Upper Body Workout Dumbbells Only – Introduction
What’s a great dumbbell-only upper-body workout program for beginners?
When it comes to workout convenience, bodyweight and resistance band training are hard to beat.
You can do exercises like push-ups and band pulldowns almost anywhere, and setting up your home will cost far less than your weekly takeout coffee bill.
However, there are disadvantages to bodyweight and band training.
For starters, it can be hard to quantify your workouts as you don’t really know how much load you are lifting.
Also, limiting your workouts to one or two forms of overload could make your workouts boring or repetitive.
The good news is that you can easily and cheaply add a new dimension to your workouts with a pair of adjustable dumbbells.
A simple set of dumbbells means you can significantly increase your exercise library and work your muscles with a whole new range of movements.
Not sure where to start? No problem!
I’ve got a simple yet effective dumbbell-only upper-body workout for you to try.
What’s So Great About Dumbbells, Anyway?
Buying a set of adjustable dumbbells might seem like an expense you’d rather avoid.
However, their cost is more than outweighed by their advantages and benefits:
Versatile
You can use dumbbells for a vast range of upper and lower-body exercises.
In fact, there are no muscles you cannot train with your trusty hand weights.
Unilateral training
A pair of dumbbells allows you to train your limbs unilaterally or independently.
This will enable you to identify and fix left-to-right strength imbalances and develop better balance and coordination.
Increased range of motion
With no bar to hit your chest or shoulders, you can move dumbbells through a greater range of motion than with most barbell and floor-based exercises.
This is good for your joint mobility and health.
Easy to store
Dumbbells take up very little space, so you can put them away between workouts, for example, under a bed or in a closet.
Try doing that with a seven-foot Olympic barbell!
Cost-effective
You can pay a lot for a set of adjustable dumbbells, but budget-friendly options are also available.
Buy a pair of basic dumbbell handles and a few plates, then add to your set as you get stronger.
With nothing to break, your dumbbell set will last a lifetime.
The same cannot be said for resistance bands, as even the best ones eventually degrade and snap.
Adjustable
The whole point of getting a pair of adjustable dumbbells instead of the fixed weight type is that you can alter the weights according to the exercises you’re performing and increase the loads as you gradually get stronger.
As such, you can customize your workout and ensure that all the movements are as safe and effective as possible.
Increased safety
Dumbbells are potentially safer than barbells for home training.
Most barbell exercises are best done in a squat or power rack or with a spotter to help you if you cannot complete a rep.
Getting stuck under a heavy barbell can cause severe injury.
In contrast, you don’t need a rack with dumbbells (saving you money and space) and can just lower them to the floor if you cannot finish your rep.
Dumbbells are ideal for solo home trainers who don’t want to buy a power rack.
Not to mention when you are traveling and find some dumbbells in your hotel gym, you’re all set!
Best Dumbbell Exercises – Instructions
Get more from your training while keeping the risk of injury to a minimum by performing all the exercises correctly!
Follow these step-by-step instructions for safer, more effective workouts.
#1. Dumbbell floor press
Target muscles: Pectoralis major, deltoids, triceps.
While there is nothing wrong with dumbbell bench presses, you will need a suitable bench to do them.
Weight benches can be expensive and take up space you may not have.
The floor press is a good alternative that’s also potentially more shoulder-friendly.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight, and the weights over your shoulders.
- Turn your wrists so your palms face down your body.
- Bend your elbows and lower the dumbbells until your upper arms lightly touch the floor.
- Push the weights back up and repeat.
- Got a bench? Then feel free to do a dumbbell bench press if you prefer.
#2. Single-arm bent-over row
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, biceps.
Rowing exercises work your upper back muscles.
However, most two-handed rows also put a lot of stress on your lower back.
The single-arm row leaves one arm free to support your upper body, making this exercise much more lower back-friendly.
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell in one hand and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees slightly and brace your core.
- Lean forward and place your other hand on a sturdy chair, step, or bench.
- Your upper body should be roughly parallel to the floor.
- Starting with your arm straight and hanging vertically, bend your elbow and row the weight up and into your lower ribs.
- Extend your arm and repeat.
- Do the same number of reps on both sides.
#3. Alternating shoulder press
Target muscles: Deltoids, triceps, core.
