Best Dumbbell Exercises For Every Part Of The Body

Everyone starts out as a beginner when it comes to exercising, even the Golden Era’s greatest bodybuilders. 

It can be intimidating at first, but the best thing you can do is start small. If the gym is too much for you right at the beginning, you may feel more comfortable working out at home.

Today, we’re going to provide you a full-body at-home workout you can do wherever is most comfortable. These exercises are perfect for beginners; all you need to get started is a set of dumbbells.

Each exercise set is broken up by body part, to make it even easier. So, get yourself set up with some space around you and your dumbbells, and let’s get to work!

Dumbbell Exercises for Arms

First, let’s do some arm workouts with the dumbbell. We want to be sure to work the entire arm, including the:

• Hand
• Wrist
• Forearm
• Bicep
• Tricep

Dumbbell exercises are the perfect isolation movement because you can do one arm or both at the same time. As a beginner, you may need to do some hand and wrist exercises to build up grip and muscle strength. This will allow you to get the most out of your forearm, bicep, and tricep exercises.

We’ve got a list of lower arm and hand workouts here, most of which involve stretches, dumbbells, or a towel. Start there and then come back for these dumbbell exercises.

Triceps Extension

Most people immediately think of bicep exercises when working on arm definition. But you can’t forget about the triceps muscle!

We’re going to start out with the triceps extension. This is one of those single dumbbell exercises that can allow you to concentrate on symmetry between each arm. 

Before you get started, look in the mirror at your flexed triceps. Does one look bigger than the other? 

Chances are, your dominant hand may have a larger muscle. This is common, and a single-arm dumbbell exercise like the tricep extension can help change that. 

Focus more on whichever arm needs more muscle growth. Are they both about the same? Great, then make sure you do the same number of reps and sets on both arms to maintain balance.

To learn how to do the triceps extension using a dumbbell, check out our step-by-step guide for proper form.

Bicep Curl

Now, let’s get to work on building up your bicep strength. Again, take a look in the mirror to see if there is any difference between your arms before you begin.

As a beginner to dumbbell exercises, you want to start out with a lightweight. Once you’ve mastered the proper form, you can increase weight size to up the challenge and muscle hypertrophy.

We did an in-depth look into hammer curls vs bicep curls to see which would be the best dumbbell exercise. We found that bicep curls will give you bigger muscles than hammer curls, so we are recommending them here.

For proper form and a step-by-step guide on both exercises, check out our review here. This includes variations you can do to activate the different muscle heads to get a well-rounded workout for your biceps.

Dumbbell Exercises for Chest

Now that you’ve got your arms done, let’s work on your chest. Here are some of the best dumbbell exercises to sculpt the chest muscles and remove any sign of man boobs.

Dumbbell Press

The dumbbell press is a versatile chest exercise that can target different areas of muscle activation. 

According to Mr. Natural and Old School Ambassador Olympia John Hansen, using different bench inclines is key to chest development using dumbbells.

Here, you can watch John move through different bench settings to work the chest and build muscle mass. He recommends the dumbbell bench press using a flat bench to work the outer pecs. The incline dumbbell press at a 30-degree angle can help build out the upper pecs.

You can’t forget about the lower pecs to really get the best dumbbell workout for your chest. To focus on the lower pecs, move the bench to the decline position to complete the dumbbell press.

Dumbbell Flyes

In the same video linked above, John works the chest muscles with dumbbell flyes. These will focus on the outer pecs and promote muscle mass right where you want it. 

To continue work on the upper pecs, incline dumbbell flyes are one of the best dumbbell exercises. As with the dumbbell press, the lower pecs will be activated with the bench in the decline position.

For both dumbbell flyes and press, start out with lighter weights to perfect your form first before moving to heavier weights.

Dumbbell Exercises for Shoulders

You need solid shoulder muscles to pick up heavier weights, so here are some of the best dumbbell exercises.

Lateral Raise

This shoulder exercise can be done standing or seated. It works all the heads of the shoulder, which is why it’s one of the best dumbbell exercises for shoulders.

This exercise will also improve the musculature of the serratus anterior, which is the muscle under your armpit. This muscle is sometimes forgotten when exercising, so it’s important to work it regularly. The serratus anterior enables you to lift your arm and the ribcage to help you breathe.

To perform the lateral raise properly, be sure to follow the steps outlined here.

Dumbbell Overhead Press

The overhead press is a great shoulder workout, also strengthening the traps, upper back, and triceps. 

This exercise can be done both standing and seated. If you do the overhead press standing, you’ll also engage your core and lower back muscles.

We created an in-depth guide on the overhead press, including how to perform it with different variations. Check it out here for proper form and to learn variations you can use later on.

