You don’t need a rack full of dumbbells to tone your arms, because one pair is all it takes to hit your shoulders, biceps, and triceps in a single session.
This easy dumbbell arm workout is all standing, so there’s no getting up and down off the floor. It’s one of those simple arm workouts that’s perfect when you only have 10 minutes but still want a solid burn.
Just grab your weights and follow along with the full dumbbell arm workout:
Regular Shoulder Press
We’re kicking off this easy dumbbell arm workout with a classic. You’ll press the dumbbells overhead while keeping your whole body nice and tight.
The key here is stacking your ribs over your pelvis so your core does some work too. And since there are no long pauses between reps, you’ll feel that shoulder burn build up fast.
How to perform:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forward.
- Position your elbows slightly in front of your body.
- Stack your ribs and pelvis to ensure a strong torso, keep your shoulders down, and stay grounded in your feet.
- Press the dumbbells up and down without locking your elbows out at the top.
- Maintain time under tension by avoiding long pauses at the bottom or the top.
Regular Curls
Nothing fancy for this one, just good old-fashioned curls. But don’t let the simplicity fool you, because form matters more than speed here.
You’ll want to tuck those elbows in and really control the weight on the way down. If you find yourself swinging or using momentum, that’s a sign to go lighter.
How to perform:
- Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing forward.
- Keep your torso solid, your knees soft, and your chest open with your shoulder blades down your back.
- Tuck your elbows in.
- Curl the dumbbells up, then control them on the way down.
- Make sure you extend your arms all the way at the bottom of the rep.
Overhead Triceps Extension
Ever notice how the back of your arms doesn’t get much love during basic dumbbell exercises? That’s exactly what this move is for.
You’ll hold the weights above your head and lower them behind you. If holding two dumbbells overhead feels awkward, though, you can totally use just one.
Either way, keep your elbows locked in place so your triceps do all the work.
How to perform:
- Ever notice how the back of your arms doesn’t get much love during basic dumbbell exercises? That’s exactly what this move is for.
- You’ll hold the weights above your head and lower them behind you. If holding two dumbbells overhead feels awkward, though, you can totally use just one.
- Either way, keep your elbows locked in place so your triceps do all the work.
Front to Side Lateral Raises
Now that your biceps and triceps have had their turn, let’s shift the focus back to your shoulders from two different angles.
You’ll alternate between lifting out to the side and lifting straight to the front.
A quick heads-up: your hands should stay just below shoulder height the whole time. And if you have to throw your body around to get the weights up, that means it’s time to grab something lighter.
How to perform:
- Ensure your weights aren’t too heavy so you don’t injure your shoulders.
- Lift the weights out to the side, keeping them slightly in front of you, and then back down.
- With your palms facing forward, lift the weights directly to the front.
- Ensure your hands do not come higher than shoulder height (they should be a tad bit lower) during both lifts.
- Lift strictly without momentum; do not throw your body to get your arms up (if you have to, lower the weight).
Half to Full Bicep Curls
Here’s where things get a little tricky. You’ll alternate between full curls and half-range curls in a specific pattern, which can feel confusing at first.
So don’t stress if the rhythm takes a few reps to click. Just keep your elbows tucked and focus on matching the movement as you go.
How to perform:
- Start with a 90° half curl, then lower the weights all the way down.
- Do a full curl all the way up, then lower all the way down.
- Curl the weights all the way up, then only lower them halfway down.
- Curl halfway up, then lower all the way down.
Bent Tricep Extensions
Remember those overhead triceps extensions from earlier? This one hits the same muscle, but from a completely different angle.
You’ll hinge forward and hold a row position while extending your arms back.
If you’re not feeling it in the right spot, try tilting your palms slightly toward the ceiling at the top of each rep. That small tweak alone makes a big difference.
How to perform:
- Hinge at your hips and keep your chin, neck, and torso in one straight line while looking toward the ground.
- Begin in a row position and hold this posture for the entire movement.
- Keep your elbows exactly where they are and extend only the lower half of your arms backwards.
- Bring your arms back in.
- If you don’t feel it in your triceps, try tilting the palms of your hands slightly toward the ceiling at the end of the extension.
Arm Shoulder Press
Have you ever tried pressing with just one arm? It’s a whole different challenge compared to using both, since your core has to work overtime to keep you stable.
You’ll drop one dumbbell and extend your free arm out to the side while the other presses up.
Make sure you don’t drop your elbow all the way down between reps, because that’s how you keep tension on the shoulder.
How to perform:
- Drop one dumbbell so you are only working with one.
- Extend your non-working arm directly out from your shoulder and hold it there the whole time.
- Hold the dumbbell in your working hand with your palm facing your head.
- Keep a nice strong torso and stay grounded in your feet; only your working arm should move.
- Press the dumbbell up without fully extending/locking the elbow, then bring it back down.
- Do not drop your elbow all the way down; let it hover to keep tension on the shoulder.
- Switch arms and repeat the exercise on the other side.
Hammer Curls
Almost done with this dumbbell arm workout! For hammer curls, your palms face inward instead of forward, which shifts the focus to a different part of your biceps.
The goal here is slow and controlled reps, especially on the way down. So try to resist gravity as much as you can, because that’s where a lot of the strength-building happens.
How to perform:
- Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing inwards toward your body.
- Keep your elbows close to your body.
- Lift the dumbbells up with control.
- Lower them nice and slow on the way down, trying to hold the downward motion as long as you can.
- Make sure you are extending your arms all the way at the bottom of the rep.
Standing Skull Crushers
You’re ending on a tough one! You’ll hold both dumbbells overhead with your hands slightly apart, then drop your arms down and squeeze back up.
If your triceps are totally fried by this point (and they probably will be), switch to using one dumbbell instead. No shame in that, it’s still a killer way to finish off this arm workout at home.
How to perform:
- Hold both dumbbells up above your head, keeping them parallel to each other with your hands slightly apart.
- Keep your elbows exactly where they are.
- Drop your arms down behind you, then bring them back up.
Article Medically reviewed by
I’m fitness coach Ashley Castleberry, an NASM-certified personal trainer and nutritionist, as well as a coach on an established YouTube Channel with over 1 million followers. With certifications from major fitness brands, I specialize in athletic, HIIT, and strength training. Leveraging my experience coaching clients on lifestyle changes, I provide customized exercise and nutrition guidance to help people reach their fitness goals, whether that be weight loss, muscle gain or overall health improvement.
