Using dumbbell for push ups make push-ups more powerful exercise and help you increase upper body strength, muscle mass, and overall balance. And this has motivated me to do some dumbbell pushups such as dumbbell push-up to renegade rows and dumbbell T push up at my home.
And let me tell you, these dumbbell push-ups are super exciting, challenging, and effective. So, I decided to share that experience with you, like how to do push-ups with dumbbells and what are the benefits of each dumbbell pushup variation.
Doing the type of dumbbell pushup is entirely depends on you. However, as far as I know, you can do six push-up variations with dumbbells, such as:
- Dumbbell Pushup to Renegade Row
- Dumbbell T Pushup
- DB Close Grip Push-up
- Standard Dumbbell Push-Up
- Diamond Push up on Dumbbells
- Dumbell Floor Press-Up
Let’s see how to do each of them with step-by-step instructions and how they are efficient for you.
Related: 12 week dumbbell workout plan (with Free PDF)
1. Dumbbell Push-Up to Renegade Row
The Renegades Row dumbbell push-up is the strength workout and best for targeting upper body muscles such as arms, shoulders, back, and chest.
Equipment Needed: Hexagonal Dumbbell or Rubber Bouncer Dumbbell
Level: Intermediate
Muscles Worked: Arms, Shoulder, Back, Chest Core, etc.
Note: Warm-up for five minutes before doing dumbbell pushup.
How to Push-Up to Renegade Row with dumbbells:
- Holding a dumbbell in each hand, get on your all fours.
- Kick your legs behind you to get into a high plank position with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
- Keep the dumbbells shoulder-width apart with your arms straight on them.
- Brace your abdominal muscles, glutes and thigh. And keep your body straight from head to the heels. That’s the starting position.
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest as close as to the floor.
- Hold for a second and then press back until your elbows are fully extended.
- Now raise your right elbow at your sides until the dumbbell comes to your rib level, pause and then lower it down. And repeat on the left side to complete one rep.
- To make this movement easy you can increase the distance between your feet.
- Use lightweight dumbbells to do this movement.
- Avoid if you’re not good at push-up.
Push Up To Renegade Row Benefits
- The dumbbell renegade row push-up works on several muscles at once, such as the core, arms, chest, traps, shoulder, and glutes.
- It stimulates upper body muscles and improves coordination.
- It increases power, builds a strong core, and promotes muscle growth.
- The renegade row DB pushup improves the flexibility and overall balance of your body.
- This exercise also increases your metabolism rate and helps your body releases more calories.
You can easily do 5-10 reps with a pair of lightweight dumbbells.
Try this dumbbell push-up variation once a week. And I hope this will surely help you improve your overall performance.
Related: 10+ Dumbbell Chest exercises For Home and Gym
2. T Push Up With Dumbbells
Dumbbell T-Push Up increases strength and endurance.
The T pushup primarily works on the chest and shoulder. However, it also activated important muscles like arms, core, back, etc to some extent.
Equipment Needed: Hexagonal Dumbbell or Rubber Bouncer Dumbbell
Level: Advanced
Main Muscles Worked: Shoulder and Chest.
Less Activated Muscles: Arms, Traps, Glutes, and Abs.
How to Dumbbell T Push Up
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and get into a high plank position.
- Put the dumbbells slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your core, hips, and glutes tight and back straight. That’s your beginning position.
- Slowly bend your elbows and lower your upper body until your chest comes close to the floor. And then press back until your arms are fully straight.
- Now, raise your left arm along with your body to the left.
- Rotate your body until your arm is straight up toward the ceiling so your body forms the letter T shape.
- Repeat with the opposite arm to complete one rep. Do as many reps as you can.
- Use lightweight dumbbells to do this movement smoothly.
- Avoid if you’re not good at doing dumbbell pushup rows.
Dumbbell T Push-Ups Benefits
- The Dumbbell T push-ups increase Core strength.
- T push-ups mainly strengthen the arms, shoulder, and core muscles.
- They increase muscle flexibility & body balance.
- Dumbbell T push-ups also work on the lower back and the hips.
- Apart from all of these, they also improve posture.
You should try this movement along with other exercises for increasing overall strength. This movement will improve your balance and improve body posture.
3. Dumbbell Close Grip Push-up
Doing close grip push-up on the dumbbell works effectively on the chest and triceps. You’ll get a better grip and good muscle contraction during this movement.
If you’re a beginner, I would suggest you doing this dumbbell pushup on your knees.
The steps are pretty easy. All you need a dumbbell and little space.
How to do a close grip push-up on dumbbell
- Place a dumbbell on the floor in the standing position.
- Sit on your knees and grab the head of the dumbbell with your hands.
- Get into a high plank position with your arms straight below your chest.
- Keep your body straight from head to heels.
- Brace your abdominal muscles, glutes, and thigh. This is your starting position.
- Slowly bend your elbows and lower your upper body until your chest touches the dumbbell.
- Pause for a second and two, and then press back until your arms are fully straight. That’s your one rep. Perform as many reps as possible.
Close Grip Dumbbell Pushup Benefits
- Increase upper body strength, especially chest and triceps.
- Provide good muscle contraction.
- Improve grip strength.
4. Standard Dumbbell Push-Up
Standard dumbbell push-up is the strength workout and very much like a normal push up.
Instead of placing your hands on the floor, you need to grip the dumbbells.
