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The 10 Best Dumbbell Exercises of All Time

A hotel gym (maybe even your own home gym), there's no denying the impact of dumbbell exercises. They are incredibly versatile, allowing you to target the entire body or work on specific parts. Turn on the light to increase the intensity of a HIIT circuit. 

Go heavy to maximize hypertrophy, working through supersedes or time under tension. They can take the place of kettledrums and dumbbells and help you reach your goals - be it weight loss, mass, endurance, or just a more athletic body.


1. Squat Squat

Standing, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a heavy weight by the end with both hands on your chest. Squat as low as you can, keeping your back flat and your chest up. At the bottom of the squat, drive through the heels to start over. That is 1 rep. Repeat.


2. Step up

Stand perpendicular to a bench or other elevated surface that will put your thigh parallel to the ground when you step on it, to begin. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and climb onto the bench, dangling the leg that follows. Drive through your front heel to stop. Pause briefly, then slowly lower yourself to the starting position. That is 1 rep. Repeat.

3. Turkish costume

Lie on your back on the floor holding a dumbbell in your left hand with your arm outstretched, your eyes on the weight, your left knee bent with your foot planted to begin. Keep your right leg stretched out on the floor. Then, pushing your left foot, roll onto your right hip and up onto your right elbow. Push up on your right hand and lift your back off the ground. Then screw the right leg back into the kneeling position. Your arm should still be locked. From this kneeling position, take a deep breath, squeeze your core and advance forward to a standing position. Reverse the process to return to the starting position. That is 1 rep. Repeat.

4. Jersey

Lie on your back on the floor and hold a weight by the ends over your heads with both hands to begin. Press the weight onto your chest, then extend your hand back over your head, slightly bending your elbows. Continue until you feel a stretch in your lats, then place the weight back on your chest. Take a deep breath every time the dumbbell comes down behind you. That is 1 rep. Repeat.

5. Walk

Stand up, stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a weight in each hand, palms facing each other, to begin. Step forward with one leg and lower the body until the rear knee almost touches the floor and the front thigh is parallel to the floor. That is 1 rep. Step forward with your back leg to perform the next repetition. Repeat.

6. Side lunge

Stand up, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a weight in each hand, palms facing each other, to begin. Step sideways to the side, bending this knee to lunge as you lower the weights to the ground. Drive through your foot to return to the starting position. That is 1 rep. Repeat, then switch sides.

7. Lunge to the press above

To get started, stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding two shoulder-weight weights with your palms facing each other. Go forward into a lunge, lower your body until your back knee almost touches the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Push the front foot back to the starting position, then press the weights on top. That is 1 rep. Repeat.

8. Tate Press

To begin, lie on a bench or on a flat, sturdy surface with weights in each hand, arms outstretched across your chest, and palms facing your feet. Point the elbows outward and bend them to lower the weights almost to the chest, so that they form L. Extend your elbows to return to the starting position. That is 1 rep. Repeat.

9. Floor press

Lie down on the floor, holding chest weights, to begin. Slowly lower your upper body to the floor, then extend your arms so that the weights are in the bench press position. Lower your elbows to the floor, making sure to maintain tension on your lats so that your arms are 45 degrees from your torso. When your elbows touch the floor, extend your arms to the starting position. That is 1 rep.

10. Arnold Press

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, gently flexing your knees, holding weights in front of your forehead, elbows at 90 degrees, and palms toward you. Slowly open your arms so that your elbows are still at a right angle but your hands are now out, squeezing your shoulder blades while doing military pressure (shown). Invert the pattern. That is 1 rep. Repeat.

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