| Exercises |
Muscles Worked |
Alternate Bench Press:
- Lying back on a workout bench, grasp two dumbbells and
hold them at either side, elbows bent, at chest level
- Push your left hand up until your arm is extended and
the dumbbell is perpendicular to the bench
- Pause, and lower the dumbbell to starting position
- Do the same with the opposite arm
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Pectorals
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Angled Prone Curl:
- With your chest against an incline bench, take dumbbells
in either hand, letting them hang straight down
- Pull your hands to your chest, bending at the elbow
until the dumbbells are even with the bench
- Return to the starting position
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Biceps
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Arnold Press:
- Sitting on a bench, take a dumbbell in each hand with
hand overhand grip and hold them at the sides of your
shoulders, palms turned out
- Inhale and press the dumbbells up until arms are
extended over your head
- Return to the starting position
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Deltoids and Triceps
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Bar Crunch:
- Lying on a bench with your knees bent, extend your arms
straight out at chest level with dumbbells in either hand
- Using your side abs (obliques) raise your head and
shoulders upwards
- Return to starting position
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Abdominals
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Beginner Squat
- Standing up with feet shoulder-width apart, extend your
arms at your sides with dumbbells in each hand
- Inhale and squat down, slightly bending your back
- Lower until your hips are parallel to the floor.
- Pause, then extend your legs to return to the starting
position
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Quads and Glutes
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Close-Grip Dumbbell Press:
- Lying on the floor with a pair of dumbbells in your
hands and legs straight out, keep your arms at your sides
and bent up at 90-degree angle, with your palms facing each
other
- Push the dumbbells up, keeping your elbows tucked at
your sides
- Lower the weights back to the starting position
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Pectorals and Triceps
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Concentration Dumbbell Curl:
- Sitting on a bench with your legs spread, hold a
dumbbell in one hand, letting your arm hand down with your
elbow resting on your inner thigh. Keep your forearm
straight
- Raise the dumbbell towards your shoulder by bending your
arm at the elbow
- Return to starting position and repeat
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Biceps
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Cross-Over Lateral Step-Up:
- Standing with an aerobic step to your right, hold a
dumbbell in each hand at your sides
- Lift your left leg and cross it over the right to place
your left foot on the step
- Push with your left leg as you bring the right foot next
to the left on the step
- Reverse the motion and repeat
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Glutes
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Cross-Over Weighted Step:
- Standing in front of an aerobic exercise step, hold a
dumbbell in each hand with your arms extended at your sides
- Inhale and step up placing your left foot at the right
side of the step and flexing your elbows, pulling the
dumbbells up to your chest level
- Raise your right leg, flexing the knee at a 90-degree
angle
- Hold for 30 seconds, then return to starting position
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Gastrocnemius and Soleus
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Dumbbell Alternating Curl:
- Standing up straight with a dumbbell in either hand,
palms facing forward, extend your arms down at your sides
- Curl one dumbbell to your shoulder, keeping the other at
your side
- As you lower the dumbbell to starting position, curl the
other one up
- Repeat motion
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Biceps and Wrist Extensors
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Dumbbell Back Lunge:
- Stand up straight holding a dumbbell above your shoulder
- In one motion, press the weight over your head while
moving one foot back, and bending the front foot at the knee
- Return to the starting position
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Glutes and Traps
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Dumbbell Bench Press:
- Lying back on a bench, grasp two dumbbells, holding them
at either side of your body at chest level with your arms
bent at the elbow
- Push the dumbbells up simultaneously until both arms are
extended and dumbbells are perpendicular to the bench
- Inhale, hold for a moment and return to the starting
position
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Deltoids and Gastrocnemius
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Dumbbell Bent-Over Row:
- Grab a dumbbell with your weaker hand and hold it at an
arms length in front of your legs, palms facing in
- Place your non-working arm behind your back
- Tighten your core and push your hips back until your
torso is at a 45-degree angle to the floor
- Bend your knees slightly, making sure your neck and head
are in line with your back
- Put the dumbbell up to the side of your abdomen, then
lower it back to your arms length
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Traps and Latissimus Dorsi
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Dumbbell Bilateral Twist:
