The Ultimate Upper Body Dumbbell Workout

Written by Kirsten Yovino | CPT Brookbush Institute

Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM

FACT CHECKED

May 22, 2022

When it comes to making gains in the gym, there are many misconceptions about what it takes to build muscle. These myths include needing a gym membership, using machines to gain strength, and splitting strength training into specific body parts, like a “back and bi” day and “chest and tris.” The good news? None of these are necessary. You can build muscle at home or at the gym, with only dumbbells, hitting the entire upper body in the same workout.

This upper body workout using dumbbells focuses on compound movements, so you get the most bang for your workout buck, and it’s great for a wide range of lifters, whether male, female, just beginning, or at an intermediate experience level.

In this article, you’ll learn about:

The major upper body muscles this routine targets
How dumbbells help build muscle
Who will benefit from these upper body exercises with dumbbells
The best dumbbell exercises for upper body routine
How often you should perform this free weight upper body workout
Dietary tips for leaning out and building muscle

You do not need an at gym routine to sufficiently work your muscles. Dumbbells and the right exercises are all you need to see some serious upper body muscle gains.

upper body dumbbell workout

UPPER BODY MUSCLES

The upper body includes several muscle groups: the chest, back, shoulders, and arms. The core isn’t technically part of the upper body, but it's important to strengthen it 2-3 times a week. Many of the moves in this routine require core stabilization, so your abdominals are getting a workout in - no sit-ups required.

Here’s a look at the muscles targeted in this upper body workout using dumbbells.

Chest Muscles:

Pectoralis Major: The largest muscle on the front of the chest, this fan-shaped muscle originates at the collarbone, sternum, ribs, and near the external obliques, and inserts on the humerus. Its functions include adduction and rotation, assistance in arm flexion and extension, and shoulder girdle depression.
Pectoralis Minor: Originating from the ribs and running to the shoulder blade, the smaller of the two chest muscles plays a crucial role in stabilizing the shoulder blades, as well as depression, protraction, internal rotation, and downward rotation.

Shoulder Muscles:

Deltoid: The triangular-shaped muscle has three parts, the anterior, middle and posterior, and is responsible for several movements, including flexion, medial and lateral rotation, arm abduction, and extension. The origins start on the collarbone and shoulder blade, and it inserts about halfway down the humerus.
Serratus anterior: There are three sections to this fan-shaped muscle, which originates at the first eight ribs and inserts into the shoulder blade. Its functions include protraction and upward rotation of the shoulder blades, shoulder blade stabilization, and shoulder rotation.
Teres major: Shoulder rotation, extension, and arm adduction are the primary functions of this muscle, which attaches to the bottom of the shoulder blade and inserts into the humerus. The teres major works together with the latissimus dorsi to achieve its movements, including activities such as rock climbing or playing tennis.
Rotator cuff: The infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor comprise the rotator cuff group, which works as a team to stabilize the shoulder. This muscle group assists with several other upper body movements, including flexion, extension, abduction, and internal and external rotation. They all originate on various parts of the shoulder blade and insert into different parts of the humerus.

Back Muscles:

Trapezius: Broad and flat, this 3-part muscle covers a large portion of the upper back and helps stabilize the shoulder joints. The upper, middle, and lower trap muscle fibers are responsible for moving the shoulder blades through rotation, depression, elevation, and adduction. It has multiple origin points along the cervical and thoracic vertebrae and the lower back of the skull, and inserts into the collarbone and shoulder blade.
Latissimus dorsi: A large, flat muscle in the middle of the back, the lats team up with the teres major and pectoralis major to adduct and rotate the shoulder, as well as extend the arm at the shoulder joint. As the lats span most of the middle back, there are multiple origin points on the thoracic spine, lower ribs, and pelvis, and its insertion point is on the upper arm.
Rhomboids: Lying deep to the traps, the rhomboid is two muscles: the rhomboid major and minor. The rhomboids originate at the cervical and thoracic vertebrae and insert into the shoulder blades. The two muscles work with several other upper body muscles to stabilize the shoulder and retract, elevate, and rotate the shoulder blades.
Erector Spinae: The erector spinae consists of three long muscles that extend up your entire spine. Their main job is to protect and stabilize your spine.

Arm Muscles:

Biceps brachii: At the front of the upper arms, this two-headed muscle originates at the shoulder blade and inserts into the forearm. Its primary functions include flexion and outward rotation of the forearm.
Triceps brachii: Primarily responsible for elbow extension, this horseshoe-shaped, three-headed muscle is on the back of the upper arm. It originates at the shoulder blade and the humerus with its insertion point at the elbow.

