Name: Lateral Raises

Muscle Group Worked: Lats, Shoulders

Description: Lateral raises simply involve lifting both dumbbells out to the side with straight arms so strengthening the shoulders and the lats (the wing like muscles under your armpits) then returning to the resting position with them hanging by your sides. This will require quite a light weight as is a surprisingly awkward angle. Can also be performed seated (like many of these exercises).

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for muscle growth. Alternately you can ‘hold’ the dumbbells in the outward extended position and bob the weights up and down gently. Well you can do this with any of the exercises on the dumbbell exercise chart actually, but it is particularly commonly used for the lateral raises.

Name: Dumbbell Raises

Muscle Group Worked: Lats, Shoulders

Description: Dumbbell raises are very similar to lateral raises except for you’re swinging the dumbbells up directly in front of you instead of out to the sides. This targets a different sections of the deltoids (shoulders) and places less emphasis on the lats. It’s actually even more difficult than the lateral raise for this reason so you’ll need light weights again and probably won’t be able to hold the position.

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

Name: Dumbbell Rows

Muscle Group Worked: Lats, Shoulders, Seratus Muscles, Biceps, Triceps

Description: The dumbbell row is a very versatile addition to the dumbbell exercise chart and makes a great upper body workout. Here you use just one dumbbell and lean either against a wall or on a bench on one side much like you would for the tricep kick back. From here you let the one dumbbell hang by your side (you will want a fairly heavy weight this time) with your arm straight, then pull it upwards towards you so that you’re in the starting position for a kickback (upper arm parallel to the horizontal spine and elbow 90 degrees). Then lower.

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

Name: Upward Rows

Muscle Group Worked: Lats, Shoulders, Biceps, Pecs, Triceps

Description: Here the movement is similar to the dumbbell row but is performed standing and bilaterally. Here you stand with the dumbbells hanging in front of you with an overhand grip as though you were doing overhand curls. From here you then lift the dumbbells directly upwards, again bending at the elbows but outwards. In a sense you’re dragging the dumbbells up in front of you to the top of your chest then lowering. This might feel like an awkward angle but is another great upper body exercise.

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

Name: Shrugs

Muscle Group Worked: Shoulders (deltoids)

Description: Possibly the laziest and most bemused looking exercise on this dumbbell exercise chart. Here the idea is to stand again with the dumbbells hanging by your side but this time to just shrug with your shoulders as though you’re answering the question ‘Who was the 7th Monarch in England?’. This targets just the shoulders and is a great one to end on if the rest of your body is tired.

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

Name: Dumbbell Flies

Muscle Group Worked: Pecs

Description: For these you will probably need a bench – though they can be performed on the floor you won’t get as full a range of movement and so will probably not benefit enough for them to be worthwhile. Investing in a bench however is definitely worth it as these are one of the best pec workouts on this dumbbell exercise chart.

To perform dumbbell flies, lie flat on the bench with the dumbbells held above you – straight arms and palms facing inwards. From here allow the dumbbells to lower slowly to either side so that you’re in a crucifix position, then raise them back up again towards the centre.

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

Name: Dumbbell Presses

Muscle Group Worked: Pecs, Shoulders and Triceps

Description: Start as you would with the pec flies – lying on the ground with the dumbbells directly above you, but this time then pivot at the elbows, bringing the dumbbells down towards your chest then ‘pressing’ them back up again to the starting position. Again this is one that is often performed using a barbell and that benefits from a bench but can be performed adequately with dumbbells. The bench press from which it’s derived is one of the most powerful exercises in any gym goers repertoire as a compound movement and one that triggers the body’s anabolic state. For these reasons it is crucial that you perform it in some form even at home with dumbbells.

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

Name: Standing Flies

Muscle Group Worked: Pecs, Lats

Description: Like a cross between two other entries on this dumbbell exercise chart the flies and the lateral raises. Here you start off with the dumbbells hanging in front of you and close together with an inside grip, then swing your arms both up and outwards into the crucifix position. This way you are performing the flies while standing but the force of gravity is acting in entirely different ways making it a unique workout.

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

Name: Shoulder Presses

Muscle Group Worked: Shoulders

Description: These are like the dumbbell presses except for straight up over your shoulders and can be performed standing or seated (so long as you keep your back straight) and bilaterally or unilaterally. The way you face your hands for this exercise doesn’t really matter, but for a variation you can try twisting them from an inside grip to an overhand grip as you press upwards. This is something Arnie used to do when training for Mr Olympia and it should train more segments of the deltoids. Being somewhat Narcissistic he named these ‘Arnie Presses’.

