10 Best Compound Exercises with Dumbbells
By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified trainer
The best compound exercises with dumbbells will help bump your fitness up to a higher level. Compound exercises target more than one muscle group at a time, giving you an efficient workout. For example, a squat is a compound movement that strengthens your glutes, hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, calves, and core muscles. In contrast, an exercise such as the bicep curl targets one muscle - the biceps, so it is not a compound exercise.
Related Post: Calisthenics for Beginners - 9 Exercises from a Trainer
Compound exercises help you get in the most efficient strength training workout by targeting your major muscle groups without doing a different exercise for each muscle group. You get the most bang for your buck with compound movements and can work many muscles in a short period. As a trainer, I often use compound exercises with dumbbells in my workouts and suggest them to people I train.
Benefits of Compound Exercises
Compound exercises offer many benefits, including the following, according to the American Council on Exercise:
Burn more calories than other strength training exercises.
Improve muscle coordination, which improves your mobility and balance and helps with injury prevention.
Offer cardiovascular benefits by elevating your heart rate.
Help you move more efficiently and perform better in athletics.
10 Best Compound Exercises with Dumbbells
These are the 10 best compound exercises with dumbbells to help you get a great full-body workout that strengthens your major muscle groups. You can do these exercises at home or at the gym. Use dumbbells that are challenging by the end of your last sets but not so difficult that you lose your form.
You can do these compound exercises with dumbbells all at once for a full-body workout or break them down into micro workouts where you focus on an area of your body - such as the lower or upper body.
Lower Body Compound Exercises with Dumbbells
1. Dumbbell Squats
Squats are one of the best compound exercises with dumbbells that target several major muscle groups. Squats will help you function better in daily activities, such as getting up from chairs, and improve your athletic performance.
Muscles Worked: Glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, hip flexors, and core.
How to Do Them:
Begin with your feet hip-width apart in a standing position. Hold a pair of dumbbells by your sides with your arms hanging straight and palms facing inward. Or, you can hold one larger dumbbell in front of your chest, gripping the sides of the dumbbell with each hand.
Keep your dumbbells in the same position throughout the exercise.
Keep your chest up and bend your knees, lowering your body. Engage your core muscles and glutes.
Rest your weight in your heels and keep your feet flat on the floor. If your feet start to rock, stabilize them and raise your torso slightly to maintain good form.
Once you’ve reached the lowest you can go while maintaining good form, with your chest up and feet flat on the floor, raise back up to a standing position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 and progress to 3 sets of 10.
2. Dumbbell Deadlifts
Dumbbell deadlifts are an excellent way to strengthen your glutes and lower body muscles. These exercises use a hip-hinging movement. Dumbbell deadlifts will help improve your lower body strength and power, improving your balance and stability and helping you run faster.
Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, glutes, core, back, hips, and trapezius.
How to Do Them:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Hold a pair of dumbbells in front of each leg with an overhand grip.
Bend at the hips and knees. Keep your chest up and push your hips back.
Lower the dumbbells parallel to your shins as you hinge at the hips. Your shoulder blades will be above your weights when you’re in a lowered position.
Keeping your back neutral, hinge at the hips and lift back to standing.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 and progress to 3 sets of 10.
3. Dumbbell Lunges
Lunges are an effective compound exercise that helps your lower body balance, stability, and strength. There are many types of lunges. This dumbbell lunge is a basic front lunge.
Muscles Worked: Glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves.
How to Do Them:
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and chest up, with your core engaged.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms by your sides.
Take a large step forward with one leg and plant your foot in line with your hip.
Bend your back knee so it’s just above the floor. Your front thigh should parallel the floor, and your knee and ankle should be facing forward. Both of your knees should be at 90-degree angles.
Push from your front leg, squeeze your glutes, and return to standing.
Repeat on the other leg.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 on each side and progress to 3 sets of 10.
Modification: If you want to reduce the pressure on your knee joints, you can do a reverse lunge instead of regular front lunges. For reverse lunges, begin with your feet together and holding dumbbells by your sides. Step back with your right foot, bending your right knee. Your left foot will be planted on the ground with your left knee bent at about a 90-degree angle. Lower into your left/back heel, pause, and then step back up with your right leg to return to your starting posture.
4. Dumbbell Step-Ups
Step-ups are one of the best compound exercises with dumbbells that target your legs and glutes. This exercise requires only a sturdy step or bench and a pair of dumbbells.
Muscles Worked: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and hip flexors.
How to Do Them:
Stand facing your bench or step. Hold dumbbells in each hand with your arms straight and palms facing inward.
Step up onto the platform with one foot, pressing through your heel and using your glutes and legs to push yourself up.
Place your other foot on the platform as you stand up on it.
Step back down with the foot you stepped up with.
Return to a standing position.
Repeat on the other side.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 on each side and progress to 3 sets of 10.
5. Dumbbell Side Lunges
Side lunges are an excellent compound exercise that uses lateral (side-to-side) movements to boost strength, stability, and athletic performance. These exercises are great for injury prevention as well. There are many variations also. For instance, you can add bicep curls or shoulder presses while doing the lunges for a full-body workout.
