6 Dumbbell Exercises to Spice Up Your Arm Routine

Tired of your gym routine? If you’re ready to switch things up, here’s six dumbbell exercises to spice up your arm workout.

When you’ve been working out for a while and you know most of the exercises in the book, it can become challenging to create a routine that tests your body in new ways. If you’re ready to switch things up, then here’s six dumbbell exercises to spice up your arm routine.

Although the exercises below are simple, the way they are performed can make all the difference in creating a workout that rocks.

The traditional “three sets, ten reps per exercise” model is commonly seen in the gym and in fitness resources. While it is great for building muscle and strength, it can become old, repetitive, and boring after a while. Not to mention, your body becomes accustomed to it and hits a plateau.

To make your workouts more interesting and to avoid hitting plateaus, you can incorporate training techniques such as supersets and pyramid-style exercises into your routine.

A superset is when you complete at least two exercises back-to-back with no rest in between reps. One example of this is doing weighted squats followed immediately by bodyweight squats.

A pyramid-style exercise is when you complete unilateral and bilateral movements (single limb and limbs together) in such a way that the number of reps reflects a pyramid. No rest is taken between reps as you move your way up the pyramid. The rep sequence looks like this: one (right arm)-one (left arm)-one (both arms together), two (right arm)-two (left arm)-two (both arms together), and so on.

When using these techniques, it is best to use a lighter weight. Choose a weight that becomes challenging 75% of the way through the total number of reps.

If you are just beginning your fitness journey and a light weight is already challenging for you, it’s best to complete these exercises with fewer reps. As the exercises become easier, add weight or increase the number of reps to keep challenging yourself.

1. Shoulders Superset

Complete 10-15 reps each of Dumbbell Front Raises, Dumbbell Lateral Raises, and Dumbbell Scaptions back-to-back with no rest.

Dumbbell Front Raises: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand. Your palms should be facing towards the front of your thighs. Keeping your arms fully extended, lift them straight out in front of you until they form a 90-degree angle with your torso. Lower them back down to the starting position and repeat.

Dumbbell Lateral Raises: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand. Your palms should be facing towards the side of your thighs. Keeping your arms fully extended (besides a slight bend at the elbow), raise them up until they make a 90-degree angle at your armpit. Lower them back down to the starting position and repeat.

Dumbbell Scaptions: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand down at your sides. Hold the dumbbells so your thumbs are pointing up. Keeping your arms fully extended, lift them with your thumb leading the way, so you create a Y with your arms. Lower them back down to the starting position and repeat.

2. Biceps Superset

Complete 10-15 reps each of Dumbbell Hammer Curls, Dumbbell Biceps Curls, and Dumbbell Inner Biceps Curls back-to-back with no rest.

Dumbbell Hammer Curls: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand. Your palms should be facing the side of your thighs. Keeping your upper arms by your side and leading with your thumb, bend at the elbow as you lift the weight up towards your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps briefly before lowering the weight back down to the starting position. Repeat.

Dumbbell Biceps Curls: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand. Your palms should be facing away from the front of your thighs. Keeping your upper arms by your side and leading with your palms, bend at the elbow as you lift the weight up towards your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps briefly before lowering the weight back down to the starting position. Repeat.

Dumbbell Inner Biceps Curls: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand. Your palms should be facing away from the front of your thighs. Externally rotate your forearms 30-degrees from your torso. Keeping your upper arms by your side and leading with your palms, bend at the elbow as you lift the weight up towards your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps briefly before lowering the weight back down to the starting position. Repeat.

3. Triceps Superset

Complete 10-15 reps each of Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions and Elbows-Out Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions back-to-back with no rest.

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension: Lie down on the floor or a bench. With a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms fully so they make a 90-degree angle with your torso. Your palms should be facing each other. Keeping your upper arms stationary and leading with your thumbs, bend at the elbows and lower the weight to either side of your head. Return to the starting position and squeeze your triceps briefly. Repeat.

Elbows-Out Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions: Lie down on the floor or a bench. With a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms fully so they make a 90-degree angle with your torso. Your arms should be a little wider than shoulder-width apart and your thumbs should be facing each other. Keeping your upper arms stationary and leading with your thumbs, bend at the elbows and lower the weight to your chest. Return to the starting position and squeeze your triceps briefly. Repeat.

4. Shoulder Pyramid

Complete Dumbbell Shoulder Presses in this sequence: one (right arm)-one (left arm)-one (both arms), two (right arm)-two (left arm)-two (both arms), and so on, up to 10.

Dumbbell Shoulder Presses: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. With a dumbbell gripped in each hand, lift your upper arms so they are parallel with the floor and your lower arms are perpendicular to the floor. This will create a 90-degree angle at your elbows. Your palms should be facing away from your body. Extend your right arm straight into the air until your upper arm is next to your head. Lower your right arm back to the starting position. Repeat using the left arm and then again using both arms simultaneously.

5. Biceps Pyramid

Complete Dumbbell Biceps Hammer Curls in this sequence: one (right arm)-one (left arm)-one (both arms), two (right arm)-two (left arm)-two (both arms), and so on, up to 10.

Dumbbell Hammer Curls: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell gripped in each hand. Your palms should be facing the side of your thighs. Keeping your upper arms by your side and leading with your thumb, bend at the right elbow as you lift the weight up towards your right shoulder. Squeeze your bicep briefly before lowering the weight back down to the starting position. Repeat using the left arm and then again using both arms simultaneously.

6. Triceps Pyramid

Complete Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions in this sequence: one (right arm)-one (left arm)-one (both arms), two (right arm)-two (left arm)-two (both arms), and so on, up to 10.

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension: Lie down on the floor or a bench. With a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms fully so they make a 90-degree angle with your torso. Your palms should be facing each other. Keeping your upper arms stationary and leading with your thumbs, bend at the right elbow and lower the weight to the right side of your head. Return to the starting position and squeeze your tricep briefly. Repeat with the left arm and then again using both arms simultaneously.

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