Welcome to the 20 min dumbbell CrossFit workout.
For this training session, you will need one pair of dumbbells, nothing more.
You might wonder why I am such a big fan of dumbbell training.
If you wondering why I am so fond of dumbbells as a training tool, make sure to give the following article a read which goes in-depth on the benefits of dumbbell training and gives you some guidance on what type of dumbbells to use.
What can you expect from this workout:
- The whole duration of this training session is between 30 to 35min depending on how long you decide to warm up and cool down. (two variations of warm-ups are below)
- You will be performing two dumbbell exercises that will engage your whole body.
- Suggestions for how to approach the workouts and scaling options are provided down below.
Let’s get to the workout.
Warm-Up
Before we start, I want to remind you to never skip your warm-up!
It’s just as important as your actual workout.
Just to give you a few important facts on why you should warm up:
- Increases blood flow
- Reduces the chance of injury
- Increases range of motion
- Improves performance
I could go on and keep rambling about the importance of warming up but I already did that in a different article. (click below to learn more)
If you feel a little more stiffness in your body after a long day of work, use this warm-up routine:
20 min Dumbbell CrossFit Workout
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps, for the time of:
Dumbbell Burpee
Dumbbell Front Squat
(Click on the link to see a movement demonstration)
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How to approach it?
This workout is a little bit tricky because you are doing a reverse ladder.
Starting with 10 reps of both exercises and going down to 9, 8, 7, and so on.
The toughest part will be to complete the first 3 to 4 sets before it starts to feel “easier”.
I would suggest you two approaches:
- For beginner/intermediate:
- Pace yourself from the beginning and go in with a plan for how you want to attack this workout.
- The plan should include how you want to split the number of reps.
- For example for the sets of 10, you can go for either two sets of 6/4 reps or for 3 sets of 4/3/3. Whatever feels better for you and keeps you moving.
- Keep your breaks between the sets short and focus on maintaining good momentum.
- For advanced:
- The goal for advanced athletes (with good conditioning) is to finish each set of reps unbroken.
- Limit the duration of your breaks, in case you need any.
- Ideally, you are moving from one exercise to another without breaking at all.
- Push the pace and see how fast you can finish this workout.
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How to scale?
Before scaling the movement, always reduce the number of reps first if it’s too much volume for you.
In case you need to adjust the movement because of for example an injury, this is what I would suggest to you:
- Dumbbell Burpee: a good alternative is doing the regular burpee or the “no-push-up” burpee
- Dumbbell Front Squat: you can opt for a dumbbell goblet squat to reduce the load on your upper back
(Click on the link to see a movement demonstration)
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Cooldown
After a long workout like that make sure to have a proper cool-down to avoid injuries and give your body time to recover:
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