Chris Pratt has played everything from Marvel superheroes to Navy SEALs, so it’s fair to assume he knows his way around a gym.
His latest Instagram post features a deceptively simple full-body dumbbell complex built around just five exercises.
My first thought?
That doesn’t look too bad.
Five reps of each exercise. Five rounds. One minute’s rest between rounds. How hard could it be?
Chris Pratt’s Full-Body Dumbbell Circuit
Complete 5 rounds. Rest 1 min between rounds.
Isaac Williams
MH’s Site Editor, Isaac, struggles through Pratt’s five-round circuit
Is it Any Good?
Looking at the whiteboard, I made the mistake of focusing on the rep count.
Five reps? That’s nothing.
Then I picked up a pair of 22.5kg dumbbells.
The first exercise kept the illusion going.
Deadlifts: ‘Piece of piss.’
And the next.
Deficit Push-Ups: ‘Five reps? Are you alright, Chris Pratt? Maybe I should be in Jurassic World.’
The clean to press began my descent back to Earth.
Clean to Press: ‘Okay… getting harder but still manageable. I’ll take a supporting role.’
By the squats, my breathing had noticeably picked up.
Squats: ‘Things have escalated quickly.’
Then came the devil’s press.
Devil’s Press: ‘I think one round will do me here.’
One round with the 22.5s, anyway.
I looked around sheepishly, bowed my head and re-racked my dumbbells – picking up the 20kgs instead.
On reflection, I made two mistakes. I went too heavy and, because of that, I went out too hard. According to his Instagram, Pratt completed all five rounds in 13 minutes 54 seconds. We don’t know what weight he used, but my final time was a more leisurely 15 minutes-ish, helped along by increasingly generous rest breaks between rounds.
I was surprised how quickly shoulder fatigue crept in – and how much I was blowing.
Afterwards, MH’s Fitness Director Andrew Tracey had a simple explanation for why it felt harder than it looked (beyond my sub-par fitness levels).
‘It’s a lot of time to have dumbbells in your hands,’ he said, ‘and lots of blood shunting, or peripheral heart action. Basically, it’s switching from upper- to lower-body movements so the heart has to work harder to rapidly redirect blood flow.’
As I found out, that makes it tricky for one area settle into a rhythm. The result is a circuit that feels disproportionately taxing for the amount of work you’re actually doing
The verdict? This is a ‘fun’* full-body test (*of the Type 2 variety). On paper it looks simple. In reality, it gives your shoulders, grip, legs and lungs a very solid workout that can be squeezed into even the tightest of lunch breaks.
Isaac Williams is Site Editor for both Women’s Health UK and Men’s Health UK, guiding and supporting the content teams to create content across all platforms. Isaac’s love of health and fitness began at Loughborough University, where he graduated with a History and English degree in 2014. His first job was at Men’s Running magazine, where he progressed from Staff Writer to Editor. Among his highlights of those four years include completing a 24-hour track race (never again), just about finishing a multi-day ultramarathon in the Azores, and chugging his way around a ‘beer mile’. Isaac ventured into the world of freelance journalism in 2018, interviewing some of the biggest names in sport – like Anthony Joshua and Ben Stokes – and writing features for the likes of The Guardian, Red Bull, ShortList and BBC Countryfile. He was also a regular contributor to an adventure series called ‘The Man Who’: speaking to some of the world’s most extreme explorers from the wilds of Caffè Nero. In late-2019, Isaac became Editor of Men’s Fitness UK. In his five years there, Isaac was responsible for editing the monthly magazine and managing website content, ultimately helping the brand transition to a ‘digital-first’ approach. He joined Hearst UK as Multiplatform Editor in December 2024, where he manages day-to-day digital output, edits content and writes articles on all things health and fitness. When he’s not hammering at his keyboard, Isaac enjoys exercise and trying – unsuccessfully, so far – to teach his baby son to kick a football. You can follow Isaac on Instagram @isaacw1993.