---
title: "Ab exercises with dumbbells"
description: "Weighted crunches and sit-ups, suitcase carries, diagonal chops and windmills. Watch the technique on video and see where to hold the weight."
locale: en
url: "https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/core/dumbbell"
count: 20
type: combo
muscle: CORE
equipment: DUMBBELL
---

# Ab exercises with dumbbells

A dumbbell does not change what the abs do. It changes how much they have to do. The list splits
into two clear groups here: crunches and sit-ups, where you hold the weight somewhere above the
torso, and movements where a single dumbbell in one hand drags you sideways and the torso's job is
not to give in to it.

Next to the no-equipment list this one is short, and it will stay short, because lying on your
back there are not many places you can sensibly hold a dumbbell. The whole choice really comes
down to two questions: how far from your hips you hold the weight, and whether it is in one hand
or both.

## Why add weight to crunches at all?

Abs are a muscle like any other and they respond to resistance. Without it a set usually ends when
your patience runs out, not your strength. With a dumbbell it fits inside a rep count you can
remember and compare with last week.

That does not mean there is no progress without one. With no equipment you adjust the difficulty
with the lever of your own legs and arms, and that road is a long one. A dumbbell is simply a
simpler version of the same principle: instead of hunting for a harder variation, you move the same
weight further from your hips or pick up a heavier one.

The limit is often the grip and the shoulders. In sit-ups with a dumbbell overhead it is rarely the
abs that quit first, because the arms holding the weight in one spot tire sooner. Versions with the
dumbbell held on the chest usually let you use noticeably more load.

## Why one dumbbell in one hand?

Because it is the simplest way to load the abs unevenly. A carry with a dumbbell at one side, the
side bend, the windmill and the side plank with a dumbbell all put the torso in a situation where
the weight drags it one way and the muscles on the other side have to refuse. In a gym a cable does
this; at home a pair of dumbbells is the closest equivalent.

That work looks unremarkable, because almost nothing moves. A one-arm carry does not even have reps:
you walk straight ahead at an even pace and keep the dumbbell from swinging and the torso from
leaning. The effort only becomes obvious once the weight gets serious, and at that point it is
usually the grip that gives out first.

The side bend and the diagonal chop belong to the same family, only with movement. The first runs
the obliques through a full range in the side plane; the second combines rotation with a lean and
asks you to turn your feet along with the torso, so the hips and knees don't get left behind.

## Common mistakes

- **The dumbbell leaves the shoulder line** - In sit-ups with the weight overhead the dumbbell stays directly over your shoulders for the whole movement. When it drifts forward or behind your head, the shoulders take the work over and your lower back picks up a load it was not set up for.
- **Leaning in the carry** - The point of a one-arm carry is that the torso stays vertical. Leaning the other way balances the weight out and cancels the work on the loaded side. The shoulder should not ride up toward your ear either.
- **A swinging dumbbell in rotations** - In diagonal chops and Russian twists it is easy to get the weight moving with your arms and then just follow it with the torso. If the dumbbell turns itself around, it is too heavy or the tempo is too fast.

## Progress the movement

1. **Start with the dumbbell on your chest** - Held close to the hips the weight is easiest to control, and it lets you learn the movement before the lever starts to make a difference.
2. **Move it away from your hips** - The same dumbbell on straight arms, and then overhead, loads the abs clearly harder without adding a kilo. Given that the jump between pairs of dumbbells can run to 2 kg, that is much finer control.
3. **Switch it into one hand** - The one-arm versions, like the carry at your side, the starfish crunch or the side plank with a dumbbell, change the job: the abs stop bending the torso and start keeping it from tipping.

## All Ab exercises with dumbbells

- [Dumbbell Side Bend](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-side-bend) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Decline Sit Ups Dumbbells](https://hi.fitness/exercises/decline-sit-ups-dumbbells) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Ab Crunch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-ab-crunch) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Russian Twist with Legs Floor Off](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-russian-twist-with-legs-floor-off) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Overhead Sit-up](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-overhead-sit-up) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Suitcase Carry](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-suitcase-carry) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Diagonal Chop](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-diagonal-chop) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Single Arm Overhead Carry](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-single-arm-overhead-carry) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Straight Leg Russian Twist](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-straight-leg-russian-twist) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Straight Arm Twisting Sit-up](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-straight-arm-twisting-sit-up) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Straight Arm Crunch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-straight-arm-crunch) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Crunch Hold with Legs Off](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-crunch-hold-with-legs-off) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Decline Overhead Sit-up](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-decline-overhead-sit-up) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Close Grip Shoulder Press Sit Up](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-close-grip-shoulder-press-sit-up) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell V-up](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-v-up) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Over Weight Ab Crunch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/over-weight-ab-crunch) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Side Plank with Rear Fly](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-side-plank-with-rear-fly) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Low Windmill](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-low-windmill) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Single Arm Starfish Crunch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-single-arm-starfish-crunch) - Core · Dumbbell
- [Dumbbell Starfish Crunch Alternating](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-starfish-crunch-alternating) - Core · Dumbbell