The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

There's no doubting the impact of dumbbell exercises, whether you're locked inside or taking advantage of a hotel gym (or even your home gym). They're quite versatile, enabling you to address specific body parts or the entire body. To increase the intensity of an HIIT circuit, go light. Working through supersets or time under tension can help you maximise hypertrophy. They can be used in place of barbells and kettlebells to help you achieve your goals, whether it's weight loss, muscle mass, endurance, or simply a more athletic appearance.


Don't know how many reps to do? Make use of our rep range chart. Depending on your goals, we recommend utilising high reps (15+), low reps (5 or less), and intermediate reps (8-12). Below are 30 of our favourite dumbbell exercises. Start incorporating them into your workouts to observe benefits.


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle


1. Goblet Squat


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a heavy dumbbell by its end in both hands at your chest. Squat as low as you can while maintaining a flat back and a raised chest. To return to the starting position, drive through the heels at the bottom of the squat. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

2. Step Up


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand perpendicular to a bench or other elevated surface that will allow you to step on it with your thigh parallel to the floor. Step up onto the bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your trailing leg dangling off. To stand, drive through your front heel. After a brief pause, progressively return to the beginning position. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

3. Turkish Getup


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, lie faceup on the ground with a dumbbell in your left hand, arm extended and eyes fixed on the weight, left knee bent and foot placed. Maintain a straight right leg on the ground. Then, with your left foot pushed off the ground, roll onto your right hip and up onto your right elbow. Raise your back off the ground by pushing up onto your right hand. Return to a kneeling position with your right leg. You should still have your arm locked out. Take a deep inhale, tense your core, and thrust forward to a standing position from this kneeling position. Return to the starting position by reversing the process. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

4. Pullover


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, lie on your back on the floor with both hands holding a dumbbell by its ends overhead. Reach back over your head, slightly bending your elbows, and press the weight over your chest. Pull the dumbbell back over your chest once you've felt a stretch in your lats. Every time you lower the dumbbell behind you, take a deep breath. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

5. Walking Lunge


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Step forward on one leg, lowering your body until your back knee is nearly parallel to the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the floor. That counts as one rep. To do the following rep, step forward with your back leg. Repeat.

6. Lateral Lunge


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. As you lower the dumbbells to the ground, step laterally to one side, bending this knee to come into a lunge. Return to the starting position by driving through your foot. That counts as one rep. Repeat on the other side, then switch sides.

7. Lunge to Overhead Press


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet hip-width apart and two dumbbells at shoulder level, palms facing each other. Step forward into a lunge and lower yourself until your back knee is nearly parallel to the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Return to the beginning posture by pushing off your front foot, then press the weights overhead. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

8. Tate Press


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, lie down on a bench or a flat, stable surface with dumbbells in each hand, arms extended over your chest, and palms facing your feet. Bend your elbows and point them outwards to bring the weights close to your chest, forming an L shape. Return to the beginning posture by extending your elbows. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

9. Floor Press


To begin, lie on the floor with dumbbells on your chest. Slowly drop your upper body to the floor, then stretch your arms into a bench press position with dumbbells. Lower your elbows to the floor, keeping tension in your lats so that your upper arms are at a 45-degree angle to your body. Extend arms to the beginning position when elbows hit the floor. That counts as one rep.

10. Arnold Press


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees softly bent, dumbbells in front of your forehead, elbows at 90 degrees, and palms facing you, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees softly bent, and dumbbells in front of your forehead. As you complete a military press, slowly spread your arms wide so that your elbows are still at right angles but your hands are facing out. Squeeze your shoulder blades together (shown). Reverse the pattern's direction. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

11. Squat to Press


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your dumbbells at shoulder level. Squat as low as you can while maintaining your lower back arch. Return to your feet and press the weights overhead.

12. Seated Military Press


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (or a little narrower), dumbbells at your sides. Clean the dumbbells up to your shoulders with a powerful heave, or simply raise them to shoulder level slowly. As you press the weights aloft and slightly backward so they're vertically aligned with the back of your head, squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep your core stable. Hold for a moment at the top, then return to your shoulders. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

13. High Pull


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet hip-width apart and two dumbbells in front of you, palms facing you. Bend your knees and hinge at the hips to hang the weights just above your knees. Extend your hips as if you're jumping and pull the weights up to shoulder level with your elbows wide apart as if you're doing an upright row. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

14. Romanian Deadlift


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet hip-width apart and two dumbbells in front of you, palms facing you. Bend your hips back, torso forward, and lower yourself until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, keeping your lower back in its natural arch. Kneeling is permissible. Return to the beginning position by reversing the movement and tightening your glutes at the top. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

