Dumbbells are certainly the quintessential piece of exercise equipment and one that almost every home owns. The thing is however that most of these owners don’t realise just how much potential they have for a truly expanses range of different movements. You can train your entire body from home using dumbbells saving time and money from going to the gym. This dumbbell exercise chart should present you with a fairly comprehensive list of the exercises available so that you can vary your home workouts no end. When purchasing your dumbbells ensure that they are adjustable so that you can change the weight and do everything described on this list.

Name: Dumbbell Curl

Muscle Group Worked: Biceps

Description: The dumbbell curl is perhaps the most obvious inclusion in any dumbbell exercise chart and is the most basic way to train the biceps. Here you simply hold the dumbbell in either one or both hands (the dumbbell curl can be performed either unilaterally or bilaterally) and straighten the arm down by your side. From here you then ‘curl’ the dumbbell(s) upwards towards your shoulder/upper arm in a slow and controlled manner, and then lower it again also slowly. This way you are putting resistance on the muscle through the whole range of the movement.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for maximum muscle growth.

Name: Isolation Curl

Muscle Group Worked: Biceps

Description: Here you are again ‘curling’ the dumbbell up towards you in order to train the bicep. Here though you are performing the move unilaterally – that means that you are using only one arm at a time. The reason for this is that you’re going to position the rest of your body so that the bicep muscle is ‘isolated’. Essentially when you perform ordinary bicep curls there is a possibility that you are going to slightly ‘swing’ the weight so taking some of the strain off your biceps and using the other muscles instead. In the isolation curl you make this impossible by either resting your upper arm on your own knee while sitting or bending over, or by hanging the arm in front of you by leaning against the wall with the other hand. This way you are training just the bicep muscle making it a more intense biceps workout.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for maximum muscle growth.

Name: Hammer Curl

Muscle Group Worked: Biceps

Description: The hammer curl is essentially the same as the dumbbell curl apart from one major difference – the positioning of the hand on the dumbbells. For the hammer curl, instead of holding the dumbbells with the obvious underhand grip, you hold then sideways so that your palms face inwards towards each other. From here you curl as per usual and you should find that these train the biceps at a different angle and focus more on the forearms. Again these can be done unilaterally or bilaterally but the latter is recommended as it can be quite awkward to curl them this way individually.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for maximum muscle growth.

Name: Overhand Curls

Muscle Group Worked: Biceps/Forearms

Description: The next addition to our dumbbell exercise chart is the overhand curl. These are similar to the hammer curl in that they provide variation by changing the angle of the hands – this time to an overhand grip. Here you hold them so that your palms face the floor, which again changes the angle of the resistance and also involves the forearms in the movement far more. These can be tricky to grip and so it’s recommended that you use a lighter weight than usual to prevent them slipping and hurting your foot.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for maximum muscle growth.

Name: Preacher Curls

Muscle Group Worked: Biceps

Description: Preacher curls are similar to isolation curls in that you’re isolating the bicep. With preacher curls however you are doing so in a different way, this time by having your upper arms resting on a slanted surface so that they are held in place and you can only pivot at the elbows.

Reps: You should perform about 10 reps to failure for maximum muscle growth. Again you will require a lighter weight.

Name: Dumbbell Runners

Muscle Group Worked: Biceps and Triceps

Description: Hold the dumbbells as though you are about to do hammer curls, and have one foot slightly in front of the other as though you are about to run. From this position you then also move the arms as though you were running – swinging one back while swinging the other upwards and forwards then switching but in a slow and controlled manner. Basically you should look like Pamela Anderson or David Hasslehoff (take your pick) as though you’re running in slow motion. Essentially this way you are performing a hammer curl while simultaneously performing a tricep kick back in the other hand (next). This double whammy makes it a great addition to our dumbbell exercise chart.

Reps: You should perform about 10 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Name: Tricep Kick Backs

Muscle Group Worked: Triceps

Description: To perform a tricep kick back, again hold a dumbbell as though you’re about to do a unilateral hammer curl (inside grip). With your other hand lean on a bench (with one knee on the bench also) or against a wall so that your back is as horizontal as possible and bring your dumbbell-holding arm up so that your upper arm is also parallel and your lower arm hangs down at a right angle. You will need a light weight for this exercise. Now from this position the idea is to pivot backwards at the elbow so that you straighten the arm bring the dumbbell up next to your glutes. Here technique is more important than weight so make sure you don’t overload yourself. This one stings.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Name: Tricep Extensions

Muscle Group Worked: Triceps

Description: The tricep extension utilises essentially the same movement as the last entry on this dumbbell exercise chart, however here the position of the arm is different. Again unilaterally, this time stand up and hold one arm up so that your elbow is by your head and your dumbbell-wielding hand is bent behind your shoulder (again with an inside grip). From here straighten the arm by pivoting at the elbow so that the dumbbell is directly above you. Lower slowly and repeat.

Reps: You should perform about 8 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Name: Dumbbell Pullovers

Muscle Group Worked: Triceps, Traps, Back

Description: This exercise is usually associated with a barbell but can be performed just as efficiently with dumbbells, hence its inclusion on this dumbbell exercise chart. To perform dumbbell pullovers lie on a bench or raised platform so that your head touches the end and hold both dumbbells above you. The idea now is to let the dumbbells fall behind you in a controlled manner, pivoting mostly at the elbows. Essentially these are the same as the tricep extensions, but lying down which changes the direction of the force pulling against you and makes the exercise slightly less taxing on the rest of your body.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Name: Punching Dumbbells

Muscle Group Worked: Triceps, Shoulders, Biceps, Lats and Pecs (slightly)

Description: Much as dumbbell runners describe a running motion holding dumbbells, so punching dumbbells predictably describe a punching movement… holding dumbbells. Hold the dumbbells at your side (bilateral) with an inside grip, then slowly punch outwards twisting the arm as you do so that you end up with an overhand grip. As one arm goes out, the other comes in. As our first toning exercise entry into this dumbbell exercise chart you can also perform these more quickly with more repetitions to make it into a muscle toning exercise. This makes a great full upper-body workout.

Reps: You should perform about 5-6 reps to failure for muscle growth. Or around 30-50 with a light weight for toning.

Name: Uppercuts

Muscle Group Worked: Shoulders, Lats, Triceps, Biceps

Description: Hold the dumbbells with an underhand grip with one foot forwards then swing the dumbbells upwards as though you were delivering an uppercut to an imaginary foe. The idea here is that you actually are cheating a bit – the opposite to an isolated movement – but that this way you can still squeeze more effort out of the main muscle groups than you otherwise would and can make it into more of a full body workout.

Reps: You should perform about 15 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Name: Wrist Curls

Muscle Group Worked: Forearm Flexors

Description: Wrist curls strengthen your wrists as well as your forearm muscles and are really performed much how they sound. Essentially here you’re doing a normal curl, but this time pivoting at your wrist joint and not moving the rest of your arm. You will need far lighter weights than the other exercises on this dumbbell exercise chart and should be careful not to place unnecessary strain on the joint. You can perform this in one of two ways.

The first way is to rest your forearm on a table or bench with your hands/wrists hanging over the edge holding the dumbbells. From here curl the wrist up or down. This can be done with either an overhand or underhand grip and alternating is recommended to make sure you work the forearms as fully as possible.

The other way to perform wrist curls is to have the dumbbells in your hands hanging straight down by your sides, then curl them either up towards you or up away from you. Again it is recommended that you do both to add variety.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Mack LeMouse

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