Dumbbell-only Exercises for Weightlifting

It is amazing how many great exercises you can do with just free weights / dumbbells / body weight. Don’t let cost or travel keep you from building muscle. Here are some winners for getting a great exercise in with just dumbbells.

We’ve already made the case for why you should be lifting weights. And don’t miss our article on Building a Killer At-Home Weightlifting Gym

If you’re just starting out and wanting to prove a habit before dropping several thousand dollars this post is going to be a great starting point. Or if you just find yourself traveling and the hotel gym has a broken down elliptical and a set of free weights.

The Equipment ($200-$1000)

Depending on how far you go, which options, and where you buy, you are looking at a few hundred bucks.

You’ll need weights, ideally a bench, and optionally resistance bands.

Weights ($100-600)

There are three directions you can go:

1. Sets of dedicated Dumbbells in various sizes ($280-550)
   • This is my favorite approach. You can quickly move between weights and go up as you progress. I’m a big fan of the Rubber Hex Dumbbells from Cap. I’ve slowly built a nice collection buying them in pairs from Walmart over the years for about $1 / pound.
   • If you have pairs of 5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50 that would be $550. If you are just starting out and did just up to and including 35lb, that would be only $280

2. A pair of adjustable dumbbells. ($250-400)
   • I don’t know much about these but there are good contenders from Bowflex, Flybird, PowerBlock, etc.
   • Big advantage is they take up very little space.
   • Downsides might be ease of switching increments, longterm durability, and whether form factor works for all exercises

3. Loadable Dumbbells with plates ($100-$400)
   • This is how I started off and it is a nice cheap option you can slowly add to. Can often get great deals on Facebook Marketplace for $1/lb or less.
   • The big bummer is that it is a hassle to screw and unscrew to lower or raise the weight. And if it is a hassle and you have to do it every session, you may just avoid.

Dumbbell Exercises

On Bodybuilding.com there is a magnificent database of exercises that you can filter by equipment. The below links are to their write-ups and videos on each exercise. You have to sign up for a free account but that’s worth the hassle.

Below are some staples. My 10 favorites are bolded.

Arms / Forearms / Triceps

• Incline Hammer Curls (one of my favs) or try normal Hammer Curls
• Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl / Dumbbell Bicep Curl (I like to do in tandem with Cross-body hammer curl)
• Palms-Up Dumbbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench (Forearms)
• Dumbbell skullcrusher (Triceps)
• Dumbbell farmer’s walk (forearms / grip)
  • This one may be tough if you don’t have enough weight to make it worthwhile. Kettlebells are a good choice for it.

Chest

• Dumbbell Bench Press
  • Dumbbell floor press (if you don’t have a bench)
• Incline dumbbell bench press
• Dumbbell Flyes
  • This can be a riskier exercise so don’t push the weight and don’t over extend the movement.

Shoulders / Traps

• Seated Dumbbell Press or Standing dumbbell shoulder press
• Side Lateral Raise or with a bench try Seated rear delt fly
• Arnold Press
• Standing dumbbell shrug (traps)
  • Over time you can really go up in weight here

Back

• One-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Incline dumbbell row
• Dumbbell bent-over row

Legs (Hamstrings / Glutes / Quads)

• Dumbbell Goblet Squat or Dumbbell squat (Quads)
• Romanian Deadlift With Dumbbells (Hamstrings)
• Dumbbell Walking Lunge (Quads)

Body Weight

Push-ups

• Don’t chase high volume here. If you are hitting 30 reps pretty easily then try alternate forms like diamond position, hands wide , or explosive movement. Or even introduce resistance bands.

Pull-ups / Chin-ups

• The pull up is still probably the best exercise for biceps and it is fantastic for your back muscles.

Lunges / Body Squats

There you go! A crash course in what equipment you need and a few exercises to get you going. Enjoy the gains!

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