If you’re looking to build muscle, burn fats, and improve cardiovascular fitness simultaneously, you can perform high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with dumbbells.
Performing HIIT with dumbbells can help you enhance your aerobic and anaerobic fitness, promote weight loss, build lean mass, and improve your body composition.
From easy to advanced, I’ve designed multiple dumbbell HIIT workout plans in this article.
Whether you are male or female, beginner or pro, high-intensity dumbbell training will help you improve your fitness.
How Do You Do HIIT with Dumbbells?
You can do a HIIT workout with dumbbells in the same way you do it without weights.
Whatever dumbbell exercises you perform, make sure you do them as fast as possible while maintaining the proper form.
However, carrying dumbbells will not allow you to do the exercises as fast as you would without weights.
But the weight you carry will help you build strength, burn calories, and develop muscles while improving endurance and agility.
The Best Dumbbell Exercises for High-Intensity Interval Training
A HIIT dumbbell workout routine can incorporate myriad exercises, such as dumbbell swings, push presses, burpees, power makes, surrenders, and shadow boxing.
You can save these high-intensity dumbbell exercises to create a workout routine for yourself.
| Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| DB Farmer Walk | Push Press | Dumbbell Burpee |
| Dumbbell Lunges | Squat to Toe Lifts | DB Man Makers |
| Goblet Squat | DB Step-up | DB Squat Swing |
| DB Side Bend | IYT Raises | Clean and Press |
| One-arm Snatch | Squat Jump | Lunge to Rotation |
| One-arm DB Swing | Russian Twist | Incline Plank Row |
| Seesaw Press | Shadow Boxing | Thruster |
| Plank Drag | Side Plank Hip Dip | Surrenders |
| Overhead Press | Kneeling H2L Chop | Deficit Push-ups |
15-Minute Full Body HIIT Dumbbell Workout Plan
This 15-minute dumbbell HIIT workout is for newbies who want to scale their endurance level and perform more intense workouts.
It includes three rounds of four minutes each with 90 seconds of break in between them.
Perform as many reps as possible in 30 seconds.
Round 1
- 30-second DB Farmer Walk, 30-sec rest
- 20 One-arm DB Swings (10 reps per arm), 20-sec rest
- 20 Dumbbell Lunges (10 reps per leg), 20-sec rest
- 20 Seesaw Presses (10 reps on each side)
- Take a 90-second break, then move to the next round.
Round 2
- 10-15 Goblet Squats, 30-second rest
- 20 DB Side Bend (10 reps on each side), 20-second rest
- 20 One-arm DB Snatches (10 reps per side), 30-second rest
- 20 Plank Drag (10 reps per side)
- Rest for 90 seconds, then move to the third round.
Round 3
- 30-second DB Farmer Walk, 30-sec rest
- 15-20 Overhead Presses, 30-sec rest
- 15-20 Goblet Squats, 30-sec rest
- 20 Plank Drag (10 reps per side)
This workout will burn as many as 120 to 150 calories.
Doing this workout every morning will keep you active throughout the day.
20-Minute Dumbbell High-Intensity Interval Training
This 20-minute dumbbell HIIT helps increase endurance and strength and build lean mass.
Anyone can try this workout to improve their fitness level and body composition.
This routine includes three rounds, 6 minutes each, with a 1-minute rest in between them.
Round 1
- 30-second DB Farmer Walk, 30-sec rest
- 10 Squat Jump, 30-sec rest
- 20 One-arm DB Swings (10 reps per arm), 20-sec rest
- 30-second Russian Twist, 30-sec rest
- 20 Dumbbell Lunges (10 reps per leg), 20-sec rest
- 20 Seesaw Presses (10 reps on each side)
- Take a 1-minute break, then move to the second round.
Round 2
- 10-15 Goblet Squats, 30-second rest
- 30-second Shadow Boxing (Hook, Upper Cut, and Jab), 30-second rest
- 20 DB Step-up (10 reps per side), 30-second rest
- 15-20 Push Presses, 30-second rest
- 20 Plank Drag (10 reps per side)
- 20 One-arm DB Snatches (10 reps per side), 30-second rest
- Rest for one minute, then move to the last round.
