Workout Exercises & Routines With Dumbbells

Dumbbells, small free weights made from metal or polyurethane, allow you to work your whole body and don't take up a lot of space. Dumbbells are cheap when compared to machines, though an entire set can get pricey. Because of their versatility, you can do whole exercise routines with just a pair of dumbbells.

Routines

Workout routines for dumbbells are up to personal preference and your goals. Full-body routines where you do one exercise for each of the major muscle groups are quite common. These groups would be the chest, back, biceps, triceps, shoulders and legs. You can also do split routines where you work the chest, triceps and shoulders on one day and the biceps, deltoids and legs another day. You can even do entire routines for just one body part, doing two to four different exercises in the routine for the same muscle group. An example of this would be to do dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell overhead presses and dumbbell front raises to target the deltoid muscles of the shoulders. Full-body routines are good for beginners and work well three days a week. Split routines typically are done four days a week with two days for each group. The workouts are shorter but you have to do an extra day. Routines targeting one muscle group are the choice of bodybuilders and advanced exercisers looking for above-average results.

Dumbbell Power Clean

Start a dumbbell workout with a total-body or full-body exercise that integrates the upper and lower body by using muscle groups from each. These exercises may also be done on their own or in pairs as an express workout if you don't have time for a long routine. The dumbbell power clean is a full-body exercise that works everything. To perform this exercise, stand holding a pair of dumbbells in each hand. Step your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees until the dumbbells are next to them with the palms facing inwards. Lift your chest. This is the starting position. Next, press your legs straight with an explosive movement. Get your chest below the dumbbells as you curl your arms up while straightening your legs. Turn your toes outwards as you do so as well. All these actions happen together until you end up with your elbows bent, the dumbbells above your shoulders and your knee extended. Reverse the motion back to the starting position.

Dumbbell Lunge with Elbow Instep

The lunge with elbow instep is another full-body exercise. The muscles of the abs, thighs, back and calves get worked even more when you hold a pair of dumbbells during the exercise. Stand up straight with your arms at your sides holding the dumbbells. Step forward with your right foot and incline at the waist to bring your right arm against your inner thigh. Do not round your back. Bend both the right and left knee and raise onto the ball of your left foot. Drop your hips toward the floor and try not to move them toward your right knee. Touch both dumbbells to the ground to the left of your right foot. The right hand touches slightly in front of your left shoulder and the left hand touches slightly behind it. Reverse the motion and step forward with the left on the next rep.