It is a modified part of the normal push-up. The standard dumbbell push-up is a little harder than the normal push-up.
Equipment Needed: Hexagonal Dumbbell or Rubber Bouncer Dumbbell
Level: Intermediate
Main Muscles Worked: Arms & Chest
Less Activated Muscles: Shoulder, Core and the Back
How to Standard Dumbbell Push Up
- Grab a pair of dumbbells, place on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width; grip the dumbbells with your hands with your palms facing each other.
- Get into a position to perform push-up with your body straight from top to bottom.
- Lower your chest as close as to the ground. Pause for a couple of second and then push back up to the beginning position. That’s one complete rep! You can do as many you can.
- Grip the dumbbells firmly, keep your body as straight as possible during the movement and complete every rep smoothly.
Benefits Of Standard dumbbell push-ups
- The push-ups on the dumbbell grip allow your pecs to engage greatest and increase chest growth.
- They stabilize the triceps and the shoulders and promote muscle growth. At the same time, they also strengthen the core.
- They increase strength and power which helps you in other advanced workout movements.
If you want to increase and strengthen muscles then you should at least do this once or twice a week.
5. Dumbell Diamond Push-Ups
The diamond push-up can also be modified and replaced with dumbbells. Dumbbell diamond push-up is more effective than the usual diamond push-up. It targets your triceps more deeply and helps your triceps grow faster.
Related: 10 Best Dumbbell Triceps Exercises For Bigger Arms
Equipment Needed: Hexagonal Dumbbell or Rubber Bouncer Dumbbell
Level: Intermediate
Main Muscles Worked: Triceps
Less Activated Muscles: Shoulder, Core, Chest, and the Back
How to Diamond Dumbbell push-up
- Grab a pair of dumbbells, Place them on the floor in a way that they formed an “A” shape; Grip the dumbbells with your hands and hold onto them into a push-up position by extending your leg behind. Keep your feet wider or shorter as you feel comfortable.
- Keep your back straight, brace your core and tighten your glutes and bend your elbows to start lowering your chest as close as to the floor. Hold for a sec and push back up to the beginning position. That’s one complete rep! You can do as many you can.
- Grip the dumbbells firmly, keep your body as straight as possible from head to heel during the movement and complete every rep smoothly.
Dumbbell DIAMOND Push-ups Benefits
The diamond dumbbell push-up increases arms strength, builds stronger and shredded triceps, increases core strength which helps in other advanced workouts such as deadlifts, bench press, etc.
Doing diamond push-ups on the dumbbell grip improve balance and enhance your grip strength.
6. Dumbell Floor Press-Up
In the dumbbell floor press-up, instead of pushing your body up, you need to push the dumbbell upward toward the ceiling.
Equipment Needed: Any pair of dumbbells
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Main Muscles Worked: Chest, Triceps
Less Activated Muscles:, Core and Shoulder
How to Dumbbell Chest Push Up
- Start with lying face upwards on the mat, holding a pair of dumbbells just above the floor; keep your body completely straight from forehead to toe.
- Hold the Dumbbells slightly wider than shoulder-width. Palms facing forward. That’s your starting position.
- Brace your core, and push the dumbbells up toward the ceiling until your arms are fully extended.
- Bring the dumbbells close to each other, squeeze your chest muscles; hold for a second or two and then slowly bring down the dumbbells back to the beginning position.
- That’s will your one rep! You can do as many reps and sets as you like.
Dumbbell chest push-ups Benefits
The dumbbell chest press-up is easier than other push-up variations because you just need to push the dumbbell up instead of your body weight.
You can perform on a bench as well as on the mat. This dumbbell push-up variation mainly targets the chest muscles as well as triceps, shoulder, and core to a lesser degree.
What Are The Benefits Of Performing Push-Ups With The Dumbbell?
Adding dumbbells in your push-ups helps you target more muscles at a time. The dumbbell push-ups strengthen the core, arms, shoulders, back, and chest.
Benefits of Doing Push-ups with Dumbbells
- Doing pushups with dumbbells can be a good way to build muscle mass along with strengthening them.
- Dumbbell push-up variations like dumbbell T pushups and dumbbell renegade row push-ups help you improve body balance. Because, when you do these two push-ups, you’ll need to hold your upper body weight onto one hand. You may find them hard in the beginning. However, once you do them consistently you’ll see the improvement.
- Performing pushups on dumbbells also strengthens your grip. And you know the strong grip is important for doing heavy weight training like bench press, deadlift, etc.
- Dumbbell pushups are exciting, challenging, and super effective. When you start doing them, you’ll enjoy them a lot. And the best thing is that you can do them at home.
However, doing push-ups with dumbbells requires good balance and proper technique; Otherwise, you will be likely to get injured.
Are Dumbbell Push-Ups Harder to Perform?
Doing push-ups using dumbbells can be harder because they require a better grip, balance, and strength.
If you’re good at performing bodyweight push-ups, you’ll be able to do dumbbell pushups too.
All you need to do is to perform each rep in a controlled fashion.
When you find difficult to perform on your toes, then do on your knees.
Final Words
All the above dumbbell push-ups are good. And you can do them at home. Try each variation every day, and then see what suits you the most. If all works for you, include them in your general dumbbell home workout routine.
There can more dumbbell push-ups variations; it is up to you to make some modifications in push-ups. If you do other than the above dumbbell pushups, please let me know so I can add those too in this post.
featured image by Louish Pixel edied by me
