15-Minute Whole Body Workout to Firm Up Your Body and Boost Your Metabolism

As you may know, there are two things I look for when I pick my workouts:

  1. Circuit style exercises that give you a chance to get to know the moves and challenge yourself harder each time you try.
  2. Exercises that work more than one part of your body at once.

This whole body workout fits the bill and more. It will also help boost your metabolism as your firm up your body. Muscles burn more fat than, well, fat! So, it’s time to build some muscle baby! Don’t worry, the goal is not to have you look like a body builder. We just want to give your body some nice definition, which will help improve your strength, endurance, and improve your self confidence.

How to Use Your Whole Body Workouts to Firm Up Your Body and Boost Your Metabolism

Some of the moves in my whole body workout will require you to use dumbbells. Dumbbells are really a must when you are looking to give your muscles some definition. I have been experimenting with yoga-style workouts and getting some great results, so one could argue to it is possible to increase muscle mass exclusively through bodyweight training. I see two problems with that: it’s harder to keep pushing yourself when you are using a higher number of reps to exhaust your muscles (which is necessary with bodyweight training) AND muscle gain is commonly believed to be more effectively obtained through lower reps using higher weights.

Higher Rep Whole Body Workouts

Barre and yoga style whole body workouts are super popular and they can be very effective. As someone who has been working out at least 5 times a week for over 7 years, I can tell you that as a beginner (actually not just as a beginner), I found that the higher rep style workouts didn’t give me the same visible results at first. However, over the last month, I have been able to see results through body weight exercises alone and I think it’s because I have finally been able to achieve a certain level of strength and endurance that allows me to perform the number of reps necessary to see a real difference. This may not be true for you. You may already have great stamina and endurance, but I think for most of you, including dumbbells in your workouts is a smart move.

Lower Reps and Sets to Gain Muscle Mass

Even as I was studying to get my NASM personal trainer certification, I was taught with great emphasis that a lower number of reps and sets using heavier weights was best to gain muscle mass. Just like pretty much everything else in the world of health and fitness, it turns out that this isn’t actually a consensus. New studies are finding that lifting relatively low weights for about 20-25 reps are just as efficient as lifting heavier weights for 8 to 12 reps. That’s why I think the issue with high reps may be more about not having enough endurance to perform the exercises correctly for enough reps.

Strength Training and Cardio All-In-One

Since I am all about saving time, one thing I love about using dumbells for a whole body workout is that you will notice it also gives you a nice cardio workout, Your heart will get pumping, believe me! So, not only this whole body workout will give your results faster, but it will help improve your cardiovascular endurance. You won’t have to perform as many reps, which means your workout will be shorter. You will save time by performing exercises that target your lower body and your upper body at once on top of giving you a nice cardio workout. We all love to save time, right?

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Best Quick Whole Body Workout Routine

My whole body workout is going to be quick and effective. Most of the exercises require dumbbells. I recommend you start with 5-10 lbs and test yourself. When you do bicep curls, is 10 lbs enough to feel that you cannot do another rep before you get to 12 reps? If so, that’s going to be a good weight you can use for my whole body workout routine. If not, try a heavier weight. This circuit routine includes 6 exercises and we will go through the routine twice, three times would be ideal.

Squat With Overhead Press

Lower into a squat, making sure your feet stay parallel and your weight is in your heels. When your hips are about the same level as your knees (or lower), lift your dumbbells overhead as you rise back up from your squat.

Curtsy Lunge With a Front Raise

Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart. Take a big step back with your right foot to the left. Bend your knees and lower your hips until your right thigh is parallel to the floor. Raise your arms in front of you as you are lowering and lower your arms as you are lifting out of the lunge position. Do the same thing bringing your left foot to the right. Repeat 12 times.

Front Lunge With a Side Raise

Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart. Take a step forward with your right foot. Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your right shin is vertical. Press into your right heel to drive your weight back up. Raise your arms to your side as you are lowering your body and bring them back down as you are getting out of the front lunge. Do the same thing using the left foot. Repeat 12 times on each side.

Reverse Lunge With Bicep Curls

Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart. Take a step backward with your right foot until your right shin and your left thigh are parallel to the floor. Press into your left heel to lift back up from your lunge. Lift your dumbbells up into your bicep curl as you are lowering into the lunge and lower your arms as you are lifting up from the lunge. Do the same thing using the left foot. Repeat 12 times on each side.

Pushups

This is one of the exercises that does not require dumbbells. Most likely, your body weight alone is plenty to give you enough resistance to not be able to do more than twelve. Do as many pushups as you can on your toes, get to your knees if you can’t make it to ten. We are aiming for twelve.

Side Plank With Leg Lift

I wanted to include this exercise because it’s another great whole body workout. Yes, it’s more about endurance, but keep it up as long as you can and you will be amazed at how much progress you can make. These types of exercises are the ones that have been making the biggest difference in my core strength and definition. I may decide to always include some in my workout routines.

Lie on your right side with legs extended and stacked from hip to feet. The elbow of your right arm should be directly under your shoulder. Lift up your left leg and bring it forward and back 12 times. Repeat on the left side.

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Quick 15-Minute Whole Body Workout Video