The 7 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle

Everyone knows that all you have to do is keep moving. If you want to build maximum muscle mass, the dumbbell exercises will tick the box. It leads you to level up your cardio fitness, recruit stabilizing muscles, and test your balance and control. We have listed “The 7 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle” for you.

According to research, In 2020, the number of users of dumbbells/hand weights amounted to approximately 53.26 million. It would be best if you step up your efforts to build muscles and lose fat.  Let’s go straight into it.

Goblet Squat

A Goblet Squat is a foundational lower body exercise. It’s the best move you need to be working on, and the best time to start it is from today. There is no need to worry if you are a newbie or a long-time hard gainer, as this exercise is perfect for any level. Goblet Squats specifically target glute activation while improving both hip and thoracic mobility.

How to Do a Goblet Squat 

1. Hold a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest and turn your toes out. 
2. Allow your knees to track in the direction your toes are facing. 
3. Sink your head deep down while keeping your upper body erect and your scapula retracted. 
4. Adjust the dumbbell’s placement to counterbalance your body weight and prevent toppling over when you get to the bottom. 
5. At the bottom of the squat, feel free to shift your body weight from side to side to work into the hips. 
6. Continuing to look ahead, pause for a second at the bottom of the movement. 
7. Keep your torso upright.
8. Exhale and explosively rise to the top as if you’re trying to pop your head straight through the roof.
9. Repeat and repeat.

Benefits of Goblet Squat

If you do goblet squat regularly, it will help you pack significant mass into your lower body and your trunk. You should know that it unlocks improved strength and mobility. It builds your muscle mass.

It strengthens your Quads, calves, glutes, abs, arms, and grip. Similarly, Goblet Squats helps you craft a stronger core and powerful glutes that can help ease desk-bound back pain and other discomforts.

Dumbbell Clean

The dumbbell clean is bodybuilding and foundational weightlifting exercise that activates muscles across your body. Moreover, it would be best to choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.

Adding these powerlifter lifts into your training will help you build your lean muscle tissue and build explosive power in you. It begins by using a weight you can control for 2 to 3 sets of 6 to10 repetitions. 

How to do Dumbbell Clean

1. Firstly, make sure to catch the dumbbells at shoulder height in a front squat position. 
2. Slowly straighten your legs to stand. 
3. Flip your wrists and bring the dumbbells to your shoulders, slightly jumping as you do. 
4. Explosively push into the ground after bending your hips, knees, and ankles. 
5. Pull yourself under the dumbbells and lower your body into a squat stance.
6. Lastly, bring the dumbbells back to your sides and repeat.

Benefits of Dumbbell Clean

Dumbbell Clean leads to maximizing your muscle-growing power. This exercise helps the blood rush into your glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and arms. When you’ve mastered the standard dumbbell clean, then try one of these variations.

• Dumbbell clean and press
• Kettlebell clean
• Dumbbell hangs power clean
• Single-arm dumbbell clean

Flat Dumbbell Fly

Dumbbell fly is a great exercise that follows your big compound lifts (the squat, bench press, and deadlift). It hits the chest from a different angle, the inner chest muscles. A more muscular chest enhances your physique, assists with daily activities, and improves your sporting performance.

If you want to build a bigger, well-shaped chest with that ‘chest separation’ look, then dumbbell flye is a must-have addition to your workout routine. What’s more, this exercise is not much heavy.  It is usually completed with lower weights focusing on the form and squeeze held with every rep. It’s the perfect finishing exercise for your chest workout. 

How to do Flat dumbbell fly

1. First of all, lie down on a flat bench holding two dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing inwards. 
2. Next, press the dumbbells up until your arms are almost fully extended.
3. Now, this is time to return your arms to the starting position and squeeze your pecs together.
4. Don’t forget to keep your arms steady throughout the movement. 
5. Give a slight bend in your arms and arc the weights down to your sides until you feel a stretch across your chest. 
6. Squeeze your pecs to return the dumbbells to the start position by reversing the movement.
7. Don’t let the dumbbells touch as they meet at the top. And hold for a second.
8. Repeat.

Benefits of Flat Dumbbell Fly

Flat Dumbbell Flye strengthens your delts, pecs, rhomboids, serratus anterior, rotator cuffs, and biceps. Believe me or not, this exercise is better than the bench press to stimulate the chest muscle fibers. It builds your muscle mass.

Dumbbell flye will work both of your chest muscles, the more significant pectoralis major and the smaller pectoralis minor. It’s essential to perform this exercise with the correct form and technique to target the right muscles. 

Two-Arm Dumbbell Stiff-Legged Deadlift

If you haven’t done the dumbbell stiff leg deadlift before, then choose a lightweight dumbbell to start the exercise. I suggest you complete 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps. On the other hand, grab a pair of heavier dumbbells if you are more comfortable with them. This way, complete 6 to 8 reps for 3 to 4 sets.

How to do a Two-Arm dumbbell stiff-legged deadlift

1) Firstly, stand with the position on your feet shoulder-width apart.

2) Hold the dumbbells facing towards you. 

3) Engage your core and bring your shoulder blades together.

4) Keep your chest held high. 

5) Slowly bend over at the waist with a slight bend in your knees.

6) Bring your hips back, and bring the dumbbells over your feet until you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings. 

7) Keep your back straight and your core tight. 

