Welcome to the Hard and Effective 30 min Bodybuilding Workout.
Just like you can guess from the title, the following training session is combining traditional bodybuilding work with some conditioning as a finisher.
What can you expect from this training session?
- The complete duration is around 60min including a proper warm-up and cool-down.
- You will work your upper & lower body and finish off with a full-body conditioning session.
- This session is ideal if you are short on time and want to get the most work done in a little time.
Let’s get to the workout.
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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:
Hard and Effective 30 min Bodybuilding Workout
Part A) Lower Body
3 x 8 close stance back squat
100 x Banded Good Mornings
3 x 10 Single Leg Box Step Ups
(click on the links for movement demonstration)
Part B) Upper Body
3 x 12 Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
1 x max Dumbbell Bench Press
2 x max Banded Triceps Extensions
(click on the links for movement demonstration)
Part C) Conditioning
5 min AMRAP of:
10 x Kettlebell Snatch
14 x Burpees
—2 min break—
4 min AMRAP of:
6 Kettlebell Snatch
10 Burpees
—2 min break-
3 min AMRAP of:
2 Kettlebell Snatch
6 Burpees
(click on the links for movement demonstration)
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Enjoyed the workout? Pin it.
How to approach it?
For the bodybuilding part:
Choose a weight that makes the exercises challenging but does not leave you gasping for air.
You should not go to muscle failure but have 2 to 3 reps left in the tank.
For the max effort – it is an all-out effort, nothing more to say.
Just go for it.
For the conditioning part:
Push for a good pace from the beginning.
There is no need to “hold back” because you have 2min breaks in between the AMRAPs.
Trust your fitness that you will recover and push the pace.
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How to scale it?
In case you need to adjust the movement because of for example an injury, this is what I would suggest to you:
- Close stance back squat: if you are struggling with mobility, go for the dumbbell front squat or the regular dumbbell goblet squat
- Banded Good Mornings: you can opt for the bodyweight good mornings
- Single-Leg Box Step-Ups: a good alternative would be the dumbbell split squat or dumbbell lunges
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: if you struggle with the dumbbell weight, you can do banded bend-over-row
- Dumbbell Bench Press: a good alternative can be the dumbbell floor press or banded push-ups
- Banded Triceps Extensions: try different band resistance to find the right fit for you
- Kettlebell Snatch: if the kettlebell snatch is still too much to do, switch over to the dumbbell clean and jerk or dumbbell clean and press – breaking up the movement into two parts makes it easier to control and have stability (you can do the same with a kettlebell)
- Burpees: a good alternative is doing the “no push-up” burpee
(click on the links for movement demonstration)
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Cooldown
After a long workout like that make sure to have a proper cool-down to avoid injuries & give your body time to recover:
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Happy Sweating!