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Video7 minWith Nikkiey Stott

45-Minute Full Body Dumbbell Workout for Women Over 40

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This video is part ofStrength Training for Women266 lessons · where to start, common questions and more

In this video

This is a full body strength workout that uses nothing but dumbbells, done in one spot from start to finish. Nikkiey Stott takes you through legs, chest, back, shoulders and arms, with the sets and reps for each move, and gets it done in 45 minutes or less.

You start with dumbbell split squats, plus a simple setup trick for aiming them at your quads or your glutes. Then come incline chest flies, seal rows, a heavy strict shoulder press supersetted with upright rows, alternating bicep curls and overhead tricep extensions.

The coaching cues are practical. Put real effort into every rep instead of going through the motions. Lower the weight when your form gets sloppy. Stop your traps from taking over on upright rows. And use a weight that is actually heavy enough to make a difference.

Key takeaways

  • Start with dumbbell split squats, 3 sets of 8 reps per leg, resting about a minute and a half between sets.
  • To set up split squats for your quads, sit at a 90-degree angle, line your front foot up with the toes of your back foot, then stand up; move the front foot further out to target your glutes instead.
  • Nikkiey prefers dumbbell split squats to barbell squats because they take the load off her shoulders, neck and lower back and give her a strong mind-muscle connection.
  • Do dumbbell incline chest flies and seal rows for 3 sets of 10 reps each, and put real effort into every rep rather than just going through the motions.
  • If your form gets sloppy, lower the weight, because form comes before everything.
  • For shoulders, go as heavy as you can for about 5 reps of strict shoulder press, then superset straight into upright rows to failure, for 3 sets.
  • Keep strict form on upright rows so your traps don't overcompensate and take over the movement.
  • Finish with alternating dumbbell curls and dumbbell overhead tricep extensions, 3 sets of 10 each, using a weight that isn't too light.

Questions answered

Can you do a full body strength workout with only dumbbells?

Yes. In this workout Nikkiey trains legs, chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps using only dumbbells, staying in one spot the whole time, and finishes in 45 minutes or less.

How do I set up split squats to target my quads or my glutes?

Nikkiey sits at a 90-degree angle, lines her front foot up with the toes of her back foot, and stands up into position to target the quads. To target the glutes, she moves the front foot a little further out.

How many sets and reps are in this dumbbell workout?

Split squats are 3 sets of 8 reps per leg, and chest flies, seal rows, curls and overhead extensions are 3 sets of 10. The shoulder press is about 5 heavy reps supersetted with upright rows to failure, for 3 sets.

How long should I rest between split squat sets?

Nikkiey rests about a minute and a half between sets of split squats.

What should I do if my form gets sloppy during a set?

Lower the weight. Nikkiey dropped her weight for her last set of seal rows because her form got sloppy, and she says form comes before everything.

How do I keep my traps from taking over on upright rows?

Nikkiey keeps strict form on upright rows because she is trap dominant, and without good form her traps overcompensate.

Ask Nikkiey

Questions this video helps answer, with what Nikkiey says across everything WarriorBabe teaches.

  • Strength Training for Women

    Is good form more important than lifting heavier?

    Yes. Nikkiey's order is form first, then connection to the muscle, then weight. If you can't feel the target muscle working, adding weight doesn't make it stronger; other muscles take over and your joints pay for it. Drop the weight until you feel the right muscle, then build from there.

    Read the answer →

  • Strength Training for Women

    Can I build muscle at home with just dumbbells?

    Yes. On The WarriorBabe Show, the message is that muscle grows from the force it produces against resistance and how close you take it to failure. Gym machines and dumbbells are two delivery systems for that same signal. What matters is lifting heavy enough, resting enough, and gradually making it harder over time.

    Read the answer →

Full transcript

Nikkiey: Full body, baby. Full body today. Dumbbells only. For this whole video, I am literally going to stay in this one area. Every exercise is only going to consist of dumbbells, and we're going to hit every single muscle group with dumbbells only. Let's go.

We're starting off real dirty. We're going right into dumbbell split squats. That's dirty. Here's a hack for you to set up your dumbbell split squats or Bulgarian split squats to really target your quads better. So I'm sitting down. I'm at a 90-degree angle with my legs. I'm putting my right foot at the top of my left foot, my toes on my left foot. I'm going to stand up, and this is exactly where I should be to be able to target my quads.

If I wanted to target my glutes, I come a little bit further out with my top foot and come down like that to target the glutes. But I want to target the quads, so that's what we're going to do. Yeah, that's dirty. Everyone should be doing this exercise. I like it better than having to get underneath the squat bar and putting that tension on my shoulders and my neck and putting the tension on my lower back. This will be easier for me, and I can create such a really good mind-to-muscle connection with this exercise.

That's a minute post set and I'm still out of breath. Three sets, eight reps per leg for this exercise, taking about a minute and a half in between for rest time. I feel like I'm still out of breath from the last one. I'm dying. Let's move on to chest.

All right, ladies. Next on deck is dumbbell incline chest flies. We're going to do three sets, 10 reps each. Definitely a different vibe coming from legs to chest. Seems totally easier. Don't just go through the motions, people. Make the ugly faces.

Back. Seal rows. Three sets, 10 reps. Yes. Girls go around the outside, around the outside, around the outside. Fun fact about me: I literally had ceiling-to-floor, floor-to-ceiling posters of Eminem, and my AIM username was XO Little Hellion.

The Little Hellion is from this song. Right here. "Little hellions." Like a rebellious child. Hi. That was me. Last set for this, I had to lower my weight because I got really sloppy in that last set, and it's okay. Form over everything.

Next up, we've got a strict press, strict shoulder press. I'm going to try and go for just five reps, as heavy as I can go. Superset immediately into upright rows till failure, for three sets. I think I tapped out on that. I totally tapped out on that. I could have done more. It's all right. It's okay. There's another set. I'll do better in my next set.

I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set. I'm going to try and do better in my next set.

By the way, I just have to make sure I keep good form, because it's just stupid not to. Plus, I'm hella trap dominant. So doing upright rows and not having good form, my traps overcompensate. I ain't trying to get bigger traps. They're huge to begin with.

All right, let's finish this sucker off with some biceps and triceps. You know, you can just tell when it's too light. Ain't nothing going to happen with some light weight. Bicep alternating dumbbell curls.

Three sets, 10 reps on each arm. For the last exercise, we've got triceps left. We're going to do some dumbbell overhead extensions. Three sets, 10 reps each to close this one out. Let's go. You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? With dumbbells only.

You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time? You guys see how I stayed in one location for the entire time?

Woo. Look at that horseshoe. I'm proud of this body. Let's go. Let's go. That concludes our full body workout for the day. Definitely 45 minutes or less. And we just got that done. Feels great. Thank you.

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