold for a second before returning to the starting position.
- Keeping your core braced, raise the dumbbells out to your sides until they reach shoulder height.
- Lower the weights slowly to the starting position.
- Repeat.
5. Exercise Slider Reverse Lunge With Triceps Kickback
- With an exercise slider underneath your right foot, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides (palms facing in).
- Put your weight onto your left leg and slide your right foot back behind your body while simultaneously bending your left knee and lowering your hips. Keep your torso straight.
- Stop when your left knee is at a 90-degree angle and your left thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Pause slightly and press into your left heel, squeezing your glutes to stand up into a quarter-squat position.
- Pretending your elbows are glued to your body, extend your arms straight back in a controlled movement and squeeze the muscles at the top.
- Slowly lower your arms back to starting position.
- Repeat.
6. Exercise Slider Side Plank With Knee Drive
- Start lying on your right side.
- Press your right forearm into the floor and press up into a side plank with your left foot out in front of you and an exercise slider underneath your right foot behind you. Rest your left hand behind your head.
- Slide the slider with your right foot in front of you, tucking your knee in toward your chest. Bring your left elbow in to meet your right knee in the middle.
- Hold for a second and return to the starting position.
- Repeat.
7. Kneeling Exercise Slider Triceps Reach
- Lie face down with your hands on the floor on top of two exercise sliders and your elbows directly beneath your shoulders.
- Bend your knees so your feet are slightly off the ground then press into your hands and rise up on your knees so that only your hands and knees touch the floor. Your body should hover a few inches off the floor in a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Draw your navel toward your spine and tighten your glutes.
- Look at the floor to keep your head in a neutral alignment, and breathe normally.
- Slide your right hand out as far as you can in front of you while bending your left elbow to perform a push-up.
- Return your right hand back to the starting position.
- Slide your left hand out as far as you can in front of you while bending your right elbow to perform a push-up.
- Repeat, alternating sides.
8. Sliding Forearm Plank to Pike
- Lie face down with your forearms on the floor and your elbows directly beneath your shoulders. Keep your feet flexed with the bottoms of your toes on the floor. The exercise sliders should be underneath both feet.
- Keep your forearms parallel to each other and don't clasp your hands in front of you. Doing so puts your shoulders in a potentially vulnerable position.
- Press into your forearms and rise up on your toes so that only your forearms and toes touch the floor. Your body should hover a few inches off the floor in a straight line from shoulders to feet.
- Draw your navel toward your spine and tighten your glutes.
- Look at the floor to keep your head in a neutral alignment, and breathe normally.
- Use your core to lift your hips up to the ceiling into an inverted "V" position.
- As your hips lift, let your head drop between your hands.
- Slowly lower back down to the starting forearm plank position.
- Repeat.
Rest 1 minute, then repeat the above sequence. For the exercises you did on one side of your body, do them on the opposite side the second time around.