Round 3
- 30-second DB Farmer Walk, 30-sec rest
- 15-20 Overhead Presses, 30-sec rest
- 20 Half Kneeling Hight-to-Low Chop (10 reps per side)
- 15-20 Goblet Squats, 30-second rest
- 20 Plank Drag (10 reps per side)
- 20 Side Plank Hip Taps (10 reps on each side)
This 20-minute workout will torch 250-300 calories.
You can follow this workout for four to five times a week to achieve the best results.
30-Minute Dumbbell HIIT Program to Burn Fat and Build Pure Mass
You can challenge your endurance and enhance your athletic fitness with this 30-minute full-body dumbbell high-intensity workout.
This workout is for those who have been working out for a while and enjoy training at high intensity.
Performing this 30-minute interval training strengthens and tones muscles, improves cardiovascular health, and annihilates as many as 400 calories.
I’ve divided the half-hour workout into four rounds of six minutes with two minutes of rest in between them.
Each round includes six exercises, each lasting one minute (including the rest time).
Round 1
- 30-second DB Farmer Walk, 30-second rest
- 10 Squat Jack, 30-second rest
- 20 One-arm DB Swings (10 reps per arm), 30-second rest
- 20 Lunge to Rotation (10 reps per side), 30-second rest
- 10-15 Dumbbell Thrusters, 30-second rest
- 15-20 Deficit Push-ups
- Rest for 2 minutes and prepare for the second round.
Round 2
- 10-12 Clean and Press, 30-second rest
- 30-second Shadow Boxing Punches, 30-second rest
- 20 Squat Jumps, 30-second rest
- 10-12 Push Presses, 30-second rest
- 20 Plank Drags (10 per side), 30-second rest
- 20 Side Plank Hip Taps (10 per side)
- Rest for 2 minutes, then move to the third round.
Round 3
- 30-second DB Farmer Walk, 30-sec rest
- 20 One-arm DB Snatches (10 per side), 30-sec rest
- 15-20 Front Squats, 30-second rest
- 20 Incline Plank Row (10 reps per side)
- 20 Half Kneeling Hight-to-Low Chop (10 reps per side)
- 20 Plank Drags (10 reps per side)
- Let your breath return to normal, and get ready for the last round.
Round 4
- 8-10 Surrenders, 30-second rest
- 10-12 Deficit Push-ups, 30-second rest
- 20 One-arm DB Swings (10 reps per arm), 20-second rest
- 10-12 Dumbbell Thrusters, 30-second rest
- 20 Lunge to Rotation (10 per side), 20-second rest
- 20 Seesaw Presses (10 reps per arm)
Spent one minute on each exercise.
You can follow this workout three times a week.
Advanced 45-Minute HIIT Workout with Dumbbells
This 45-minute high-intensity dumbbell workout is for athletes who want to improve their athleticism.
It is divided into four rounds, and each round will take ten minutes to complete.
Here’s how you can divide the 45-minute workout.
- Round 1: 10 minutes, 1-minute break
- Round 2: 10 minutes, 2-minute break
- Round 1: 10 minutes, 2-minute break
- Round 4: 10 minutes
- How to perform each exercise: Complete as many reps as possible in 20 to 30 seconds and walk for 30 to 40 seconds.
Here are all the exercises:
| Round 1 | Round 2 |
|---|---|
| Squat Jump | Single-arm Swing |
| Push Press | Seesaw Press |
| DL to Upright Row | Surrenders |
| Shadow Boxing | Lunges to Rotation |
| Squat Swing | Plank Dumbbell Drag |
| Dumbbell IYT Raises | 1-Arm DB Rowing |
| DB Step-up | Kneeling H2L Chop |
| Dumbbell Man Maker | Sumo Cossack Squat |
| Dumbbell Crunches | Frog Pumps |
| Round 3 | Round 4 |
|---|---|
| Single-arm Swing | Surrenders |
| Pop Squat | Single-arm Snatches |
| Push Press | Sumo Cossack Squat |
| Man Makers | Frog Pumps |
| Surrenders | Plank Dumbbell Drag |
| IYT Raises | Clean and Press |
| Lunges to Rotation | 1-Arm DB Rowing |
| DB Shadow Boxing | Russian Twist |
| Dumbbell Crunches | Floor Press |
Doing this workout four times a week will help you achieve a strong and defined physique, promote cardiovascular fitness, and improve athleticism.
Download The Dumbbell HIIT Routine PDF
You can download the PDF of the dumbbell HIIT workout plan for future use.
