List of Beginner Dumbbell Exercises?

Question

I have a set of dumbbells that I would like to use in the new year. Is there a handy list somewhere (preferably with pictures) of beginner exercises I can do with my dumbbells? I do not have a weight bench, so I'll need something bare-bones. I'd preferably like something very easy to start out with; I'm more likely to stick with something easy, so that's a good starting point for me.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Answer 1

You can supplement some bodyweight exercises with dumbbells:

• dumbbell squats
• dumbbell lunges
• dumbbell sit-ups
• dumbbell calf raises
• dumbbell step ups

Here's a more complete list of other dumbbell exercises.

For a beginner, I'd suggest finding exercises that use a large number of muscles at the same time, so that you only need to learn a few exercises and do them well. Squats, overhead press, rows, these will be better than focussing on little things like calves, biceps, forearms, etc.

Answer 2

I'm no expert, but if I were stuck with dumbbells as my only strength and power training equipment, I'd pick from the following exercises.

• Renegade rows with moderate weight
• Overhead Presses and Push Presses with maximal weight
• Dumbbell squats (holding them at my shoulders) or simply goblet squats with maximal weight. If I didn't have heavy enough dumbbells to make this hard, I'd do pistols (one-legged squats), weighted lunges, and (if you have something sturdy to step onto) weighted step-ups.
• Dumbbell deadlifts, with straight legs to make the most of the sub-maximal weight.
• Thrusters with moderate weight (these overlap with Push Presses, so pick one or the other in a given workout)
• Power cleans, similar to this, with moderate weight
• If I had a yard to tear up, and it was big enough to be safe, I'd play shot put with the heavy dumbbells outside.
• Farmer's walks are great whole-body strength developers, and have a conditioning element as well.
• Turkish get-ups also develop great strength and control in the trunk, as well as stability in the shoulder girdle.
• Swings, as with a kettlebell, are good for posterior chain development (read: strong butt) and get you winded quickly.

With maximal weights (and the cleans), sets of 5 are OK. With sub-maximal weights, sets of 8 or more are better for most purposes. I'd shoot for "heavier" rather than "more reps" as a general rule, particularly since you'll eventually run out of heavy enough dumbbells.

I might do something roughly like this:

• A: warm-up, 3 sets of 10 weighted lunges, 3 sets of 5 presses (after power cleaning the dumbbell once for each set of presses), a bunch of renegade rows, 3 sets of 20 swings
• B: warm-up, farmer's walk, five Turkish get-ups each side, 3 sets of 5 deadlifts, 3 sets of 20 thrusters

Make sure you use the full range of motion in each exercise, keep your back straight for everything, learn good form, and lift heavy. If you need more conditioning work (which is unlikely if you're doing swings or thrusters), then add sprints to lean yourself out.

Answer 3

I'm with Dave on "renegade rows", one of the best exercises ever.

Honestly, when it comes to dumbbells, I'm more of a "oh, my muscles can make things move this way" kind of person. There aren't a lot of options, ultimately--curls, hammer curls, forearm curls, wrist rolls for the biceps and forearms. Skull crushers and kickbacks for the tris. Front, side, and rear lateral raises, presses at various angles for the shoulders. Shrugs. Rows.

You can use DBs for things like deadlifts, wood choppers, olympic lifts, etc. as well.