30 Best Dumbbell Exercises of 2025 to Build Muscle Without a Full Gym

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes hip-width aside and hinge at your hips, arms prolonged with palms going through one different, to start. 
2. Raise your arms out to your sides, creating 90-degree angles, squeezing your shoulder blades collectively on the prime. 
3. Pause, then reverse the movement. That’s 1 rep. Repeat. 

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside and maintain one dumbbell in each palms, knees bent so thighs are parallel to the ground. 
2. Maintaining a flat again, carry the weight to the surface of one thigh. 
3. Twist your torso to the other aspect, as you carry the weight throughout your body with straight arms and are available to stand. Your eyes ought to observe the dumbbell, which is able to find yourself above your reverse aspect’s shoulder (proven). 
4. Reverse the movement to return to the beginning place. Move slowly, utilizing your core. That’s 1 rep. Repeat. 

How to Do It

1. Lie in your again on the ground and maintain a dumbbell by its ends overhead with each palms. 
2. Press the weight over your chest, then attain again over your head, bending your elbows barely. 
3. Continue till you are feeling a stretch in your lats, then pull the dumbbell again over your chest. 
4. Take a deep breath each time you decrease the dumbbell behind you. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside (or barely narrower), and maintain dumbbells at your sides, palms going through each other. 
2. Raise the weights out 90 levels to your sides. 
3. Lower your arms again to your sides whereas exhaling.

Note: Don’t bend your elbows or swing your arms; the movement ought to be managed and regular.

How to Do It

1. Lie in your left aspect, resting your left forearm on the ground for help, and holding a dumbbell in your proper hand. 
2. Raise your hips up so your body types a straight line and brace your core—your weight ought to be in your left forearm and the sting of your left foot. 
3. Raise the weight in your proper hand till your arm is parallel to the ground. 
4. Lower to the start place. That’s 1 rep. Complete all reps on one aspect, then swap.

How to Do It

1. Hold a dumbbell in every hand and sit on a bench, field, or chair, resting your forearms in your thighs, permitting your wrists to bend backward over your knees so the weights dangle down. 
2. Engage your decrease again and maintain your shoulders from rounding.
3. Keeping your again straight, curl the dumbbells up by simply flexing your wrists. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Sit on a bench holding one dumbbell with each palms by one of its bell ends. 
2. Press the weight straight over your head. 
3. Keeping your higher arms vertical, bend your elbows and decrease the dumbbell behind your head till you are feeling a stretch on the triceps. 
4. Extend your elbows to return to start. That’s 1 rep. Repeat. 

How to Do It

1. Sit with knees bent and toes on the ground, holding dumbbells at your chest. 
2. Extend arms so dumbbells are in a bench press place. 
3. With a impartial hand grip, rigorously decrease the dumbbells to your brow. 
4. Contract triceps to lengthen the elbows and return to the beginning place. That’s 1 rep. 

Pro Tip

Perform these with gentle weight to start and give attention to holding the elbows in step with shoulders. 

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside and hinge ahead on the hips, arms prolonged with dumbbells hanging straight down. 
2. Row the dumbbells up to barely beneath chest top to assume the beginning place. 
3. While holding the higher arms in step with the torso, lengthen forearms again by contracting the triceps. You can maintain a impartial grip (palms going through each other) or an underhand grip (proven right here). 
4. Return the dumbbells to the beginning place. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Lie again on a bench or flat, sturdy floor with dumbbells in every hand, arms prolonged over your chest and palms going through your toes. 
2. Point your elbows out and bend them to decrease the weights virtually to your chest, in order that they make L shapes. 
3. Extend your elbows to return to beginning place. That’s 1 rep. Repeat.

How to Do It

1. Stand or sit with toes shoulder-width aside, holding dumbbells in entrance of your brow, elbows at 90 levels and palms going through you. 
2. Slowly open your arms extensive so elbows are nonetheless at proper angles however palms at the moment are going through out, squeezing your shoulder blades collectively as you carry out a army press (proven). 
3. Reverse the sample. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Sit on a bench and maintain dumbbells in your thighs. 
2. Bring the dumbbells up to shoulder stage. 
3. Squeeze your shoulder blades collectively and stabilize your core as you press the weights overhead and barely backward in order that they’re vertically aligned with the again of your head. 
4. Hold on the prime for a second, then decrease again to your shoulders. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes hip-width aside, holding two dumbbells in entrance of your body with palms going through you. 
2. Bend your knees and hinge at your hips so the weights dangle simply above your knees. 
3. Explosively lengthen your hips as if leaping and pull the weights up to shoulder stage with elbows extensive aside, as in an upright row. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside holding dumbbells at your sides, palms going through one another. 
2. Bend your hips again to squat down till the weights are knee stage. 
3. Explode upward and shrug arduous on the prime. That’s 1 rep. Reset your toes earlier than starting the subsequent rep. 

