Whether you exercise at home or go to the gym, having a complete list of dumbbell exercises will help you work out effectively. That’s why I’ve created an ultimate dumbbell exercises list for each muscle group, such as the chest, shoulder, legs, and back, so you don’t have to find them on Google every time.
I’ve included as many as 100 exercises in this biggest list. And it will be more helpful for you if you work out at home with dumbbells because it will help you design a customized dumbbell workout program for yourself.
However, you need a flexible workout bench to perform the dumbbell exercises included in this article.
List of Dumbbell Chest Exercises
Whether you’re a beginner or intermediate, if you want to build up the muscular chest with dumbbells only, you can check out this complete list of dumbbell exercises for the chest.
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Flat Dumbbell Fly
- Incline Dumbbell Fly
- Standing Dumbbell Upward Fly
- Dumbbell Pullover
- Flat Dumbbell Squeeze Press
- Floor Dumbbell Press
- Incline Dumbbell Close Grip Press
- Dumbbell Around The World
These dumbbell exercises allow you to work on your upper, middle, and lower chest and help you build a defined chest at home without barbells and machines.
Moreover, if you do powerlifting exercises, you can perform some of these dumbbell chest exercises as accessories lift for improving your bench press.
For your information, the incline dumbbell presses work on your upper chest specifically, while the decline presses reinforce your lower chest so according to that you can train your muscles.
Also, check out: 17 Dumbbell Chest Exercises That Requires No Bench.
Dumbbell Exercises List for Leg Workout
I’ve made a simple list of dumbbell leg exercises that will help you help you increase your lower body strength.
The lower body has four primary muscles to strengthen, quadriceps (quads), hamstrings (hams), glutes, and calves. And you can bolster these muscles with the help of the following exercises.
Quadriceps
- Dumbbell Forward Lunges
- Dumbbell Leg Extension
- Dumbbell Reverse Lunges
- Dumbbell Sumo Squat
- Dumbbell Step-up
- Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
If you want to perform these workouts with step-by-step instructions, you can check out these dumbbell quad exercises.
Hamstrings
The hams are the rear part of your thighs that run down from your hips to knees. They are injury-prone muscles. That is why strengthening them becomes crucial for improving performance and reducing the risk of injuries.
You can do these five exercises to build up your hammies at home with dumbbells only.
- Dumbbell Reverse Lunges
- Dumbbell Leg Curl
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- Dumbbell Hip Thrust
- Single-Leg Dumbbell Deadlift
You can check this article to see how to perform these hamstring exercises.
Glutes
Glute is as important as other muscles of the lower body. Strong gluteals help you sit correctly, improve and keep your posture good, protect your lower back during weight lifting, and improve running and squatting performance.
Although various glute strengthening exercises require barbells, kettlebells, weight, and plates, however, if you only have dumbbells, you can do the following exercises:
- Dumbbell Glute Bridges
- Dumbbell Hip Thrust
- Dumbbell Step-up
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- Single-Leg Dumbbell Deadlift
Calves
Calves are small muscles located in the back of your lower leg. They help you stand, walk, run, and jump efficiently.
If you want to reinforce and beef up your calves with dumbbells only, here is the list of a few exercises you can do at home.
- Standing Dumbbell Calf Raises
- Seated Dumbbell Calf Raises
- Dumbbell Farmer’s Walk on Toes
- Leaning Dumbbell Single-Leg Calf Raises
- Dumbbell Single-Leg Calf Raises
Related: A Complete Guide To Calf Raises Exercises & Benefits
A Complete Dumbbell Exercise List For Back
The back is the superior muscle of the upper body. It has three important muscles to build; latissimus dorsi (lats), trapezius (traps), and rhomboids. These muscles engage when you pull or adduct something, the pull-up is a good example.
For developing a wider back, you primarily need barbells and machines, but if you don’t have access to those equipments. You can do some of the best exercises from this list of dumbbell back workouts.
- Dumbbell Bent-Over Row Overhand Grip
- Dumbbell Underhand Inverted Row
- Incline Plank Row Hold
- Incline One-Arm Dumbbell Plank Rowing
- Kneeling One Arm Dumbbell Row
- Dumbbell Wide Row
- Dumbbell Pendley Row
- Dumbbell Incline I-Y-T Raises
- Dumbbell Deadlift
- Dumbbell Bent Over Reverse Fly
- Dumbbell Bend To Opposite Foot
- Dumbbell Renegade Row
Dumbbell Exercises List for Shoulders
If you want to build rounded delts and sturdy shoulders, you can do dumbbell exercises.