Muscles Worked: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, and hip abductors.
How to Do Them:
Hold a pair of dumbbells in front of your legs and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take a large step to the side with one leg, bending that leg at the knee.
Continue to hold the dumbbells in front of you as you lunge to the side.
Keep your chest up and your body, knees, and toes pointing forward.
Drop your hips back and keep your stationary leg straight.
Push off from your heel, squeezing your glutes.
Return to a standing position.
Repeat on the other side.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 on each side and progress to 3 sets of 10.
Upper Body Compound Exercises with Dumbbells
6. Dumbbell Chest Press
The dumbbell chest press is one of the best compound exercises with dumbbells for your upper body. This exercise - also called bench presses - targets major muscle groups and increases your strength and lean muscle tissue, making it a key part of muscle building for your upper body.
Muscles Worked: Pectorals (chest), deltoids (shoulders), biceps, and triceps.
How to Do It:
Lie on your back on a weight bench or the floor (you will have less range of motion on the floor, but if you do not have a weight bench or if you’re a beginner, the floor is a good starting point).
Hold a pair of dumbbells with an overhand grip by each side of your chest, with your elbows bent. Your upper arms should be perpendicular to your body.
Slowly press up your arms until your arms are almost straight.
Pause and then lower the weights slowly to return to your starting position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 and progress to 3 sets of 10.
7. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
Dumbbell bent over rows offer a powerful back workout that targets muscles running from your neck to your back and shoulders. This exercise is an efficient way to build back strength while improving your core stability.
Muscles Worked: Latissimus dorsi (the large wing-like muscles in your upper back), the middle and lower trapezius (along your neck and upper back), the rhomboids (in your upper back), and the posterior deltoids (in your shoulders).
How to Do It:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your chest up.
Hold your dumbbells shoulder-width apart. Your palms should face each other.
Bend at the hips, keeping your back straight. Do not bend more than 45 degrees forward.
Pull the dumbbells toward the sides of your chest, bending at the elbows.
Lower the weights to return to your starting position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 and progress to 3 sets of 10.
8. Dumbbell Overhead Press
The dumbbell overhead press is one of my favorite compound exercises that focuses on the shoulders and strengthens other upper body muscles. This functional exercise will help you in daily life activities, build your strength, and improve athletic performance.
Muscles Worked: Trapezoid, deltoids, and triceps.
How to Do It:
Stand or sit on a weight bench. Standing adds core strengthening benefits to the exercise.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forward. Your upper arms should be outstretched horizontally at the shoulder, and your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
Push your dumbbells up, straightening your arms and exhaling.
Pause and lower your weights slowly to return to the starting position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 and progress to 3 sets of 10.
Full-Body Compound Exercises with Dumbbells
9. Dumbbell Clean and Press
The clean and press is a full-body compound exercise perfect for getting in a workout when you’re pressed for time. This movement allows you to target major muscle groups and offers bone and muscle strengthening benefits.
Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, glutes, trapezius, triceps, shoulders, rhomboids, and core.
How to Do It:
Stand with your knees slightly bent and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Hold two dumbbells with your palms facing your legs. Slightly bend your elbows. Tuck your chin throughout the exercise.
Keep your spine neutral and bend your hips, knees, and ankles. Hold your dumbbells close to your body.
Bend until your legs are parallel to the floor.
Quickly and powerfully push your legs into the ground like you’re preparing to jump.
Bring the dumbbells to your shoulders and rotate your arms until your elbows face forward at chest height.
Bring the dumbbells to your shoulders and lower back into a squat position.
Rise to a standing position and explosively push the dumbbells overhead.
Bring the dumbbells back to your sides and lower into a squat position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 6 and progress to 3 sets of 8.
10. Squat and Press
The squat and press offer a full-body workout that strengthens large muscle groups with just one exercise that is relatively simple to learn.
Muscles Worked: Glutes, quads, erector spinae, rectus abdominis, obliques, deltoids, triceps, and trapezius.
How to Do It:
Begin from a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Hold a pair of dumbbells in front of your shoulders with your palms facing each other and elbows bent and close to your body.
Bend your knees and lower into a squat position, pushing back into your hips and keeping your chest up.
Push through your feet and squeeze your glutes, rising to a standing position and raising your arms, straightening at the elbows.
Return the dumbbells to the starting position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 and progress to 3 sets of 10.
Have you tried any compound exercises? Tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your workouts and get cheered on. I can design a strength and cardio program to help you crush your fitness goals - sign up in the Runstreet Training Center.
Happy lifting to you!😊
Related Posts: 3 Best Glute Exercises to Get Results, 10 Best Arm Workouts with Dumbbells
Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified personal trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach based in Brooklyn, NY. Marnie likes helping people get and stay active to enjoy a better quality of life. When she’s not doing fitness things, Marnie enjoys exploring with her dog, a mischievous rescue Akita.