CAN YOU BUILD MUSCLE WITH JUST DUMBBELLS?

You can build muscle with just dumbbells whether you're at home or in the gym. Although it takes hard work, the concept of increasing muscle mass is pretty simple. You need to fatigue the muscles to the point that micro-tears develop in the muscle fiber. The next important step in the process is rest when the fibers repair. As mini tears repair, the body rebuilds the muscle tissues back bigger and stronger than before. You do not need machines or fancy equipment to fatigue your muscles. Remember that muscles are dumb. They don’t know (or care) whether you use machines or free weights. They need to be fatigued.

Some of the benefits of using dumbbells include:

Increases muscle stabilization, coordination, and balance requirements: With dumbbells comes more freedom and range of motion when lifting, which forces your muscles to recruit more fibers to help stabilize during the movement. Research comparing the muscle activity during a dumbbell bench press and machine bench press found that the biceps worked more when using dumbbells due to the stabilization requirement¹.
More muscle activity: Free weights provide an unstable training environment, forcing the muscles to work hard. And if you have any concerns that dumbbells don't yield the same results that machines offer, let us alleviate those worries: Research comparing the two found that muscle thickness increases similarly between the two. In addition, for men, free weights increase testosterone more than machines².
Identifies strength imbalances and helps correct them: Machines provide more stability, making it easier for muscle imbalances to go unnoticed. However, with dumbbells, both sides of the body must work equally. And if a muscle on one side is weaker than the other, you will quickly notice that when doing your routine. Plus, after identifying the weaker one, you can work on strengthening it with unilateral dumbbell moves, such as the one-arm dumbbell row or a one-arm dumbbell chest press. This will greatly help your upper body strength and aesthetics.
Improves range of motion: Free weights enable your joints to move more freely. Not only does this cause the muscles to work harder to stabilize, but the muscles also work through a greater range of motion. A greater ROM is better for muscle hypertrophy than only using a partial range of motion³.
More variety: Using dumbbells is anything but limiting when adding muscle. The workout possibilities when using free weights are endless, and as you start to look for more movements to challenge you, free weights make it easy to do. Bumping up the weight of your dumbbell is always an option, but you can also turn a two-sided exercise into a unilateral one that puts all of the emphasis on the muscles, one side at a time. You can also use dumbbells to ramp up the intensity of your workouts. Rather than completing a set before moving on to the next move, you can select two exercises that work different body parts and alternate doing sets. For example, you could complete one set of a dumbbell chest press and then move directly into a dumbbell row. This strategy provides your pecs with rest but keeps the heart rate up as you jump into a back-focused exercise. If weight loss and lean muscle are your goals, increasing the heart rate while building muscle will help get you there.

A bonus: Unless you’re going to build a gym at home, machine-based workouts require you to be at the gym, whereas dumbbells enable you to work out pretty much anywhere.

WHO IS THIS UPPER BODY DUMBBELL WORKOUT GOOD FOR?

This upper body workout using dumbbells is for beginners and intermediate lifters alike. Beginners should start with less weight, while more experienced lifters should use heavy weights that enable them to complete the recommended reps and sets, but just barely. These upper body exercises with dumbbells routine are for both men and women and ideal for those wanting to gain muscle at home. This routine emphasizes compound exercises, meaning every movement hits multiple muscles simultaneously.

The benefit to this is that the eight exercises in this free weight upper body workout target all of the major muscle groups multiple times, ensuring you avoid spending hours in the gym trying to hit the whole upper body. You can also personalize this routine to fit your goals. Build muscle mass using heavy weights and sticking to the 8-12 rep range. Build muscle endurance and lean out using slightly lighter weights and higher rep ranges, between 15 and 20, with less rest in between sets.

BEST DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR UPPER BODY

Before jumping into your workout, take 5-10 minutes to perform a few dynamic bodyweight warm-up exercises. It will warm up your muscles, increase body temperature, improve blood flow, and loosen up the joints before working the upper body.

1. Farmers’ Walk:

The dumbbell farmer walk will target the upper back, the rotator cuff, deltoids, triceps and biceps, and forearms. It’s also working the core and many of the lower body muscles. It's really a great exercise for the entire body. If you want total body strength and a formidable grip, this dumbbell exercise is it.

