30-Minute Power Session: My Favorite Strength Workout for Ultimate Gains

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is my favorite strength workout. This is a strength and cardio workout with weights incorporating both some dumbbells and kettlebells. You use whatever you have available to you. And this features eight of my favorite strength moves. That's all we got. Three sets. I'll give you some variations and of course I'm going to give you lots of different options as we go. Are you ready? Let's do it. Let's start just by getting our bodies warm. We're gonna keep this workout pretty short, so we're gonna keep this warm up short. Go ahead and roll through those shoulders. We are working with both dumbbells and kettlebells today. Probably a little bit more on the dumbbell side because we only have eight different moves. That's all we got. And listen, I have so many favorite moves, especially when it comes to strength. So these are just eight that I have narrowed down to get you a full body workout. Short and sweet, three rounds. My favorite would actually be no repeat. But I know a lot of you like the repetition and it gives us ways to keep it back to basics but also add on. So that's what we're getting with today. Go ahead and shift your weight side to side, reach up, stretch through the arms, open up the hips. I would love to hear from you after this workout if you liked this format, go ahead and take those arms out down and round it up because maybe I will do my favorite kettlebell and my favorite dumbbell. I've done my favorite cardio and your favorite cardio. So always fun to come up with different ways and really have to think, let's hold it here. Roll those shoulders about. What do I really love? I love all strength. I love all things when it comes to lifting and swinging, heavy things. But walk it in standing here, let's just do a little standing cat, cow rolling through your back here. But always fun to think if I could only pick a few. And we want a well rounded workout. We want all our major movement patterns and we want to get all our muscles. Go ahead and round it up right here. So a little squat and then hinge hands behind the heads. What would that look like? And this is what we've got today. So we are getting it done. You have options, of course, to be where you are today. That's what I always say. You do you, it's your workout. Our first round through that is our true back to basics. Even though a few things are going to be compound moves, quite A few, actually, because we're getting it done. You will have options to add on to up the intensity as we go. Go ahead and hold it here. Just open up those hips right here. If you want to take your hands all the way down, and then from here, extend up and down. You can have your hands on the ground or on the top of your leg. Just get that extension through the back of the legs. So you have options to up that intensity if that is right for you. Or just to keep it simple, go ahead and slowly roll it up. Let's tap our feet back right here. Open up the hips. Reach those arms to the ceiling. So you do you. This is your workout. Be where you are today. As I always say, I want you to be challenged, but challenged in a good for you, and that's going to look different for all of us. Go ahead and hold this here. Hip opener. And if you're able, drop it all the way down and you can do that world's greatest stretch. Reach through and up. I'm already thinking of some favorites I wish I could have put in here. But don't worry, we'll have lots more workouts coming your way. Go ahead and stand up out of that. Switch to that other side. Again, you can start here. Hip opener. Or drop it down, reach it through. We could have a whole series, right? My favorite power, my favorite mobility, all of it. Let me know in the comments. And from here, if you can step it back to that high plank. If that's not right for you, you can, of course, go down to the knees, but let's feel that core kicking in. A little forward and back. Little drop of the hips, side to side, and then if you want, you can press up to that down dog, get a little stretch in the back and flow through that to the plank. Or you can just take it from all fours, sit back, child's pose, and bring it forward. We're almost there. Here we go. And walk your hands back or walk your feet up slowly. Roll it up. All right, team, take it to the front tab and reach across. All right, we're gonna get through this quickly again. Eight moves is all we have. A couple of them are right and left. We'll start up top or work our way down to the mat. First two rounds, 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest. So that way we can have a minute. I can explain what's coming up next. You can switch equipment or weights if you need to. Last round is our lightning round, and we only have 30 seconds, and we will Just go for it. All right, so get excited. It's gonna move quickly, but we're gonna get it done. All right, team, so starting with our basic squat and press, I'm gonna go with a kettlebell here. You can probably even go a heavy kettlebell. We're gonna sit low in that squat. We're gonna come up, we're gonna press it here. Join me here. Grab that weight core. Engage. Here we go. Down and up. Now, if you'd rather have one dumbbell, you can have one dumbbell. We're starting with this. It's a compound movement