8) Contract your hamstrings as you return to the standing position and squeeze your glutes. 

9) Maintain tightness in your core.

10) Repeat.

Benefits of Two-Arm dumbbell sift-legged deadlift 

Two-Arm dumbbell sift-legged deadlift shreds your legs into rich pins. It performs this task by targeting your fast-twitch lower-body muscles. Plus, this exercise ensures your entire posterior chain is functioning effectively. 

It increases Glute and Hamstring Muscle Mass, improves Mind-Muscle Connection and, improves Athletic Performance. It builds your muscle mass. Two-Arm Dumbbell Stiff-Legged Deadlift strengthens your Hamstrings, erectors, lats, and glutes.

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift Mistakes

• Rounding off the Back
• Bringing the Dumbbells Away from The Body
• Rushing the Motion

Dumbbell Bench Press

Look no further than dumbbell bench press exercise if you want to build beautiful, muscular, quality pecs. Moreover, weight in each of your hands allows for a more excellent stretch at the bottom of the lift, used to build a bigger chest.

This is the primary exercise to strengthen the musculature of the upper body. You can squeeze your pecs together at the top of the lift to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible to take this movement further. It helps you in the significant chest, shoulder, and arms gain.

How to do Dumbbell Bench Press

1. Lie on a flat bench.
2. Hold two dumbbells over your chest with an overhand grip. 
3. Push up until your arms are straight, then lower under control.
4. Repeat

Benefits of Dumbbell bench press

Dumbbell bench presses allow for a full range of motion, your shoulders and elbows to go through a more excellent range of motion. You can strengthen your Pecs, shoulders, triceps, forearms, lats, traps, and rhomboids by doing this exercise.

It activates your stabilizer muscles. 

When you lift the dumbbells to do this exercise, you stabilize yourself using your arms, shoulders, lower back, and core muscles. It also promotes muscles symmetry and builds mass.

We understand that everyone is brushing up their technique from time to time. You can be a pro in bench press by;

• Finding the Right Bench
• Working Out the Correct Position on the Bench
• Time to Bench

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Dumbbell Shoulder Press is a weightlifting exercise. This exercise is a valuable exercise to activate your shoulder muscles. It targets muscles throughout your body. When you press the dumbbells over your shoulders, make sure your shoulder blades should move naturally with your shoulder joints.

If you perform this exercise consistently, you will feel fundamental changes in your arms and shoulders, including a more toned figure. If you do this exercise by standing, you’ll recruit your abdominal muscles. It will help you to improve your posture and stability.

How to do Dumbbell shoulder press

1. Position your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Stand holding two dumbbells at shoulder height with an overhand grip. 
3. Press the weights up above your head until your arms are fully extended. 
4. Lift the dumbbells overhead, then lower them slowly
5. Return slowly to the start position.
6. Be sure to brace your core throughout the full range of motion.
7. Repeat.

Benefits of dumbbell shoulder press

This exercise works the delts in your shoulders. Dumbbell overhead presses help you in increasing your core strength and stability. It strengthens your delts, traps, pecs, core, triceps, glutes, trapezius, and lower back muscles. 

The dumbbell shoulder press will build strength in your shoulders. This exercise is best to strengthen your upper and lower back muscles. Similarly, It will help you to develop your muscle mass.

Dumbbell Overhead Press Variations

1. Seated dumbbell overhead press dumbbell bench press
2. Arnold press 
3. Dumbbell push press

 

Bent Arm Dumbbell Pullover

The bent arm dumbbell pullover is a weightlifting exercise that activates your muscles. Make sure the dumbbell used for this exercise is secure and suitable for your abilities. If you use a dumbbell with loose plates, it can result in the dumbbell falling apart. 

The weight you can’t hold for long can fall on your face. So be careful! Also, as I already mentioned, make sure that the dumbbell used is in perfect working condition. Old dumbbells in need of welding should never be used to perform this exercise.

How to do Bent arm dumbbell pullover

1) Firstly, lie on a flat bench with your shoulders.

2) Your hips should be below the bench with your legs bent and your feet on the floor.

3) Get your head off the bench as your legs.

4) Catch the dumbbell with your hands and hold it firmly.

5) Hold the Dumbbell straight over your chest with a bend in your arms.

6) Lower the weight slowly behind your head until you feel a stretch on your chest.

7) Raise the dumbbell back to the starting.

8) Repeat.

Benefits of Bent arm dumbbell pullover

A dumbbell pullover helps you activate your glutes, lower back muscles, and core muscles as stabilizers during the full range of motion. It strengthens your lats, shoulders, triceps, pecs, and serratus anterior. With regular/consistent practice, the dumbbell pullover can increase your core strength and stability with a stable/consistent approach.

Dumbbell pullovers can improve your shoulder mobility. If you want to target your pecs, position your arms and elbows in a certain way. It builds solemn muscle mass and increases overall upper body strength potential.

Here is an awesome video of a full-body workout with dumbbells:

Final Words

When you lose your physical strength, it directly affects your mental strength. A weak body and a weak mind usually go hand in hand. Building muscles can help you be mentally challenging for your job, business, relationship, or family.

It might take a bit longer time and steady efforts to build muscles. But if you do mention exercises consistently, you will get a strong body and mind. Let us know in the comments if you want us to write more on this topic. Have a healthy life and strong muscles!