How to:

Stand tall with the weights held in each hand and arms hanging straight. The back is straight, and the shoulders are pulled back and down. The chest is pulled down slightly, with the pelvis tipped slightly forward.
Begin walking forward with the weights, taking short, quick steps. Keep your core tight. When you run out of space to walk, turn around and head in the direction you came, repeating the movement for 30-60 seconds. Maintain good posture throughout.

2. One-Arm Dumbbell Row:

upper body

This upper body exercise works all major back muscles, the latissimus dorsi, traps, rhomboid, and rear shoulders. It also engages the posterior deltoid, biceps, and pectoralis muscles. No bench? No problem! Find something at your house sturdy enough to brace yourself on, such as a kitchen chair.

How to:

Holding a dumbbell in the right hand, bend over, placing the left knee and left hand on a bench. The left hand should lie under the shoulder and the knee under the hips. Press them into the bench to support your body.
Stiffen the torso, and keep the back straight. Retract the shoulder blades, extending the right arm and dumbbell toward the floor, keeping the shoulder down and back.
Pull the dumbbell slowly upward by bending the elbow and pulling the arm backward. With the arm close to the side, continue pulling the dumbbell upwards. Pause, squeezing the shoulder and back muscles.
Extend the elbow, lowering the dumbbell as you straighten the arm. Finish the reps on the right before moving to the left.

3. Dumbbell Bench Press:

The pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterior deltoids are hit hard in the dumbbell bench press, and the movement engages the rhomboids and lats to keep the back tight throughout the movement. If there is no bench around, you can also do this movement lying on the floor. You can also switch it up by sometimes performing this movement with an inclined bench, which emphasizes the upper pecs even more.

How to:

Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and place them on your thighs. Lying back on the bench, tighten the core and press the dumbbells toward the ceiling with palms facing forward. Retract the shoulder blades, ensuring your upper back is tight.
Keeping the wrist neutral, flex the elbow joints, lowering the dumbbell until the upper arm is parallel to the floor. The weights should be at chest height. Keep the feet pressed to the floor throughout the movement.
Squeeze the chest while extending the elbow joints and straightening the arms to drive the dumbbells upward. Continue pressing until the arms are almost entirely straight, leaving a slight bend in the elbows. That is one rep.

4. Arnold Dumbbell Curl to Press:

We all love the Arnold press, but why not turn it into a compound move by including some extra arm work? The main muscles in this movement are the biceps, deltoids, and triceps. The press and curl also activates the pectoral muscles, traps, and forearm muscles.

This exercise is excellent for the shoulders as it hits all three parts of the deltoid muscle - crucial for achieving round, defined shoulders. We love this move so much we've even included it in our ultimate shoulders and arms workout. What can we say? It gets results!

How to:

Begin standing with the feet shoulder-width apart, arms by your side, holding dumbbells. The palms face outward.
Bend the elbow, and move the forearm upward, curling the weights toward the shoulders. Keep the arms here, rotating the palms to face them forward.
Extend the arms straight up by driving the dumbbells overhead. Keep the upper body straight. Avoid raising your shoulders.
Begin bending the elbow to lower the arms with the palms facing forward and parallel with the shoulders.
Turn the palms to face you, and begin straightening at the elbow to return the dumbbells to the starting position.

5. Dumbbell Chest Fly:

The dumbbell chest fly targets the sternal muscle fibers, and growth in this area contributes to creating a defined chest. It’s also going to strengthen the muscles in the front of the deltoids, as well as the biceps. Secondarily, you'll hit the triceps and forearm muscles. One more note: If possible, it’s always a good idea to lift with a spotter, who can hand you your dumbbells once you are on the bench and set up for the move.

How to:

Sit on a bench, placing the dumbbells on your thighs. Lie back on a bench, planting the feet on either side of the bench.
Extend the arms and dumbbells above the head, keeping a slight bend at the elbow. The palms and dumbbells face each other, with the dumbbells directly above the chest.
Lower the dumbbells in an arc out to the sides, stopping when they’re in line with the chest. Your arms extend to the sides with a slight elbow bend. Avoid dropping the arms lower than the shoulders.
Press the dumbbells up in the same arc motion.

6. Bent-Arm Dumbbell Pullover:

The primary muscles worked in the dumbbell pullover are the lats, pecs, and serratus anterior. The posterior deltoids, triceps, and biceps will also all be activated.

