Multitask Your Way to a Fit Bod by Doing These 3 Dumbbell Moves on the Treadmill

To solve those issues, I’ve created this wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am treadmill workout that doesn’t waste a single minute of your time on the hamster wheel. All you have to do is hop on, get to work, and hop off.

(If you’re jonesing for more after you hop off, try out Women’s Health‘s new Ignite routine.)

And to keep this treadmill interval program from feeling too basic, I’ve also added some strength moves you can do on the treadmill to turn your cardio workout into a full-body conditioning program.

The workout: Run or walk at the pace and incline noted below for the suggested time. For each strength move, use a pair of five-pound dumbbells, and perform the move on the treadmill for the recommended time. You can complete this workout by itself or before or after your other favorite strength training routine. 

Check out the entire treadmill workout in the graphic below, then head further down the page for a breakdown of each strength move. 

Overhead Press

Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them just outside your shoulders with your palms facing each other (A). Press the weight overhead until your arms are completely straight (B). Pause, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Bicep Curl

Stand with your feet together and dumbbells at your sides, touching your thighs, with your palms facing out. Keep your knees unlocked and your shoulders pulled back and down (A). Without changing your hand position, pull the right dumbbell up to the front of your shoulder (B). Pause, and maintaining your hand position, lower the dumbbell back to the start while simultaneously pulling the left dumbbell up to the front of your shoulder. 

Bent Arm Side Raise

Stand, holding dumbbells with your arms bent at your sides so that your elbows create a 90-degree angle. This means that the dumbbells are directly in front of your elbows (A). Keeping your shoulders pressed down towards your hips, maintain a constant angle at your elbows and raise your arms out to the sides and up (B). Pause at the top with your arms parallel to the floor. 

Holly Perkins is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, founder of Women’s Strength Nation, and author of Lift to Get Lean.