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

Name: Adam Presses

Muscle Group Worked: Shoulders, Pecs, Triceps, Abs, Hamstrings, Quads

Description: Also being somewhat Narcissistic, fitness writer Adam Sinicki devised his own dumbbell pressing method. Adam presses involve doing a shoulder press and squat combined, but in such a way that the dumbbells stay mostly motionless. In other words, as you squat downwards, you press the dumbbells upwards at the same pace, then stand back up ‘into them’ to bring them back to shoulder height. These are very tiring and a complete body workout.

Reps: You should perform about 6-8 reps to failure for muscle growth.

Name: Squats

Muscle Group Worked: Hamstrings, Quads, Calves, Glutes, Abs

Description: Okay in order to do the above entry to the dumbbell exercise chart you need to first know what a squat is. Squats in the gym again involve a barbell and a ‘squatting’ rack, but can be performed at home using just dumbbells. Like the bench press, squats are one of the ‘big three’ compound movements that trigger the body’s anabolic functions and so are a vital inclusion in your weekly training routine. To begin stand with your feet shoulder’s width apart and with your knees slightly bent. Meanwhile hold the dumbbells up by your shoulders however feels comfortable. Alternatively you can have them hanging by your sides as you aren’t actually going to be using the dumbbells themselves as such, but are instead simply holding them in order to add extra weight and so resistance. Now from here you need to bend your knees so that you’re sitting down slowly into an ‘imaginary’ chair and keep going until your knees are at right angles. From here pause and then push yourself back up keeping your back straight at all times. Using dumbbells you won’t be able to lift as much weight as you could if you were in the gym with a barbell so instead you should make the movement slower and more controlled to make it a more difficult workout.

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

Name: Deadlifts

Muscle Group Worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Lower Back, Abs, Calves

Description: Deadlifts are the third of the big three compound movements and again can be performed with slight variations while using dumbbells (hence their inclusion on this list). For these to work however you will again need heavy weights so make sure you either set your dumbbells to the highest setting, or add four separate dumbbells’ worth of weights onto just two dumbbells (most will allow you to fit on about twice the normal amount before the collars won’t fit on).

Now set the dumbbells down in front of both feet and then squat all the way down to the ground in order to grab them. Now raise yourself directly up lifting the weights with you (but not bending your arms) so that they rest just in front of your abdomen. Hold this position for the count of three then return the weights to the floor. If you only perform three exercises in your weekly routines you should make it the press, the squat and the deadlift – and some people in fact do use just these and claim it’s one of the best and fastest ways to build strength and muscle.

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

Name: Lunges

Muscle Group Worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Thighs, Calves

Description: Lunges involve stepping forward deeply while weighted down then returning to the starting point. If you hold a dumbbell in either hand as you do this and lunge deeply enough then it will make a great taxing workout for your upper legs that’s almost as good as the squat. There are also several variations for this exercise and you can either train just one side unilaterally the swap, or train the sides alternately. You can even turn lunges into a kind of walk and travel round the garden, house or gym with lunging steps. This looks ridiculous but actually makes the workout more difficult by keeping the resistance on for 100% of the movement. One final variation is to put one leg up on something higher such as a bench, bed or sofa. This allows you to lunge more deeply thereby increasing the range of movement and training more of the muscles.

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

Name: Calf Raises

Muscle Group Worked: Calves

Description: The only exercise on this dumbbell exercise chart that specifically targets the calves. Fortunately it can be performed in one of two ways and these between them should prove sufficient to give you bulging lower legs.

To train the calves you simply need to go up on tip toes – and this can be made more difficult if you stand on a ledge where you can also lower your heel to below your toes. While this can be done with just body weight, you can make the exercise exponentially more difficult by adding dumbbells and training with these – simply holding one in each hand as you perform the reps. If this isn’t enough you can then cross one foot behind the other and perform the raises using just one leg and with additional weight from the dumbbells.

The variation mentioned above then, is to sit down on a bench or chair and take just one dumbbell. Make this quite heavy and balance it on the knee of the leg you aim to train then raise just that side up onto tip toes – this time with the added weight coming straight down on top of it.

Reps: You should perform about 8-10 reps to failure for muscle growth, 15-20 for toning.

Name: Dumbbell Sit Ups

Muscle Group Worked: Abs

Description: As you’ve probably learned from this dumbbell exercise chart, almost any regular exercise can be made more difficult through the addition of dumbbells for added resistance and sit ups are no exception. To perform sit ups with dumbbells, simply take the weights and make them fairly light (to avoid hurting your back) then hold them by your chest as you do the exercises.

You can also add punches to the end of the exercise using the light weights to make it a great full body toning workout, or alternately use them with any of the many sit up variations such as crunches or twisting sit ups.

Reps: You should perform about 20-50 reps to failure for toning.

Mack LeMouse

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