Dumbbell Shrug

This exercise is one of the best dumbbell workouts to target the traps. It looks easy, but the dumbbells increase the challenge and will also improve your trapezius definition.

Start with a lightweight dumbbell and then increase the weight gradually. You want to be sure you have the proper range of motion to perform this exercise correctly and avoid injury.

Dumbbell Exercises for Back

Now, let’s move on to the best dumbbell exercises for the back muscles. Like some of the other exercises mentioned here, you can do these with one arm or both.

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Work the entire back with this effective exercise. Start out with a lightweight to get your form down and really be able to feel the muscles working. Once you’re ready, increase the dumbbell weight to improve muscle growth.

The single-arm workout is a great way to get that perfectly balanced definition we’ve grown to appreciate in bodybuilding. The bent-over row will use two dumbbells at once, and can also be done with a barbell if preferred.

Farmers Carry

The farmers carry is considered a full-body workout and is one of the best dumbbell exercises for beginners.

You’ll use heavier weights with this exercise. While it does an impressive job at strengthening the entire body, it really focuses on the entire back. It will also work great to build up the core muscles.

This one looks easy, but it can be challenging. Get your form down with lighter weights first and then go to the heavier ones to really feel the burn.

Dumbbell Exercises for Abs

Now that we’ve got you started on abs with the farmers carry, let’s do some more core dumbbell exercises.

Russian Twist

This exercise is great to work the ab muscles. Start out by using just your bodyweight and with your feet on the floor to get the form down. Once you’re ready, lift your feet off the ground. 

Up the difficulty even further by introducing a light dumbbell. As you continue to strengthen your core muscles, increase the dumbbell weight.

You can find instructions on performing the Russian twist here.

Suitcase Carry

This exercise is performed just like the farmers carry, but it’s a single arm exercise. This is one of the best dumbbell exercises to really target the abs, especially the outer obliques.

When performing this exercise, have your unweighted arm out to your side for balance. Walk from one end of the room to the other with the weight to count as one rep before you switch arms.

Standing Wood Chop

The wood chop is another great targeted ab exercise you can do with a medicine ball or dumbbell. 

Mimicking the motion one would use to chop wood with an ax, use both hands to hold your weight, and move from above your shoulder to your opposing side hip.

You’ll want to start with the lightest weight dumbbell you have to get the form down before you increase the weight. You can challenge yourself over time to tighten, firm, and strengthen the ab muscles.

Dumbbell Exercises for Lower Body

We’ve challenged all the other major muscle groups so far, so let’s finish with the lower body.

We’ll look to OSL Athlete Angelica Kathleen to show you how to perform some of these lower body dumbbell exercises. Even if you can’t get to the beach like she is, you can still do these using your home setup.

Squats

Weighted squats are a great way to work the quads, hips, and glutes. 

If you’re new to squats, be sure to start with bodyweight only until you perfect the form. Then, gradually increase the dumbbell weight to improve and strengthen your lower body muscles.

Watch Angelica’s form in the video above and be ready to feel the burn, especially in your glutes. Once you have the basic squat down, you can add in variations to target different muscles.

Deadlift

The deadlift is technically a full-body workout when done properly. And of course, we want you to do them properly! 

Traditionally, deadlifts are done with a barbell, but dumbbells work best when starting out to hone your form. Angelica performs dumbbell deadlifts in the video linked above, but we also did an in-depth guide on this exercise.

Much like squats, there are variations to the deadlift which will help you activate different muscle groups. The Romanian deadlift is a great way to activate the hamstrings and the glutes, for example.

Lunge

This dumbbell exercise will challenge your balance, so it’s best to perfect your form without weights first.

Once you’re ready, add weights and get your lunge on. 

Take smaller steps to focus on the quads and longer steps to focus more on the glutes.

Like some other dumbbell exercises featured here, there are variations you can add once you get the basic form. The walking and rear lunge works the quads while the side lunge will work the glutes.

Standing Calf Raises

This deceptively simple exercise will work your lower legs, mainly the calves. You can start out with bodyweight only before adding dumbbells or start with light dumbbells.

In the above image, the athlete is standing on flat ground to perform the calf raise. You can do this, or you can stand on a step with your heels hovering off to give you a greater range of motion. Standing on a step or slightly elevated surface will work the muscles better.

How Did You Do?

Now, how do you feel after that beginner dumbbell exercise challenge? If you could go through all of them, you should have gotten a great full-body workout.

If you didn’t, that’s okay. You can add each exercise as you build strength and then work on including variations once you’re ready.

To keep your energy levels up while working through this beginner program, consider Vintage Bolt™. This great-tasting intra-workout supplement will build muscle and provide needed electrolytes to keep you going to the end.

What are your favorite beginner dumbbell exercises? Are there certain moves you prefer to do with a dumbbell rather than a kettlebell or barbell? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.