- Lying on your back with a dumbbell in both hands over
your chest, lift your legs and bend your knees to a
90-degree angle
- Lower your legs to the left and your arms to the right,
twisting your body comfortably
- Reverse this motion
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Obliques and Abdominals
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Dumbbell Calf Jump:
- Holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, stand
with your legs shoulder-width apart
- Keeping your back straight, slowly squat down
- When you reach the lowest point of your squat, push
yourself back up with your leg muscles, jumping as high as
you can as you do
- Land on slightly bent legs and make a deep squat again,
repeating the jump motion
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Hamstrings and Quads
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Angled Prone Reverse Curl:
- With a dumbbell in each hand, bend forward and press
your chest against an incline bench, letting your hands go
down with the palms facing your chest and the dumbbells
parallel to the floor
- Pull your hands up to your chest by bending your elbows
back towards your body
- Hold, and return to starting position
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Biceps
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Dumbbell and Leg Raise:
- Holding a dumbbell in each hand, and keeping your elbows
bent up with the dumbbells at head-height, put your feet
shoulder width apart
- Raise one leg with your knee bent, keeping your thigh
parallel to the floor
- Straighten your arms up above your head while
simultaneously straightening your leg forward
- Hold and return to starting position
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Quadriceps and Rectus Abdominus
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Dumbbell Bicep Curl:
- Stand with two dumbbells at either side, palms facing
out and arms straight
- Keep your body and back straight, and pull both
dumbbells to your shoulder by bending your elbows, turning
palms slightly outward to contract your biceps as much as
possible
- Return slowly to the starting position, sliding your
hands down
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Biceps and Brachialis
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Dumbbell Crossover Lunge:
- Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides in either hand,
keeping your palms facing in
- Step with one foot in front of the other foot as your
lunge, until your front knee is bent 90 degrees
- Hold and return to the starting position
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Glutes and Gastrocnemius
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Dumbbell Curl Combo:
- Strand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand, down at
your sides, palms facing forward
- Curl the weights up to your shoulders
- Press the dumbbells overhead rotating your wrists, so
palms face forward at the top of the motion
- Slowly return to starting position
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Biceps and Triceps
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Dumbbell Deadlift:
- Place dumbbells on the floor in front of you
- Squat down and take them with either hand, with an
overhand grip
- Stand up with the dumbbells, and then lower them back to
the floor
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Glutes and Lower Back
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Dumbbell Floor Press:
- Lie on your back flat on the floor, holding dumbbells in
either hand above your chest with your arms straight
- Bend your knees while keeping your feet flat on the
floor
- Lower the dumbbells so that your upper arms touch the
floor
- Hold, then press the weights back up to the starting
position
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Triceps and Pectorals
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Dumbbell Fly:
- Lie supine on a horizontal bench with your upper torso
and buttocks planted on the bench, keeping your back
straight and feet shoulder width apart
- Grasp two dumbbells with your arms straight up so the
dumbbells are parallel with your chest
- Take a deep breath and lower the dumbbells to your sides
while exhaling
- When your elbows bend and the dumbbells reach chest
level, pause, and then push them back to the starting
position
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Pectorals and Deltoids
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Dumbbell Hip Extension:
- Lying on all fours, hold a dumbbell in between the back
of your thigh and your calf, in the crook of your leg
- Lift the leg with the dumbbell as high as you can, while
maintaining the bend in your knee
- Return to starting position
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Glutes and Hamstrings
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Dumbbell Kickback:
- Take two dumbbells and sit on the edge of a bench
- Put your feet directly under your knees
- Lean forward until your chest nearly rests on your
thighs
- With a dumbbell in each and, hold your upper arms close
to your sides and parallel to the floor, forearms pointing
down
- Straighten arms behind your back
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Triceps
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Dumbbell L Lift:
- Place feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in
each hand
- Bend your elbows and raise your arms until your
upper arms are parallel to the floor
- Straighten your arms up
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Deltoids and rotator cuffs
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Dumbbell Lateral Raise:
