![\"Independent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1790933650_353_Independent+Membership+White.png\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.<\/p>\n
Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? Strength training is brilliant for ageing well \u2013 articles on nearly every corner of the internet (including this corner<\/a>) stress this point. It strengthens your body, bones and joints, improves heart health<\/a> and helps combat age-related losses in muscle and mobility. And there are ways to enjoy all of these benefits in less time.<\/p>\n If they box smart, most people can enjoy all the perks they\u2019re after from lifting weights with just a couple of 20-minute sessions<\/a> per week.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever we talk about working out, people assume that, to get the benefits, you have to spend hours and hours in the gym<\/a>,\u201d says Dr Milo Wolf, a strength training<\/a> specialist, fitness coach and founder of training app MyoAdapt<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn reality, you don\u2019t need to spend that much time training to see results. And if you employ certain strategies, you can get away with as little as half an hour to an hour in the gym each week and still see really solid progress.\u201d<\/p>\n The time-savvy workout below uses several of these strategies to deliver plenty of perks with just a couple of dumbbells.<\/p>\n The 20-minute full-body dumbbell workout for building strength at home<\/p>\n Superset 1<\/p>\n Exercise 1A: Dumbbell bent-over row<\/a> 2×10 (or a challenging number of repetitions, depending on the weight of the dumbbells you have available)<\/p>\n Exercise 1B: Dumbbell walking lunge<\/a> 2×10 on each leg (or a challenging number of repetitions)<\/p>\n Rest: one minute<\/p>\n Immediately after your final set of dumbbell walking lunges, drop one dumbbell and complete as many dumbbell goblet walking lunges<\/a> as you can. Immediately after this, drop the remaining dumbbell and complete as many unweighted walking lunges as possible, then rest before superset two.<\/p>\n Superset 2<\/p>\n Exercise 2A: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift<\/a> 2×10 (or a challenging number of repetitions)<\/p>\n Exercise 2B: Press-up 2×10 (or a challenging number of repetitions)<\/p>\n Rest: one minute<\/p>\n Immediately after your final set of press-ups, complete as many kneeling press-ups as you can. Immediately after this, place your hands on a sturdy elevated surface and complete as many hands-elevated press-ups as possible.<\/p>\n The higher your hands, the easier press-ups become. You can also start with hands-elevated press-ups, then move to a slightly higher surface with each drop set. For example, switching from a chair to a table to a kitchen counter.<\/p>\n This workout works every major muscle group, and should provide your body with the stimulus it needs to become considerably fitter and stronger in just 20 minutes.<\/p>\n Read more: Expert coach shares five kettlebell workouts to get you in \u2018the shape of your life\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Techniques for more time-efficient strength training<\/p>\n
\n Log in<\/a>\n <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AdobeStock_417863469.jpeg\")
A couple of 20-minute dumbbell workouts each week can transform your health and fitness, according to muscle expert Dr Brad Schoenfeld (Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com)<\/p>\n