12 Best Dumbbell Exercises At Home: For Men And Women, Video

The main advantage of dumbbells is that it is easy to work with them at home. They are inexpensive and do not take up much space. Let's look at 12 effective exercises.

Advice
On arms and shoulders
On the back
On the chest
Press

How to make your workout as effective as possible

Do three to four exercises for one muscle group, then they will receive enough load and will grow from workout to workout.

Choose one exercise for each muscle group and do a circuit workout with minimal rest. In this case, aerobic exercise will be added to the power load and the training will give a fat burning effect.

Circuit training is a great time saver. 20-30 minutes with dumbbells will replace the classic one-hour workout in the gym.

Exercises with dumbbells for arms and shoulders

It is better to load the arm muscles with free weights - this way they will respond better to the load. Choose a weight with which you can do 10-15 reps per set. The last three to four repetitions should be done with effort.

1. Curls of arms with dumbbells

This is an excellent and not very difficult exercise for training your biceps.

Take dumbbells in your hands, put your feet shoulder-width apart. Turn your palms forward, keep your body straight.
Bend your arm gently at the elbow.
Hold the dumbbell at the top and slowly return your hand to its original position. Repeat the exercise with the other hand.

2. Extension of the arms from behind the head

The purpose of this exercise is to work out the triceps, the triceps brachii.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and straighten your arm with a dumbbell over your head.
As you inhale, slowly bend your elbow until your forearm touches your bicep. It is important to move only the forearm: the hand must remain static.
As you exhale, return your hand to the starting position. Perform the required number of repetitions, then repeat the exercise with the other hand.

3. Seated dumbbell press

This is one of the best basic bodybuilding exercises. It engages the middle and anterior delts, as well as the muscles surrounding the shoulder girdle.

Sit in a chair. Take dumbbells, bend your elbows and lift them above your shoulders. Expand the dumbbells so that your palms are facing forward. Spread out your chest, pull your shoulders back.
Squeeze your shoulders and squeeze the dumbbells up. Move your arms strictly in a vertical plane.
Gently lower the dumbbells to your shoulders and do the next repetition.

Exercises with dumbbells on the back

Pulling movements are basic exercises for the back. These are movements towards you, as if you were pulling a doorknob.

4. Row with one hand on the bench

A basic exercise for developing your lats. The trapezius muscles, biceps, forearms and posterior deltas are also involved.

Take a dumbbell in your right hand. Stand to the right of the chair and bend over, focusing on your left arm and knee. The torso should be parallel to the floor, the back slightly arched at the lower back.
Inhale and pull the dumbbell up towards your torso. Try to raise it as high as possible.
Hold the dumbbell at the top for a couple of seconds. Exhale and gently lower the dumbbell.

5. Row to the belt in the slope

The dumbbell pull to the belt involves all the muscles of the back - from the lats to the trapezius and extensor. Exercise allows you to give your lats an exemplary V-shape.

Take dumbbells. Bend your knees and bend forward parallel to the floor.
Inhale and pull the dumbbells towards your lower abdomen. Then return to the starting position.
Pull your elbows back along your body, pressing them against your body. Keep your legs narrower than your shoulders, then your hips will not interfere with movement.

6. Shrugs with dumbbells

Shrugs are a classic exercise for working out the trapezius muscles. They are often performed with a barbell, but they are also effective with dumbbells.

Stand straight with your feet slightly narrower than your shoulders. Take the dumbbells so that your palms are turned towards the body.
Raise your shoulders as high as possible. While lifting, you can lower your chin a little, this will strengthen the trapezoid contraction.
Pause at the top, and then smoothly return to the starting position.

Exercises with dumbbells on the chest

Pressing movements are basic chest exercises. Shaking our backs, we pulled the projectile towards us, but here, on the contrary, we will move the dumbbells away from us.

7. Press of dumbbells from the chest

Another effective basic exercise. The main load falls on the inner part of the muscles, the upper and lower chest are also involved.

Lie on a bench or, as a last resort, on the floor, spread your arms to the sides.
Take a deep breath and squeeze the dumbbells up. Straighten your arms at the top.
Exhale and smoothly return your arms to their original position.

8. Pullover

A dumbbell pullover is an exercise that works well for your chest and back muscles.

Lie on a bench, bend your knees and arch your back as much as possible. Take a dumbbell in your hands and turn your elbows to the sides.
Take a deep breath and lower the shell behind your head. Hold at the lowest point and stretch your muscles as much as possible.
Return to starting position.

9. Breeding dumbbells lying

This exercise is also called a butterfly. It develops muscles well and works out the relief.

Lie on a bench with your feet shoulder-width apart and rest on the floor.
Take dumbbells and lift them above your chest. Turn your palms towards each other, bend your arms slightly at the elbows.
Spread your arms out to the sides so that your elbows and shoulders are in line.
Flatten the dumbbells over your chest, contracting your chest muscles.

Abs exercises

Dumbbells give the abdominal muscles an additional load. Pick up a comfortable weight with which you can complete 20-40 reps in one set.

10. Standing crunches

Standing crunches are a great exercise for beginners. It is easy to do without sports training.

Take dumbbells, put your feet shoulder-width apart.
Straighten your elbows and slowly turn to the left. The legs remain in place.
Return to starting position. Turn right. Do 20-30 reps.

11. Raising the legs from a prone position

This is an effective exercise for your lower abs. The dumbbell in this case serves as a stabilizer, which helps maintain balance.

Lie on the floor, grab a dumbbell and straighten your arms.
Raise your legs and touch them to a dumbbell. Try not to bend your knees.
Exhale and return to the starting position.

12. "Russian twist"

Effective exercises for working out the oblique abdominal muscles. It involves both the internal and external oblique muscles.

Sit on the floor, pick up a dumbbell. Lift your heels off the floor and bring your knees up to a 60-degree angle.
Perform crunches, touching the floor dumbbells, alternately on the right and left sides.

A set of exercises with dumbbells - video

An example of a good 20 minute complex for men:

30 minute exercise routine for women:

Questions to an expert

Ilya Alekhin, director of the "Gym" direction of the chain of fitness clubs World Class

What are the best dumbbells for exercising at home?

For home, typesetting dumbbells with the ability to adjust the weight are suitable, since different weights are needed depending on the exercise and your training. Now there are many options for dumbbells with a wide range of weight adjustment. Another option is to purchase three to four pairs of fixed weight dumbbells.

Is it possible to lose weight by exercising at home with dumbbells? How to do it?

You can lose weight. It is important to remember the main rule of weight loss - maintain a deficit of 200-300 calories in relation to energy consumption. In training, you need to use more multi-joint movements, which involve as many muscles as possible. You should do a lot of repetitions, about 15-20, and use the circular training method, performing all the exercises in sequence.

What are the intervals between sets and exercises?

If the goal is to lose weight, then between approaches you should take the minimum break necessary to move on to the next exercise. Rest can last up to five minutes between laps. You can make it active, for example, using a rope.

If the goal is to strengthen the muscles, rest for at least two minutes until breathing is restored. The amount of weight in this case should be higher, the number of repetitions is less, 6-12 repetitions per set.

How often should you exercise?

It is recommended to train two to four times a week. You need to listen to your body and not overload it.

What to look for when choosing exercises for men and women?

You need to pay attention to contraindications. If you have problems with the spine, you should not do exercises with weights (both standing and sitting), this can aggravate the situation.

If you have pressure problems, avoid straining, static exercise, overhead raising, bending over, or raising your legs.

In general, always start with minimal weights, learn the correct form for performing the exercise, and only then gradually increase the weight of the weights.