Dumbbells are super important equipment for strengthening the shoulder muscles.
The shoulder has four muscles to train, anterior deltoid, medial deltoid, posterior deltoid, and upper trap. And with dumbbells, you can strengthen each muscle specifically.
Here is a complete list of dumbbell exercises for shoulders.
- Dumbbell Overhead Press
- Arnold Press
- Alternate Dumbbell Front Raises (Neutral, Overhand, and Underhand Grip)
- Dumbbell Lateral Raises
- Dumbbell Bent-over Lateral Raises
- Incline Dumbbell Rowing (45-degree)
- Dumbbell Face pull
- Dumbbell Shrug
- Dumbbell Upright Row
- Dumbbell Push Press
List of Dumbbell Exercises for Biceps
The bicep is the front part of the upper arms and is made up of two-headed muscles, long and short heads. You can beef up these muscles with several dumbbell exercises from the below list of biceps workouts.
- Concentration Curl
- Standing Alternate Bicep curls
- Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl
- Dumbbell Preacher curl
- Dumbbell Hammer Curl
- Preacher Hammer curl
- Incline Prone Bicep Curl
- Dumbbell Crossbody Curl
- Dumbbell Zottoman Curl
- Dumbbell Reverse Curl
- Single-arm Hammer Curl
- Dumbbell Drag Curl
Dumbbell Core Exercises List for Abs and Oblique
Having a solid core has various benefits. For example, it will help you improve posture, reduce the risk of low back injury, and allow you to lift heavyweight during the compound exercises.
So if you want to bolster your core and thicken your abdominal muscles, you can combine these dumbbell exercises with bodyweight abs workouts.
- Standing Dumbbell Side Bend
- Dumbbell Wood Chop (High to Low)
- Dumbbell Wood Chop (Low to High)
- Dumbbell Straight-Arm Crunches
- Dumbbell Toe Touch Crunches
- Dumbbell Forward Lunge with Rotation
- Dumbbell Oblique crunches
- Dumbbell Russian Twist
- Dumbbell Side Plank
- Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Raise
- Dumbbell Side-plank Rotation
- Dumbbell Plank Rowing
- Dumbbell Bird-Dog Plank
- Dumbbell Leg Raises
- Dumbbell Reverse Crunches
- Decline Dumbbell Crunches
- Hanging Dumbbell Knee Raises
Dumbbell Exercise List for Tricep Muscle
The tricep is the rear part of the upper arms and is larger than the bicep muscles. It has three heads, long, medial, and short. These muscles activate when you extend or abduct your arms.
There are various machines and barbell workouts that strengthen and increase tricep muscle. However, if you have only dumbbells, you can do the following exercises.
- Dumbbell Lying Triceps extension
- Dumbbell Overhead Triceps extension
- Single-arm Overhead Triceps Extension
- Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench press
- Dumbbell Triceps Kickback
- Dumbbell Floor press
- Close Grip Dumbbell Push-Ups
- Crush Grip Dumbbell Push-up
These workouts work on each head and help you build defined triceps. If you want to know how to perform the above exercises with step-by-step instructions, you can find it out here.
List of Dumbbell Exercises For Lower Back
We often forget to train our lower back individually, and as a reason, we suffer from low back pain, and then we find exercises to improve that pain. But it would be more good if you regularly perform lower back dumbbell exercises. The dumbbell workouts fortify your lower back and reduce the risk of injuries so you can work out more effectively.
Here’s a list of dumbbell exercises for specifically lower back muscles.
- Dumbbell Bird-Dog Plank
- Dumbbell Superman
- Dumbbell Good Morning
- Dumbbell Hyperextension
- Dumbbell Glute Bridge
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell Workout List for Forearms
The forearms are the smallest but one of the essential muscles of the upper body. Stronger forearms help in lifting heavy dumbbells and barbells so you can build bigger biceps and triceps.
Here’s a tiny list of forearm exercises you can do with dumbbells.
- Palms Up Wrist Curl (Single and Both Arms)
- Palms Down Wrist Curl
- Dumbbell Wrist Rotation
- Dumbbell Rear Fronted Rotation
List of Dumbbell Exercises PDF
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