Ask Arnold Schwarzenegger how much time does it take to get fit and his answer will likely surprise you.
“The answer is much less than you think,” he writes in a downloadable PDF of 15-minute workouts, shared to Arnold’s Pump Club subscribers. “A consistent routine can deliver impressive results, even if the sessions are short. A short training routine every day will get you better results than doing monster workouts once a month.”
I decided to put one of the sessions to the test—and was almost bowled over with the results.
How to do Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature two-dumbbell workout
The workout is made up of seven exercises, designed to target all the major muscle groups—glutes, hamstrings, quads, core, chest, back, shoulders and arms.
Set a timer for 15 minutes, then perform 10 reps of each exercise (take 10 steps on each leg for the farmer’s walk), resting as little as possible. Once you’ve completed all seven exercises, head back to the start and go again. Make a note of how many rounds you complete after the timer hits zero.
Pick a weight you can press overhead for 10 reps. “It might feel easy on the other exercises, but that’s OK,” the accompanying text notes.
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Form guides
1. Dumbbell bent-over row
- Stand holding dumbbells by your sides with your feet hip-width apart, and hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back flat and letting your arms hang down.
- Engage your core and pull the weights to your ribs.
- Pause, then lower slowly.
2. Dumbbell lunge
- Holding the weights by your sides, step forward and bend both knees to lower until your rear knee gently taps the floor.
- Push back to the start through your front foot and repeat on the other side.
3. Dumbbell overhead press
- Hold the weights by your shoulders, palms facing forward, elbows pointing out to the sides.
- Engage your core and glutes and press the weights straight up.
- Lower under control and repeat.
4. Dumbbell Romanian deadlift
- Hold the weights in front of your thighs with palms facing you.
- Hinge at the hips, pushing your butt back to lower the weights, keeping your back flat throughout.
- Drive your hips forward to stand.
5. Dumbbell overhead farmer’s walk
- Press the weights straight overhead, keeping your biceps close to your ears.
- Maintain a strong engagement of your glutes and core as you walk forward, taking 10 steps on each leg.
- Keep looking forward throughout, walking in a figure of eight if space is tight.
6. Dumbbell squat
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hold dumbbells by your shoulders.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower, keeping your chest facing forward and your heels on the floor.
- Push through your heels to stand, keep your knees wide.
7. Dumbbell push-up
- Place the dumbbells on the floor shoulder-width apart and hold the handles with arms extended.
- Extend your legs and get on to your toes so your body is in a straight line from head to heels.
- Keeping your core engaged, bend your elbows to lower your chest between the weights.
- Lower as far as you can comfortably, then push up to the start.
My verdict on Arnie’s two-dumbbell workout
This is probably not how Schwarzenegger actually trained
At least, probably not in his pomp. Training like this is not going to make your muscles blow up overnight, but for the time-poor it delivers.
I quickly realized that the exercise selection ensures multiple muscles work in unison with every rep. The result is more muscle fibers recruited, a greater cardio challenge, and improved strength and stamina.
I’ll keep doing it
As with any AMRAP workout (AMRAP stands for as many rounds, or reps, as possible) there’s always room for improvement. You can always try to complete one more round, or just one more rep, while using the same weights. That means the workout is evergreen—you can come back to it and try to beat your best, or use it as a barometer of progress.
The first time I gave it a spin, I managed two full rounds before I ran out of time. The second time, knowing what to expect, I was able to push a bit harder and almost wrap up three rounds. Whatever your score, use it as a benchmark, then try to beat it next time.
Of course, faster isn’t always better. You can also switch the stimulus of the workout by slowing down the tempo to make it a greater muscle-building challenge.
Don’t forget the warm-up and cool-down
Conan might be able to grab a pair of weights and hurl them around the living room without consequence, but if you want to keep fit and injury-free it’s best to warm up thoroughly before kicking off this workout.
I found the best way to do that for this workout was to replicate several of the moves using just my bodyweight or one dumbbell instead of two. I spent 30-60 seconds on each exercise, moving slowly and deliberately, allowing the muscles to wake up.
Then I took the first round of the workout relatively easy, before moving through the gears on rounds two and three. Once complete, I also spent a few minutes gently stretching the major muscles worked so that I didn’t tighten up later in the day. I can’t say for certain, but I’d like to think Arnie would approve.