How to Do It

1. Stand perpendicular to a bench or different elevated floor that’ll put your thigh parallel to the ground whenever you step on it.
2. Hold a dumbbell in every hand and step up onto the bench, leaving your trailing leg hanging of. 
3. Drive by way of your entrance heel to stand. Pause briefly, then slowly decrease to beginning place. That’s 1 rep.

Pro Tip

You can even stand parallel to the bench and carry out lateral stepups.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside, holding the dumbbells at shoulder stage. 
2. Squat as little as you may with out dropping the arch in your decrease again. 
3. Come again up and press the weights overhead.

How to Do It

1. Lie faceup on the bottom holding a dumbbell in your left hand with arm prolonged, eyes on the weight, left knee bent with foot planted. 
2. Keep your proper leg straight out on the bottom. Then, pushing off your left foot, roll onto your proper hip and are available up onto your proper elbow. 
3. Push up onto your proper hand, and produce your again off the bottom. 
4. Thread your proper leg again into a kneeling place. Your arm ought to nonetheless be locked out. 
5. From this kneeling place, take a deep breath, tighten your core, and lunge ahead to a standing place. 
6. Reverse the method to come again down to the beginning place. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Lie on the ground, holding dumbbells at your chest. 
2. Slowly lengthen your arms so dumbbells are in a bench press place. 
3. Lower elbows to the ground, ensuring to maintain stress in your lats so higher arms are at 45 levels to your torso. 
4. When elbows contact the ground, lengthen arms to the beginning place. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand together with your again towards the wall and toes shoulder-width aside, arms prolonged straight down with dumbbells at your sides. 
2. Perform alternating curls by rotating your forearms and flexing the elbows. Squeeze your pecs on the prime, then decrease again to the start place. That’s 1 rep. Alternate sides.

How to Do It

1. Stand lunge-length in entrance of a bench with a dumbbell in every hand and relaxation the highest of your left foot on the bench behind you. 
2. Lower your body till your rear knee practically touches the ground and your entrance thigh is parallel to the ground, then drive by way of your entrance foot to return to start. That’s 1 rep. Repeat. 

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes hip-width aside, holding a dumbbell in every hand, palms going through each other. 
2. Step ahead with one leg and decrease your body till your rear knee practically touches the ground and your entrance thigh is parallel to the ground. 
3. Stand tall and step ahead together with your rear leg to carry out the subsequent rep. That’s one rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes hip-width aside, holding two dumbbells in entrance of your body with palms going through you. 
2. Keeping your decrease again in its pure arch, bend hips again, your torso ahead, and decrease your self till you are feeling a stretch in your hamstrings. You could bend on the knees. 
3. Reverse the motion to return to the beginning place, squeezing your glutes on the prime. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It:

1. Stand with toes hip-width aside, holding two dumbbells at shoulder stage with palms going through one another. 
2. Step ahead into a lunge, decreasing your body till your rear knee practically touches the ground and your entrance thigh is parallel to the ground. 
3. Push off your entrance foot to come again to the beginning place, then press the weights overhead. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside and hinge ahead on the hips, arms prolonged with dumbbells hanging straight down. 
2. Row the weights up to your torso, holding elbows tucked in step with your body. 
3. Reverse movement to return to start. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside (or barely narrower) with arms prolonged at sides, dumbbells hanging at both aspect of your body, palms going through each other. 
2. Maintain this impartial grip as you curl the dumbbells straight up, pause and squeeze your biceps on the prime, then decrease again down. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Begin in a pushup place, holding dumbbells on the ground in a impartial grip. 
2. Perform a pushup on the dumbbells, then instantly carry out a one-arm, neutral-grip row. 
3. Repeat the pushup and row with the opposite arm. That’s 1 rep.

How to Do It

1. Pick up the heaviest set of dumbbells you may deal with and stroll. 
2. Engage your biceps, squeeze the handles arduous, and stroll together with your chest out and shoulders again. 

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside, holding a dumbbell in every hand, palms going through each other. 
2. Step laterally to one aspect, bending this knee to come into a lunge as you decrease the dumbbells towards the bottom. 
3. Drive by way of your foot to return to the beginning place. That’s 1 rep. 

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside and maintain a heavy dumbbell by its finish with each palms at chest. 
2. Squat as little as you may, holding again flat and chest up. At the underside of the squat, drive by way of heels to return to start. That’s 1 rep.

Pro Tip

You can even strive sumo squats, tempo squats, and bounce squats (gentle weight)

How to Do It

1. Stand with toes shoulder-width aside with dumbbells within the front-rack place. 
2. Keeping weights close to shoulders, decrease into a squat. 
3. Explode to standing place, activating glutes, urgent hips ahead, and locking out knees on the prime of the rise. 
4. Use the momentum to assist drive the weights overhead, palms going through one another. 
5. Immediately reverse the movement, decreasing weights to front-rack place and transitioning into a squat. That’s 1 rep.