The barbell guide you’ve been waiting for…

Looking to graduate from dumbbells to barbells? Or maybe you’re just wanting to switch up your workout routine. Either way, here’s a list of my favorite follow along barbell workout videos, each under 30 minutes! Perfect for busy moms.

 

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Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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If you’re like most of us, you had to find a way to keep up your fitness in the midst of the the pandemic. With even more pressure on whipping yourself into ACFT shape without access to a gym.

 

I scoured the internet and most notably Facebook market for my own home gym equipment, because I knew that my strength training would suffer without gym access. Fortunately, I was able to find some decent equipment for really good prices.

 

Although I wasn’t able to find an Olympic barbell for a price that I was willing to pay; I did find a barbell and weight set for under $100!

 

Is it perfect? No.

 

Does it meet my needs? Yes!

 

You can find 1 inch barbells and 1 inch diameter weights for a better price than Olympic anything.

 

Now I just needed to find quick barbell workouts for those days that I was pinched for time. Enter YouTube.

 

Oddly enough, there are NOT a lot of videos on YouTube with follow along barbell workouts that focus on strength training. But lucky for you, I researched the heck out of YouTube to find some of the top barbell workouts that I feel could improve strength for the events of the ACFT.

 

Stick around til the end to get my free workout guide. Or simply cut to the chase and scroll to the bottom to grab yours ASAP.

 

#1. Tom Peto Training

Tom Peto Fitness was my introduction to barbell follow along workouts and I became a subscriber after completing this workout. It really is no pressure to speed up and compromise form with this workout.

 

He also provides helpful tips on how your form should be and cues to get the movements down the right way.

 

This is a full body workout with the barbell. You will build lower body and upper body strength if added to your regular workout routine.

 

One thing about preparing for the ACFT that was recently brought to my attention is that it is all about functional fitness. Although most of us won’t be lifting our own body weight during our regular 9-5, the movements in this video really do mimic most of our everyday tasks.

 

#2 Calvin Cervoni Fitness

Calvin Cervoni Fitness channel has tons of workout videos with different mediums (dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, etc).

 

His workouts are easy to follow and he shows different angles of the movements so that you know how it should be performed.

 

This particular workout videos includes push, pull, core, and other variations of lower body exercises. The video will begin with a quick demonstration of all the exercises that you will be doing. After each set, a new exercise is added to the next set–so pay attention or you might feel like you missed something!

 

You can also find him on Instagram @ccervoni.

#3 Steven HIIT

Steven HIIT actually has a lot of barbell workout videos on his channel, which is why I’m surprised he has less then 1K subscribers.

 

Most of his workouts are HIIT focused, but usually follow along videos are in the HIIT genre. One way I combat this is by simply slowing down my movements. I know perfectly well that we don’t need to be doing HIIT workouts 5x a week and expect to build strength.

 

However, you’ll see a lot of videos titled “HIIT” even though they are easily tailored to a regular strength training routine.

 

This particular workout video is a full body barbell complex that includes a variety of functional fitness exercises perfect for the ACFT.

 

Bent over rows for back strength on the leg tuck (if that is your goal). Chest presses for pectorals, deltoids, and triceps to improve the hand release pushup. Squats and lunges for lower body strength on the deadlift, standing power throw, and sprint drag carry events.

 

#4 Coach Remmy Fitness

Coach Remmy Fitness has a decent amount of barbell follow along videos on his YouTube channel.

 

I like that each of these fitness influencers has a different type of barbell they use for their workouts, because honestly we all don’t have access to an Olympic barbell or we might just not have the space for an extravagant home gym set up in our garage.

 

This video breaks down the workout with 5 minutes dedicated to legs, back, chest/shoulders, and arms, with a lot of those exercises targeting the core anyways as a result of the movements.

 

#5 Fitness Blender

Although this video by Fitness Blender is not classified as a full body workout, it still is a winner as far as ACFT prep is concerned.

 

This workout video focuses on lower body strength that can be achieved with the barbell and all some body weight split training. If you have preexisting injuries, you can tailor the ending exercises to where it doesn’t aggravate your body.

 

I only mention that because I have a partial joint replacement in my big toe, so some movements are off the table for me and I have to get a little crafty. For example, I have trouble with lunges and high impact; therefore I substitute lunges with Bulgarian split squats/lunges and if an exercise is high impact I just don’t do jumping with the movement and simply add resistance (either added weight or a resistance band).

 

Quick reminder: Listen to your body! Once you get out of the military, you will still need your body to be in good shape to live out the rest of your life without too many issues. 

 

#6 Justin Roethlingshoefer

This workout brought to you by Justin Roethlingshoefer is a great basic workout. It also reminds me of where I started when it comes to how deep I can squat now that I have about a year of strength training under my belt.

 

The movements in this video are slow and controlled which is perfect for building strength. In this video, you’ll see squats, reverse lunges, bent over rows, squat to press, and pushups/press.

 

At this point, I don’t think I need to explain to you how these exercises would help improve strength in preparation for the ACFT.