Before the bench press became the world’s favorite upper body pressing exercise, golden-era bodybuilders built their prodigious upper body strength and muscle mass with the overhead press.
This great exercise is slightly unusual in that it uses an alternating action which increases core activation while improving your balance and coordination.
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and then raise them to shoulder height.
- Rotate your wrists so your palms face forward.
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
- Brace your core.
- Press your righthand dumbbell up and overhead.
- Then, as you lower your right arm, press the lefthand dumbbell above your head.
- Continue this alternating action for the duration of your set.
#4. Dumbbell Pullover
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi.
If there is one muscle that’s a little hard to train with dumbbells, it’s your lats.
The best lat-building exercises involve a vertical pulling action, for example, lat pulldowns and pull-ups.
Pullovers are the next best thing to pulldowns, and they provide an excellent lat workout.
How to do it:
- Lie on a bench and hold a single dumbbell over your chest, arms slightly bent but rigid.
- Lower the dumbbell down behind your head until your biceps brush your ears.
- Pull the weight forward and back over your chest.
- That’s one rep – keep going!
- No bench? You can also do this exercise while lying on the floor. However, the range of motion will be smaller.
#5. Dumbbell lateral raise
Target muscles: Deltoids.
Lateral raises target the medial head of your deltoid or shoulder muscles.
This is the part of your shoulders that give them their width.
Doing this exercise will help develop your V-taper, which, in turn, makes your waist look narrower.
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms by your sides, and palms facing your legs.
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
- Brace your abs.
- Raise your arms up and out to the side to form a T-shape.
- Lower your arms back to your sides and repeat.
#6. Alternating dumbbell bicep curl
Target muscles: Biceps brachii, brachioradialis, brachialis.
No upper body workout is complete without a biceps exercise!
Alternating dumbbell curls are one of the few movements that simultaneously address both of the functions of the biceps – elbow flexion AND forearm supination.
As such, this is a very effective biceps exercise.
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms by your sides.
- Your palms should face inward toward your thighs.
- Bend one arm and curl the weight up toward your shoulder.
- As your elbow reaches 90 degrees, rotate your wrist so your palm faces upward.
- Lower your dumbbell, turning your palm back toward your thigh as your arm straightens.
- Repeat this movement on the other arm.
- Alternate arms for the required number of reps.
#7. Overhead triceps extension
Target muscles: Triceps brachii.
Cable pushdowns might be one of the most widely-performed triceps exercises, but this overhead dumbbell exercise is potentially better.
It puts the long head of your triceps in a stretched position, giving it a more effective workout than cable pushdowns.
However, you will need good shoulder mobility to do this exercise comfortably.
How to do it:
- Stand with your knees slightly bent and core braced.
- Hold a single dumbbell above your head, upper arms next to your ears.
- Bend your elbows and lower the dumbbell down behind your head.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
- You can also do this exercise seated.
Dumbbell Only Upper Body Workout
The best way to achieve your fitness goals is by following a plan.
Making your workouts up as you go along rarely produces the best results.
So, here is a beginner dumbbell-only upper-body workout to try!
Do the following 2-3 times a week on non-consecutive days, e.g., Monday and Thursday, or Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Do your leg workouts on the days in between to ensure all your lower and upper body muscles are developed equally.
But, before you begin, do 5-10 minutes of light cardio followed by dynamic mobility and stretching exercises for the joints and muscles you’re about to work.
Warming up will make your workouts safer and more effective.
Finally, adjust the weights so that your muscles fatigue within the prescribed rep range.
If you cannot reach the lower end of the range, the load is too heavy and you need a lighter weight.
But, if you can exceed the upper range, the weight is too light.
Upper Body Dumbbell Only Workout Routine
Dumbbell Only Upper Body Workout – Wrapping Up
Dumbbells have been around for thousands of years, and exercisers have been using hand weights since before early Greek and Roman times.
While dumbbell shapes and materials have changed, the training methods and exercises have not, and dumbbells are just as effective as they’ve always been.
Adding dumbbells to your home workouts allows you to target your different muscle groups with greater precision and a wider range of exercises.
That’s not to say they’re better than calisthenic training, but they are an excellent addition to bodyweight exercises like pull-ups and push-ups.
Dumbbells are arguably the most versatile home training tool, and buying a set of adjustable dumbbells will keep your workouts varied and productive for many years to come.