or two dumbbells. Actually, either one. Any of those is fine. Starting with a compound movement, that's going to be high heart rate, right? Because then we'll slow it down on our next two moves with a kickstand deadlift into a row. And breathe. Sit low, drive it up. We have 10 seconds. The good news, with a lot of these being compound and moving fast, you shouldn't be burning out the muscles. One more and relax. All right, team, so this time, two dumbbells or one heavy kettlebell. We're gonna do a kickstand deadlift into a row and drive it up. I'm gonna start with a heavy kettlebell on the outside, but I may do dumbbells in my next round. Kickstand. One foot forward. Here we go. Hinge row and drive it up. So remember, it's a hinge. You're driving your hips to the back. Then at the bottom, you're pulling one or two of those weights up towards the hip. And breathe. Hinge. So that front leg is taking the weight. Your kickstand just gives you that extra support. And as you drive it up, stand up straight. Connect with the core, connect with the glutes and hamstrings. It's not a lunge, not a squat. It's a hinge, Right? Heavy kettlebell or dumbbell. Last one. Set it down. All right, we're gonna switch. Same thing. Other side. So again, drive those hips to the back. This is your kickstand motion. Push through that front heel at the bottom. We're going to do that row. I like to kind of turn into it if you have one weight. Otherwise, two weights we can go here. Let's do it in 3, 2, 1. Drive it up through this one. Slow and controlled again. That's why we're structuring these where high heart rate, compound movement, a little slower paced to really focus on all the way through the back of the body. So up through the calf, hamstring Glute, back, and shoulders. Yes, you can. There we go. Boom. 10 seconds. Then we're gonna grab two dumbbells, if you got them, and take it to a lunge and a curl. Last one. Set that down. We're gonna grab medium to heavy weights. I'm going with my tens. Let's start with the curtsy lunge. All right, we're gonna mix it up. That's not right for you. Just tap it back. But if you can, you're gonna get low in the curtsy lunge. Step in, bicep curl. You don't have to put them together. Although in that last round, we might. Here we go. Let's do it. Curtsy, step up and curl. So we're keeping it slow and controlled. In our lightning round, we're. We might make it a little more where we put them together, where we curl at the bottom. But for here, finish your squat, your lunge, finish your curl. Right, So a reminder that anytime we do these compound movements, you can always do them in a way that feels good for you. Maybe it's doing the lunge completely on its own, just like this, then stepping into it and then curling. Or maybe it looks more like this, where we get a little more power. Right, last one. Boom. All right, team, now we're taking it to the mat. Have those dumbbells close by. We're going to a mountain climber. If you want, you can do a standing climber. If that works for you, join me here. You can tap them in or you can run them in, but we got 40 seconds. Wrap that core, push up and through. Here we go. Now things to think about. My shoulders are right above my elbows, right above my wrist. I'm not leaning back here, right? I'm shifting right over those wrists. I'm driving the knees to the chest. And remember what I always remind you on these. I would much rather you focus on getting the knee further in. I know it's hard to do than trying to go as fast as you can, right? You're going to get the cardio either way, so focus on driving those knees. Second round, we'll add a cross. And again, you can also do this standing. Maybe you even feel it a little bit more that way. But we got five, four, three, two, breathe. We're going to stay down on the mat. For these next two, we have our press and bicycle. If you got something heavy, one heavy kettle bell or two heavy dumbbells, watch me here. It's your standard press. Up and in, down and out. And if you can Add that bicycle. Add it here. If that's too much, just pick one. Here we go. And I want you to use this time to catch your breath. I know. After that, mountain climber, we're feeling it. And breathe. If it's not right for you to be on your back, you can, of course, do a standing shoulder press and add a knee raise if you want. But what is that core doing? Making sure you're not arching your back. Tight. Tuck everything in. Zip it up one leg and then the other. I like to find the rhythm with it. Right? So we had our upper pull up top. We have our upper push down here. We had some push up top too, right? 