How to:

Lying down perpendicularly on a flat bench, bend the knees and place the feet firmly on the floor. Only the upper back and shoulders should be on the bench. Hold one dumbbell in both hands straight over the chest with elbows bent slightly.
Keep the slight bend in the elbows, and slowly lower the weight in an arc behind the head.
Slowly return the dumbbell to the starting position repeating the same arc motion.

7. Dumbbell Lateral Raise:

This upper body exercise is great for building some boulder shoulders. The lateral raise will also hit the traps. If you want to add some width to your shoulders and create that 3D look, this exercise is it.

How to:

Stand straight with feet hip-width apart. Hold the dumbbells at your sides and keep your chest up and shoulders packed down.
Laterally raise your arms while maintaining a slight bend at the elbow. Try to keep your pinky fingers pointing up to best activate the middle delt.
Pause for a moment at the top, and slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position, then repeat.

Bonus Move: Renegade Row

Your back muscles will love the renegade row, but this full-body move also activates several other upper body muscles, including the front of the shoulder, the biceps and triceps, and forearms. Your core will also get a great workout. If you’re a beginner, start with very light dumbbells as you get used to the movement. Complete 1-2 rounds of this exercise at the end of your routine, continuing to failure.

How to:

Grabbing two dumbbells, move into an all-fours position with the knees and toes flexed and touching the floor. The hips are over the knees, and the dumbbells are slightly wider than the shoulder.
Straighten the legs, lifting the knees to a pushup position. Feet are slightly wider than hip-width.
Rotate the shoulders outward, keeping the chin tucked.
Keeping the body straight, bend one elbow, pulling the dumbbell toward the hip. The shoulder blades retract, and the upper arm is in line with the body. Keep the shoulders and hips square toward the floor.
Slowly bring the dumbbell to the starting position, and repeat on the opposite side.

Other Upper-Body Exercises:

There are so many options when it comes to working out with dumbbells. Sticking to the same movements each week is effective because it enables you to track your weights, sets, and reps for the exercise, ensuring you continue improving - whether adding one more rep or increasing the weight used. Sometimes, though, adding variation is a nice break in your routine.

A lot of the exercises included here are compound movements, but another way to add variety to your routine is by including an isolation exercise or two, like the ones seen in these dumbbell arm exercises.

Here are a few options that you can substitute into your upper body plan.

Exercise Substitutions:

Instead of the one-armed dumbbell row, try a bent-over db row, a bent-over neutral grip row, or an upright dumbbell row.
Rather than the bent-arm dumbbell pullover, perform the dumbbell close-grip incline press.
Swap out the flat bench chest press; try it on an incline or switch to the one-arm bench chest press.
Instead of the Arnold press and curl, perform the dumbbell shoulder press or alternating dumbbell curls.
Increase the difficulty of the chest fly by turning it into a one-arm chest fly.
Rather than the dumbbell lateral raise, try a single arm leaning lateral raise or dumbbell front raise.

Make sure to properly cool down with a few exercises and stretches after finishing your upper body workout. Looking for more workout ideas? Consider pairing 1 to 2 upper body muscles together for more strength-focused workouts, like in this back and shoulders routine.

THE BEST UPPER BODY DUMBBELL WORKOUT

Using all of the exercises we went over above, here is a great dumbbell workout for upper body strength, endurance, and muscle hypertrophy (building muscle).

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Farmers’ Walk	3	Walk for 30-60 sec	60 sec
One-Arm Dumbbell Row	3	8-10/side	30-60 sec
Dumbbell Bench Press	3	8-12	60 sec
Arnold Curl and Press	3	8-12	30-60 sec
Dumbbell Chest Fly	2-3	8-12	30-60 sec
Bent-Arm Dumbbell Pullover	3-4	8-12	30-60 sec
Single Dumbbell Shoulder Raise	3	10-12	30-60 sec
Renegade Row	1-2	To failure	60 sec

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU DO THIS UPPER BODY DUMBBELL ROUTINE?

Perform this upper body dumbbell routine twice a week for optimal muscle-building results. Research on the frequency of strength training muscles shows that training each muscle group twice a week is best for strength and muscle gains^4-5.

For best results, aim for 10 sets per muscle group weekly, and thanks to compound exercises, this routine will get you there. Avoid performing these dumbbell exercises for the upper body on back-to-back days. Ideally, if you have an upper-body day on Monday, follow it with a lower-body day on Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, and prepare to hit the upper body again on Thursday. You can vary this schedule, but make sure there are a few days in between your upper body days, so your muscles have time to recover.

