Equipment

Dumbbell exercises

Dumbbells give you what a barbell cannot: each side works on its own, so the stronger arm never covers for the weaker one. Your wrists and shoulders also get more freedom, which for a lot of people means less discomfort when pressing.

The atlas covers dumbbell work for every muscle group: presses, rows, curls, deadlifts and lunges. If space is tight, this is the most versatile equipment you can own.

Dumbbell exercises by muscle group

Pick the muscle group you want to train and see which exercises cover it.

Biceps50Single-arm curlsQuads43Lunges and squatsFront delts39Overhead presses

More muscle groupsCore 20·Mid chest 16·Triceps 16

Exercise library

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Training guide

About training Dumbbell exercises

Choose one movement, perform it well, then progress it over time.

Dumbbells or a barbell?

A barbell moves more weight and makes progress easiest to measure, because you add a specific number of kilograms. Dumbbells even out side-to-side differences and give you more range, but once they get heavy, simply getting them into the start position becomes the problem. The combination works best: the heavy lift with a barbell, the rest of the work with dumbbells.

How many pairs do you need at home?

One pair of adjustable dumbbells replaces a whole rack and usually lasts a long time. If you are buying fixed ones, the sensible minimum is three pairs: light for shoulders and arms, medium for pressing and rowing, heavy for legs.

Where to start

Progress the movement

01

Even out both arms

The same pair twice a week, both arms doing the number of reps the weaker one can manage.

02

Use up the rep range first

The jump between pairs is usually 2 kg per hand, which is a lot. Before you reach for it, hit the top of the range on every set.

03

Change the variant before the weight

Single-arm, on an incline bench, or with a slower lowering phase all raise the difficulty without waiting on a heavier pair - a way around a problem the barbell does not have.

Explore further

By muscle group

Biceps50Quads43Front delts39Core20Mid chest16

Other equipment

BarbellKettlebellCable

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Workout tracker

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Add it to a plan or to your current session, log sets, weight and reps, keep the instructions and tips at hand while you train, and check your previous results, records and volume.

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