- Place feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in
each hand
- Bend your elbows, with your arms at your sides
- Lift arms out, away from your sides until they are
shoulder level high
- Do not flex your elbows more
- Return to starting position
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Deltoids & Rotator Cuffs
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Dumbbell Lunge:
- Stand with feet slightly apart and back straight
- Hold a dumbbell in either hand at your side
- Inhale and lunge forward, keeping your back straight
- Lower your body until the thigh of the front leg is
parallel to the floor
- Return to the starting position and repeat on opposite
leg
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Quads and Soleus
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Dumbbell Lunge with Front Arm Raise:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides
- Lung forward and lift both arms straight in front of you
- Switch legs each time
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Quads and Deltoids
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Dumbbell Plank Combo:
- Put a pair of dumbbells shoulder-width apart on a step
- Take a plank position, with your hands holding the dumbbells and your legs straight behind you
- Lift the left dumbbell and at the same time raise your right leg, so that it is parallel to the floor
- Return to starting position, and switch arms and legs
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Lower abs and upper abs
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Dumbbell Shrug Combo:
- Hold a pair of dumbbells and face your palms toward your
side
- Squat down until the dumbbells hand just below your
knees, keeping your lower back slightly arched
- Shrug your shoulders and jump as high as you can
- Land in the starting position
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Quads & Gastrocnemius
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Dumbbell Side Bend:
- Stand with legs shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell
straight at your side
- Bend your torso towards the side of the hand holding the
dumbbell
- Return to the starting position
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Obliques
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Dumbbell Toe Touch:
- Lie on back and hold a dumbbell with both hands
- Raise legs until they are perpendicular to the floor and
extend your arms keeping the dumbbells directly over your
chest
- Without moving your legs, lift your chest off the floor
and try to touch your feet with the dumbbells
- Avoid bending your knees and try to lift your chest and
shoulders higher with each rep
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Abdominals
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Dumbbells have been around longer than almost any other form of exercise
equipment. Their basic design and purpose hasn't changed much since
their inception, because, to be honest, there really isn't a lot of room
for improvement. Dumbbells are perfection in simplicity, and therein
lies their success, and the key to yours.
Dumbbell workouts offer a wide variety of benefits, in every aspect
of your workout. First of all, like we've said, they're simple. No need
to drop thousands of dollars on home gyms, heavy fitness equipment, and
space-eating workout machines! With a great
dumbbell set in a variety of weights, or even an
adjustable dumbbell offering multiple weights in one, you can get
all of the gut-busting, calorie-killing, muscle-building, and
body-toning workouts you'd get with larger machines, in a package that
barely takes up any space at all. Small and easily stored, dumbbells are
great for home work outs. They even travel well, so you can keep to your
exercise program when you're on the road. Just get them out when you're
ready to sweat, and store them out of sight when you're finished. Done
and done.
Dumbbells also offer a myriad of workout options. With one dumbbell
set, the right knowledge, and at most, a
weight
bench, you can work almost any muscle group in the body. That's
right, no costly gym membership. A dumbbell set and your commitment is
all that's standing in your way of seeing a better, more fit you. And
dumbbells actually offer a more beneficial, and well-rounded workout
than all of those costly, new-fangled machines. The key is
stabilization. When you perform even the most basic workout with a
dumbbell, let's say, an arm curl, you activate your shoulder, back, and
leg muscles to keep your body stable while you correctly perform the arm
curl. Instead of isolating the bicep, like many machines do, dumbbells
make you do the work, toning the entire body while you focus on certain
muscle groups.
The benefits of a dumbbell workout are multi-faceted. The harder you
work, the stronger, firmer, more toned, and slimmer you'll become. And
let's be honest here, the slimmer and more fit you are, the better you
feel about yourself. Not only are you looking better, but you're
accomplishing something. A fitter, happier you has higher energy levels
and increased confidence. Stronger muscles also help to prevent certain
diseases and degenerative disorders like osteoporosis, keeping bone
density high and protecting your muscles from tearing. Exercise speeds
up metabolism, controlling weight gain, helping you drop pounds faster.
And to reap these benefits, you really don't need to devote a lot of
time each day to working out. 15-20 minutes a day working certain muscle
groups, like arms, legs, and abs, will have serious results in just a
few weeks!
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