DIET TIPS FOR BUILDING MUSCLE VS LOSING WEIGHT

Building muscle and leaning out are two different gym goals requiring separate dietary plans.

If you’re hoping to lean out:

Eat in a calorie deficit: i.e. more calories going out than coming in: To preserve muscle mass, begin by reducing your calories by 5-10%, monitoring progress, and making adjustments as you go. For example, if you are eating 2300 calories each day, reducing it by 5% would mean you're now eating 2,185 calories per day. Slow and steady weight loss is better for maintaining muscle and has been shown to increase the rate of muscle protein synthesis⁶. That’s a good thing because protein synthesis occurring faster than protein breakdown means more muscle growth.
Add some cardio to your weekly routine: Weight loss happens when you consume fewer calories than you burn in a day. Adding cardio to your routine will help you get to weight loss goals more quickly. A few things to keep in mind: Don’t perform your cardio before strength training - save it for after - so you don’t deplete your energy before lifting. Or, consider doing cardio on strength training rest days.
Keep your protein goal high: Research suggests that when in a calorie deficit, you should increase your protein intake even higher, recommending 2.3–3.1 g/kg/day. Beginner lifters should aim for the lower portion of that protein goal. Intermediate lifters with more resistance-training experience should aim for the higher end of the range to preserve lean muscle⁷.

If you’re hoping to build muscle:

Eat-in a calorie surplus: Similarly to leaning out, go slow and steady when you’re adding calories and monitor progress. Begin by adding 5 to 10% more calories to your daily intake, adjusting along the way. Also, make sure you’re putting those extra calories toward lean protein sources, fruits, and vegetables - everything in moderation is fine, but eating 10% more cookies every week will not result in muscle gains.
Eat a high-protein diet: Research shows that anywhere from 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram, or .73 and 1 grams per pound, is ideal for weight loss and preserving muscle⁷. Apps like My Fitness Pal are great for tracking calories and daily protein intake.
Time your protein: Scientific evidence suggests that eating protein every 3 to 5 hours during waking hours maximizes muscle protein synthesis⁷. In addition, having a serving of protein 1 to 3 hours before bed can help offset muscle protein synthesis declines.

Upper Body Workout Using Dumbbells: How to See the Best Gains

Set yourself up for muscle building success with a few last-minute tips:

Make sure you have enough dumbbell weights to perform all the moves effectively. For some of these exercises, you’re going to need heavier weights. For others, like the renegade row, you’re probably going to opt for a lighter option. Having enough weight options ensures you can complete your sets and reps while pushing your muscles to their fatigue limit.
Continue progressing. Whether adding one more rep to an exercise, adding more weight, or moving to a unilateral version of an exercise in this free-weight upper-body workout, keep pushing yourself to fatigue those muscles. Remember, exhausted muscles lead to hypertrophy, and when combined with proper rest and nutrition, lead to muscle gains.
Do not do upper body dumbbell workouts on back-to-back days. Hit the arm, chest, shoulder, and back muscles twice a week, but with a few days in between. Fill the other days with two leg days and some cardio to help you hit your goals and enable your muscle to recover and rebuild.

Want more upper body workout routines? Here are 5 upper body workouts for strength and hypertrophy! Or, for ladies looking to build muscle and strength, try these ultimate upper body workouts for women.

And don't forget about your lower body, it needs love too!

More Dumbbell Exercise Resources:

References:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49746305_A_comparison_of_muscle_activity_and_1-RM_strength_of_three_chest-press_exercises_with_different_stability_requirements
Schwanbeck SR, Cornish SM, Barss T, Chilibeck PD. Effects of Training With Free Weights Versus Machines on Muscle Mass, Strength, Free Testosterone, and Free Cortisol Levels. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2020;34(7):1851-1859. doi:10.1519/jsc.0000000000003349
‌Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J. Effects of range of motion on muscle development during resistance training interventions: A systematic review. SAGE Open Medicine. 2020;8:205031212090155. doi:10.1177/2050312120901559
‌DiFrancisco-Donoghue J, Werner W, Douris PC, McKenna RF. Comparison of once-weekly and twice-weekly strength training in older adults * Commentary. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2006;41(1):19-22. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2006.029330
‌Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2016;46(11):1689-1697. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
‌Cava E, Yeat NC, Mittendorfer B. Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal. 2017;8(3):511-519. doi:10.3945/an.116.014506
‌Stokes T, Hector A, Morton R, McGlory C, Phillips S. Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training. Nutrients. 2018;10(2):180. doi:10.3390/nu10020180