15. Thruster


To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and dumbbells in the front-rack position. Lower into a squat with the weights near your shoulders, then explode up, activating glutes, forcing hips forward, and locking out knees; utilize momentum to assist propel the weights overhead, palms facing each other. Return to a squat by lowering the weights to the front-rack position and immediately reversing the process. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

16. Bulgarian Split Squat


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand lunge-length in front of a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and the top of your left foot on the back of the bench. Lower your body until your back knee is nearly parallel to the ground and your front thigh is parallel to the ground, then drive through your front foot to return to the starting position. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

17. Strict Curl


To begin, stand shoulder-width apart with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended straight down with dumbbells at your sides, palms facing each other, and back against a wall. Rotate your forearms and flex your elbows to perform alternating curls. At the top, squeeze your biceps, then return to the starting position. That counts as one rep. Switch sides halfway through.

18. Wrist Curl


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, sit on a bench, box, or chair with a dumbbell in each hand, resting your forearms on your thighs and allowing your wrists to bend back over your knees so the weights hang down. Simply bend your wrists to curl the dumbbells up. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

19. Hammer Curl


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (or slightly narrower) and your arms extended at your sides, weights hung on either side of your body, palms facing each other. Curl the dumbbells straight up, pause to squeeze your biceps at the top, then drop back down with this neutral grip. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

20. Renegade Row


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, start in a pushup position with dumbbells on the floor in a neutral grip. Perform a pushup with the dumbbells followed by a one-arm neutral-grip row. On the other side, repeat the pushup and row. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

21. Bentover Row


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hips hinged forward, arms outstretched and dumbbells hanging straight down. Keep your elbows tucked in line with your body as you row the weights up to your torso. To get back to the beginning, reverse the motion. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

22. Reverse Flye


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hinge at the hips, arms extended and palms facing each other. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top and raise your arms out to your sides, producing 90-degree angles. After a little pause, reverse the motion. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

23. Overhead Triceps Extension


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, sit on a bench and grasp one dumbbell in each hand by one of its bell ends. Straighten the weight over your head. Bend your elbows and lower the dumbbell behind your head while keeping your upper arms upright until you feel a triceps stretch. Return to the beginning posture by extending your elbows. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

24. Side Plank With Lateral Raise


To begin, lie on your left side with a dumbbell in your right hand and your left forearm resting on the floor for support. Raise your hips and brace your core so that your body forms a straight line; your weight should be on your left forearm and the outside edge of your left foot. Raise your right hand's weight till your arm is parallel to the ground. Return to the beginning position. That counts as one rep. Switch sides after completing all repetitions on one side.

25. Woodchop


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent so your thighs are parallel to the floor, a flat back, and a dumbbell in both hands. Bring the weight to one thigh's outer. As you move the weight across your body with straight arms and come to a stand, twist your torso to the opposing side. Your gaze should be drawn to the dumbbell, which will end up above the shoulder of the person on the other side (shown). Return to the starting position by reversing the motion. Slowly and deliberately, engage your core. That counts as one rep. Repeat.

26. Lateral Raise


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (or a little narrower) and dumbbells at your sides with palms facing each other. Raise the weights to your sides at a 90-degree angle. Avoid bending your elbows or swinging your arms; the motion should be smooth and controlled. Starting with modest weights is a good idea.

27. Bentover Triceps Kickback


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hips hinged forward, arms outstretched and dumbbells hanging straight down. To return to the beginning position, row the dumbbells up to just below chest height. Extend the forearms back by squeezing the triceps while keeping the upper arms in line with the torso. You can use a neutral grip (palms facing each other) or an underhand grip (palms facing each other) (shown here). Dumbbells should be returned to their initial position. That counts as one rep.

Skullcrusher .28


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

To begin, sit with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, dumbbells at your chest. Lower your upper body to the floor slowly, then extend your arms into a bench press position. Carefully drop the dumbbells to your brow with a neutral handhold. Return to the starting posture by contracting the triceps and extending the elbows. That counts as one rep. Note: Start with a small weight and concentrate on maintaining the elbows in line with the shoulders.

Farmers Walk .29


The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

Pick up the heaviest dumbbells you can and walk with them. Walk with your chest out and shoulders back, squeezing the grips hard. If you don't have enough room to walk in a straight line, do time or rounds in a figure-eight pattern. Repeat.

Deadlift to Shrug .30


Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and dumbbells at your sides, palms facing each other. Squat down until the weights are knee level by bending your hips back. Now burst upward and shrug firmly at the top. That counts as one rep. Before starting the following rep, reset your feet. Repeat.

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