 

One cue that I will mention is that when doing bent over rows: pretend that you’re pulling your elbows backward and keep the bar just under your belly button. I had been doing rows all wrong until I was given that cue and now I can actually feel the muscle group that it’s supposed to be targeting–the lats!

 

#7 DeeArr Fitness

Another barbell complex workout video coming your way. This time, DeeArr Fitness delivers a short and effective follow along that targets your full body.

Here’s the complex workout as detailed in his description:

Complex #1 (3 sets):

a. Front Squats – 10 reps

b. Reverse Lunges – 10 reps

c. Romanian Deadlifts – 10 reps

Complex #2 (3 Sets):

a. Bent-over Rows – 10 reps

b. Conventional Deadlifts – 10 reps

c. Back Squats – 10 reps

Complex #3 (3 Sets):

Ab rollout🠖Kneeling shoulder press🠖Burpee jump back🠖Push-up🠖Burpee Jump In 🠖 Repeat (8-10 reps)

Complex #4 (2 sets):

a. Decline floor chest press (10 reps)

b. Decline floor skull crushers (10 reps)

c. Close grip floor press (10 reps)

Complex #5 (2 sets):

a. Bicep Curls – 10 reps

b. Front Raises – 10 reps

c. Bent-over Rows – 10 Reps

d. Standing Shoulder Press – 10 reps

e. Chest Raises – 10 reps

f. Overhead Tricep Extensions – 10 reps

 

#8 Blue Star Neutraceuticals

Blue Star Neutraceuticals’ 30 minute workout video includes the warm up. Usually when videos don’t include a warm up, I do a simple warm up: 10 squats, 10 glute bridges, 10 pushups, 10 hip hinges, and 10 bird dogs.

 

And honestly, anything that gets the juices flowing in the muscle groups that you’re targeting will work. You’ll actually see your performance improve with a decent warm up. Which is why it doesn’t make sense that most (if not all) physical fitness tests take place before the sun rises after our bodies have been laying in one position for the past 6-8 hours.

 

But I digress. If you don’t have bumper plates and your weights are too low to the ground, you can/should put a platform of some sort under your weights so that they come up high enough for when you deadlift. For my plates, I had to put two empty ammo cans under them so that I wasn’t overextending when I went to deadlift.

 

#9 Caroline Girvan

Caroline Girvan’s 10 minute barbell complex is amazing if you’re super pressed for time…which of course most of us are trying to find extra seconds in our day to actually squeeze in a workout.

 

One piece of advice that I will give is that if you do need to opt for a short workout, try to increase your weight. Even if it isn’t for the entire workout, it is better to optimize your time by adding more resistance.

 

Remember, the goal isn’t to just get a workout in; the goal is to increase strength. So really, you can choose to squeeze in a couple short workouts with extra weight throughout the day just to add a little impromptu strength training to your daily routines.

 

#10 shortcircuits_fitness

Confession time, shortcircuits_fitness follow along barbell and bodyweight video is basically a HIIT workout. I know, I know! I said we’d tailor our workouts to make them strength training specific, buuuuut THIS one is valuable to leave as a HIIT and I’ll tell you why.

 

The sprint, drag, carry and the standing power throw events require explosive strength. And this follow along incorporates explosive strength movements with bodyweight exercises.

 

Although most of the ACFT requires good strength training practices in place, we can’t neglect the technique and anaerobic skill that comes with whittling your time down with the SDC. To add a little extra resistance to this workout video, you can choose to wear ankle weights or hold dumbbells when doing the barbell hops.

 

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Congratulations! You made it to the end of the article. I hope you found some valuable information and maybe even checked out the videos themselves.

As my fitness journey progresses, I find that I am looking for different things in my workouts and I usually like to spice things up since I get bored easily.

 

All that to say, I still stick to a pretty rigid workout routine even though I change up my workouts every now and then. I’m not doing random workouts all the time and I’m intentional when I choose what workouts to add to my routine. If I’m pressed for time and I know that I’ll feel guilty if I don’t get something in, then I head to my repertoire of quick follow along workouts depending on the equipment that I have available.

 

An easy way to get started is writing down your fitness goals, developing a realistic timeline and the steps you need to take in order to achieve them. Everyone’s fitness journey is different! Do NOT get caught in the comparison trap.

 

For those just beginning their climb up the strength building mountain, check out my article on Quick Resistance Band workouts.

 

Or for those not quite ready for the barbell or no access to a barbell, check out my article on Quick Dumbbell workouts. Both articles include a free workout guide to help build full body strength.

 

If you’ve already got your home gym collecting dust and don’t really know where to start or you’re a shy girl (like me) at the gym, then my 4 week full body barbell workout guide might be the perfect match for you.

 

You’ll see the above listed workout videos and more. Even better, each week includes 7 days of workout videos that you can swap out depending on your schedule (because you really should be incorporating rest days into your routine).

 

Print the QR code copy out and post it up or bring it to the gym with you to easily scan your preferred workout for that day or to share it with your battle buddies!

 

Tag me on Instagram if you found the guide helpful @memoirsofanarmymama.