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. All right, team, watch me. Next one, we're going triceps. So again, one heavy kettlebell or two dumbbells. Big press right here if you can. We're gonna add that bridge, that hip lift. We got a swing or a deadlift coming, too, so join me right here. We're gonna start everything at the top. Here we go. 40 seconds. Now again, I'm gonna switch up my second round. I'll use the kettlebell when I use the dumbbell and vice versa. But you do you. Maybe you feel more comfortable with two dumbbells because they can go right by your head. Maybe you feel better because the kettlebell, you can have two hands on them. Up to you. I'm feeling it all the way through. What do you got, team? Lift those hips. If it starts to feel like too much, just pick one. Maybe just do your tries. Relax that lower body down. Maybe just do the bridge, maybe one, and then the other again, it's totally up to you. Three, two, one. All right, team, last move up onto your feet. We've got a deadlift or a swing. So heavy kettlebell or heavy dumbbells or dumbbell. We're only going 30 seconds on this, so if you need to give yourself a few little deadlifts to get into it or give yourself a second to get into that, you can keep the deadlift. You can do the swing. We got 30 seconds. Wrap that core, shoulders back, hinge it, and prep it. 30 seconds. Deadlift or swing in three, two, one. This is it. Our last move of the circuit. Drive it up. It's gonna go quick. That's what you're gonna love about this workout. Let it drop. Remember, you're using the posterior chain so the back of your body to drive up, explode out of that swing. Then lock it out at the top, standing up, nice and tall. Lock. Let it Drop lock, let it drop. We got three, two, one, swing and relax. Pedal those feet. Let's grab a sip of water, team. All right, Grab a quick sip. We're gonna do it all again. Cheers, y'. All. Everything we just did. I'll give you a few different options if you want some variations. Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing. Go ahead and get your space set up. Whatever you need to feel like you got some space. I'm gonna have those dumbbells close by, because I'm gonna take it with my dumbbells for my squat and press. But it's totally up to you if you want to rack them here, squat and press, or keep that kettlebell. Then I'm going to my kickstand with two heavy dumbbells. So let's switch them out in between you. Do you. Whatever equipment you have available to you or whatever feels best for you, take it there. When we get to our lunge and curl, we're gonna take it to a side lunge into a curl here. All right? So get set, breathe. Let's take it here. See what you feel more. Rack those dumbbells here or kettlebell in the center. We've got our squat and our press. 40 seconds of work. Let's do it low. Sit low. Now, just like we're doing. If you want an option. Everything up, everything down. Down. Right through there. Down or again. Keep it simple. Squat, up, press, and down. You do. You get a little bit of power that way. 10 seconds. Here we go. Drive up through those heels. Last one. And relax. All right, team, I'm gonna set these down. I'm going dumbbells now. You can keep one heavy kettlebell or one heavy dumbbell with that kickstand. I'm gonna go two dumbbells, but we're still getting the kickstand into that row. So you're here. Set it up. Zip up the core. Shoulders back. Lean into that front leg. Here we go. Hinge row. Drive that up. I know a lot of this depends on the size of your dumbbells, and that is both weight, but also just the size what they look like. Right. Maybe it feels better to keep one kettlebell, which is generally more compact, and go heavy with it on one side. You're still gonna feel it. So that kettlebell is 26 pounds. These weights are 15. So it's about the same. A little bit more holding the two dumbbells, but, you know, when we go two hands versus one, things feel a little different, right? It's about the same weight, but one Side versus two, Right? So not. And relax. If your hands need a little break, set them down. If you need to stretch out that hamstring. Yeah. 26 pounds versus 15 in each side. Not quite the same, but good to get that variety. So here we go. Same thing. Other side, hinge row, push up and through in three, two, one. Here we go. Breathe. Stand up straight. Hinge. Nice flat back. What do I mean by that? Keeping those eyes out in front, making sure we're not rounding here. Right, we're here. And up. Core stays engaged. I like to say pull the weights towards the hips, because sometimes that keeps us out of that upper back and neck. Even though they're all working together, enjoy this low heart rate control. You know what's coming up, and drive it up. Last one. 3, 2, 1. Set those weights down. All right, team, so now instead of our curtsy lunge, we're going side lunge curl, side lunge curl. I'm going to go two dumbbells. You can also go one kettle bell if you want. That works too. We can mix it up, but we're already mixing it up. If you'd rather keep the curtsy or a regular lunge, that works too. Let's do it. Shift your weight. Step in and curl. Shift your weight and up. Yes, team. And here, get low. Drive it up and up. And again. If you want to increase that intensity and try to do them together. Lunge curl. Step it through. You do you. It's a little trickier to hang out in, so up to you and relax. What do we got, team? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We have that mountain climber. Let's take it down. Remember, if you want to keep it standing, you can. This time we're gonna go cross, so we're taking our knees across. Standing or on the mat. Let's do it right through here. Here we go. Take them across. Remember, you can keep it low impact. You can do that little run. Either way. We're staying strong in our arms and shoulders, pushing up out of the floor, staying lifted. Here, we're not letting those hips drive up. Here, we're not letting them drop. Here, we're tucking that core. But nice and tight. Take them across. Lots of core. Notice we don't have any real crunch type motions in this workout, which I also love variations. But we have a half bicycle, right? I guess that counts. Keep it going. And this is really only our plank because it's all we have time for. But five, four, three, two, stretch it back. All right, team, we're coming down onto Our backs. So it's that press with the bicycle. This time I'm gonna take it with my heavy kettlebell. All right, it's up to you again. You can keep those two dumbbells, you can keep one heavy kettlebell or whatever works best for you. Here we go. Press. And here. Now what I like about using a heavy kettlebell for a press again, the weight's a little more compact. It forces my elbows to staying close so I can activate those triceps while still getting chest and shoulders. But of course, we know the triceps are coming next with our bridge right here to here. Drive it up and through. Boom. Maybe Amy's favorites. No repeat. So if it's not your favorite, you don't have to come back to it. That might be the next one. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Boom. All right, you can keep that dumbbell or that kettlebell for triceps. I'm gonna go back to my dumbbells. And with or without the bridge again, if the bridge feels like too much to add or your arms are just spent after that, you can just pick one or the other. But here we go. Down and up. Breathe. After this, we got our swing. So we'll give ourselves time to get up, get into it. Breathe. Yes, you can. Ah. Hand up. Burn. I am feeling, feeling those triceps. A little trick. If you're starting to feel like you're losing your form, shift those arms back, and that helps to get you in place. In fact, you'll probably feel your tries more, but you're going to feel good about where you are with that form. Last one. And breathe. All right, team, set them down. Up onto your feet. Deadlift or swing. And again. You do you. Maybe the swing is not right for you. Maybe it's not right for you today. Doesn't matter. You're still going to get that hinge. Movement, motion. Those hamstrings and glutes that are already feeling it. So deadlift. One kettlebell or two dumbbells or one dumbbell or your swing? Remember, we're locking out at the top. We're letting it drop. We got lots of power coming up. And then stop it. Let's do it for 30 seconds. Then we got another breather until our lightning round. Here we go, team. Hinge it. Prep it. Three, two, power. Let it drop. Remember, I like to use my breath. It's a really good tactic to make sure you're really getting that full exhale, that lockout at the top. Push those feet into the ground. Remember that squeezing of the armpits. You're not lifting with your arms, but get that squeeze to activate those lats all the way down. Again, post to your chain. We got 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, swing. Relax. Pedal those feet. Get a little stretch through here. One more sip of water, team. All right, let's grab some water. Heart rate is up. Even though it's my favorite strength workout, that's why we said strength and cardio. Cheers, y'. All. Let's do it again. Quick rounds, 30 seconds. And I got a few more variations for you if you want. They're optional. All right, team, so your pick on a lot of these. Maybe you'd rather go kickstand with one kettlebell or dumbbell. Maybe you want to go two. Maybe your squat and press. You like the two dumbbells. If you want something to add for that squat and press, let's get some power. We're going to do that clean top, toss it to yourself. Squat and press. Or you can take those dumbbells, clean, squat and press. If that's not your jam, you do. You just get a squat and press kickstand. When we get to our lunge and curl, we're going to put them together. Regular lunge, but we're curling at the same time if you want. All right, let's do a team, starting with that kettlebell or dumbbell. Squat and press or clean squat and press. 30 seconds. Here we go. Clean squat, lots of power. If you want, you can add that rotation, too. Too many things, Amy. Too many things. Right? Just you. Do you. I know. Again. I keep thinking of my favorites. There's too many. 10 seconds. Finish strong. 3, 2, 1. And relax. All right, team, what do you got? Do you want to do that one? I'm gonna keep one heavy because it's being harder for my back. On the one side, you do you kickstand and row. Here we go. And drive it up. Can you get even lower on the bottom of that kickstand? Feel what it does to the back of the legs. You can even drop that back knee for its little half kickstand, half lunge. I know too many things, Amy. Breathe. It's only 30 seconds. Make it good. We got 5, 4, 3, 2. Let's get one more and stretch. All right, team, same thing. Other side. Let's get set. Two dumbbells or one dumbbell or one kettlebell. Kickstand. Deadlift and row. Drive it up again. Can you get a little lower? Maybe that's a little more of that hinge. Maybe that's a Slight bend in the knees, bend in that front, but you can also bend in that back knee. Whoo. Burn. I promised you wouldn't get a burn, but you are getting a burn. Yeah, I just admit it wouldn't be the same as one of our regular burn workouts, right? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Yes, team. All right. Dumbbell or kettlebell? We did our curtsy, we did our side lunge. How about we go regular lunge, but we curl them? Let's go hammer curl. If you got two dumbbells, you do you. If you want to curl at the top, you can. Whatever lunge is good for you. In three, two, one. And here. Stepping back, train tracks. If you're on that regular lunge, if you got your curtsy, you're crossing behind. Side lunge, you're moving lateral. We're trying to get all in the workout while keeping the same exercise, right. Woo. Burn. And here. Drive it up. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Join me on the mat. We got that climber this time. Team, it's up to you. Regular cross, standing or down below. But join me in 3, 2, 1. 30 seconds. You can also do a variation. You can go four to the center, four to the cross. I know you're tired, so focus on pulling everything in, zipping everything up, driving those knees into your chest. I feel it too. Team, let's finish it out. We got five, four, three, two. Breathe. Relax. Down on your back. One kettlebell or two dumbbells? We've got our press and our bicycle, our triceps and our bridge. Fine. Your good position. I'm gonna give you a few more seconds to get there. I'm gonna go back to my heavies. Slow bicycle here. Strong press in 3, 2, 1. Concentrate on that breath again. I know you're tired, especially after doing that climber. And right before that, your lunge and curl. So breathe. As those legs go in and out, I want you to think about, what is your core doing? Tuck the pelvis. Everything pulled in nice and tight. You're getting that strong core, strong foundation, but you're breathing through it. So call that active core breathing. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Take them to the side. All right, here we go. Let's take it here. Triceps and bridge, up to you. One dumbbell, one kettle bell or two. But here we go. Team, team. Down and up, whatever you got. If you want to focus just on your upper, just do those tries. If you want to focus on that lower, just do that bridge. But know you got that swing coming. Here we go. Down and up. Yes, you can drive it up. Five seconds to to go, and then we'll get that swing. 3, 2, 1. And relax. All right, team, up onto your feet. Last swing. Let's do it. All right, team, here we go. We got a swing. Let's finish it out strong. Guess what? This is it. No bonus move. Even though I love a bonus move, we don't have to add it in because we're keeping the short. So. So last 30 seconds, hang with me. Drive it up, let it drop, or stand up straight out of that deadlift. Lots of power, lots of strength, lots of cardio. Let's do it in three. Hinge it. Two, one. This is it. Here we go. Power. 30 seconds to go. Yes. Team. Everything you've got. Whatever is left, whatever. Gas in the tank. Tank. You got it. Drive it up, lock it out, drive it up, walk it out, let it drop. 10 seconds of power right here. Here we go. 3, 2, 1. Swing. And relax. Oh, man. You guys pedal those fe feet. How happy were you when I said no bonus? Maybe some of you love bonuses like me, but I want you to hang out here. Whether you have your hands on the kettlebell or on your legs or grab the wall, I want you to stretch those hamstrings. I like the little petal, but maybe that's not right for you. If you want to just hold one or stretch into that, relax your shoulders. And then let's slowly come up halfway. Hands on top again. Roll through that back, y'. All. You do. Did it. My favorite strength workout. Let me know. Was it your favorite? Maybe you liked it, maybe you didn't. Do you like this format of only picking a few moves, slowly roll it up and going through them all, and then again and again? Sometimes we do that, but we do the three moves, like the lower upper core, and then we repeat three times. Sometimes we go through the whole thing. You tell me, what do you like best? Love hearing from you. Knowing that we are all different. And that is why I give you so much variety, because I want to make sure that you get what you need. But you also get challenged in different ways. Listen, I'm always going to remind you to find the joy in your workouts. If you don't find some joy, or at least the joy in this moment right where we're done, then it's going to be hard to stay consistent. So, yes, I'm going to tell you all the reasons we have to get strength training. We have to keep our bones and our muscles strong. Strong. We have to keep that muscle fiber. We have to get our heart rates up, improve that VO2 max, improve our endurance. We have to do all of those things. We have to get mobility. But guess what? We can get it in a lot of different ways, and we can get it with variety, and we can get it in a way that doesn't feel like a chore to you. Right? I want you to want to come back not just because you know it's good for you, not just because of your health, but because you enjoy being here. That is what it's about, team. And that's why I always say, just show up. Show up. Be where you are today and come back for more. Please get more stretching on your own. Leave me a comment. Leave me a like, let me know. Stretch it back if you can. Let me know how you felt about this workout. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and check out all the links in the description below. Let's get one big deep breath in. Team. Team. Get some more stretching on your own. I know that was short, but I know you can get it throughout the rest of your day. Breathe out. You did it. That was my favorite strength workout. Great job, everybody.