Building muscle mass is no easy task. It's not uncommon for people looking to gain mass to join a gym and work out on several pieces of equipment, but you only need one pair of dumbbells to get a full body workout and build muscle mass. When trying to gain muscle mass with dumbbells, you should focus on big compound movements that work several large muscle groups at once.
Thrusters
Thrusters combine a squat and a shoulder press into one exercise. This compound movement will work your lower and upper-body all at once. Grab a pair of dumbbells and lift them up to your shoulders. Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Exhale and push yourself back up, pushing through your heels. As you are coming up, extend your arms up and perform a shoulder press.
One Hand Clean and Press
This exercise is a variation on the classic clean and press performed with a barbell. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. Place a dumbbell on the ground between your feet. Squat down and grab the dumbbell with one hand. Exhale and lift the dumbbell up to your shoulder, then press it over your head. Lower the dumbbell back to the ground and repeat with your other arm.
Renegade Rows
Renegade rows are a pulling exercise that will work your back and arms. They require a lot of core strength for stability, as well. Start in a pushup position, using two dumbbells like pushup bars. The dumbbells should be shoulder-width apart so that your hands are directly under your shoulders, just like doing a pushup. Your feet should be spread apart slightly wider than shoulder-width. Exhale and lift one dumbbell up and row it back all the way up to your chest. Inhale and lower it back to the ground. Repeat on the other side.
Bench Press
Bench presses are normally performed on a barbell, but they are even more effective when done with dumbbells because your muscles have to work harder to stabilize the weight. If you don't have a bench, you can do dumbbell bench presses on the floor. You can also do them on a stability ball, which will challenge more stabilizers and give you a fuller range of motion. Simply grab a pair of dumbbells and lie on your back. Inhale as you lower the dumbbells to your chest. Exhale as you press them back up. When bench pressing with dumbbells, you can also alternate one arm at a time so that one arm is forced to stabilize while the other is pressing.
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