Going to a gym is awesome. No one is going to dispute that. Having a home gym with a decent amount of equipment is great too, but let’s be clear. It’s not necessary to have a great workout. As a matter of fact, all you need for this 30-minute floor workout is a pair of dumbbells and a floor.
Not convinced? That’s OK. Erik Bartell agrees, and he proves it every Tuesday and Thursday by providing workouts for followers of the M&F Instagram page. You can join him at 7 a.m. if you need an early session to get your day going.
In the meantime, he has offered this 30-minute floor workout for you to try right here. This workout came from one of those IG sessions, and you can give this one a go at your own convenience. You’ll see that the dumbbells and floor space will be plenty for you to sweat and get pumped up.
Follow along with the video on the post if you need to see how he is performing each exercise of if you feel the motivation will help you power through the session.
Erik Bartell’s 30-Minute Floor Workout (Warmup Phase)
Getting prepared is important when it comes to an intense session like this one. Bartell offers three movements here to help you prime the entire body for the work to come. Perform each of the movements for 30 seconds. Don’t worry about counting reps. After you complete all three movements, take a one-minute rest period to sip water, take some deep breaths, and get ready for the main event.
Dumbbell Reverse Lunge into High Knee: Take the dumbbells in each hand. Perform a reverse lunge with a deep stretch. When you bring your leg back up, throw a high knee forward. Return to the starting position, and repeat with the other leg. That is one rep. Take three seconds for each negative portion of every rep.
Goblet Squat: Hold a dumbbell in front of you with both hands. Squat down until your hips are lower than your knees. Go halfway up, back down, and return to a standing position. These are known as 1½ reps. Perform 10 reps like this for one set before resting.
Floor Press / Floor Flye Superset: Lie on the floor with both dumbbells. Elbows should be on the floor at a 45 degree angle from the body. Press up and lower back down.For the flyes, keep the elbows at a 45-degree bend. Lower the weights out to the sides until the upper arms touch the floor. Bring them back up until they are over your chest. Take three seconds to perform the negative portion of the reps for both exercises.
Split Squat Dumbbell Row / Dumbbell Shrug: Get down on one knee with a dumbbell in front of you for support. Take the other dumbbell in one arm, lean forward and row back. Do the same thing with the other side.Upon finishing, stand up with both dumbbells, hold them down to the sides, and perform shrugs. The shoulders should come straight up and back down. Don’t roll them forward or backward.
Dumbbell Skull Crusher / Kneeling Dumbbell Curl: Lie on the floor with weights pressed up to arms’ length. Bend the elbows and lower the dumbbells to the sides of your head or behind your head. Straighten the arms and flex the triceps while doing so. Keep the elbows in, don’t let them flare out.Once you finish, get up to your knees and hold the dumbbells to your sides at arms’ length. Perform 7 curls with one arm, then 7 with the other, and then 7 simultaneously for 14 reps total for each arm.
Erik Bartell’s 30-Minute Floor Workout (Ab Finisher)
Abs Finisher
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Rest
Reverse Crunch
1
25
0
Side Touches
1
25 (each side)
0
V ups
1
25
0
Shoulder Tap
1
25 (each side)
0
Exercise Details:
Reverse Crunch: Lie on the floor with your hands under your butt or your arms stretched behind your head. Your legs should be at a 90 degree angle with feet elevated. Contract the abs and lift the knees up. Control the descent to the starting position.
Side Touches: Position your body into a V-position. The upper body should be slightly elevated, and the legs should be straight with feet off the floor. Alternate tapping each side. Both sides equal one rep.
V-Ups: Maintain that V-position you had in the last exercise. Keep the arms stretched behind the head. Lift both the upper body and the lower body up as if you want them to touch. This will contract the abs. Lower yourself back to the starting position and repeat. “Getting into a rhythm with these makes it easier,” Bartell says.
Shoulder Taps: Get on your hands and feet as if you were in the top of a pushup position. Take your left hand and touch your right shoulder. Once the hand returns to the floor, repeat with the opposite hand to the opposite shoulder. This is one rep.
Erik Bartell’s 30-Minute Floor Workout (Cooldown Phase)
Deep Breathing – 30 seconds
Reverse Leg Raise Stretch – 30 seconds per side
Leg to Side Stretch – 30 seconds per side
Reverse Lunge Stretch – 30 seconds per side
Arm Circles – 5 forward, 5 reverse for both arms
The cooldown shouldn’t be ignored because it can help kickstart your recovery from the intensity of the previous half-hour of work. It can also help bring your heart rate back down. Perform these movements as long as you feel you need to. Once you complete all five, the workout is done.
