There’s no better place to start making progress than with some dumbbells.

Getting started with a workout routine can be confusing. Deciding what equipment to use to how many sets and reps you should be doing can make it easy to just forget the whole thing.

Of course, forgetting the whole thing would be a massive mistake. To help you get started, we’re going with only dumbbells and we’ve listed some of the best workouts to build some muscle and move your body in the direction you want it.

These are the five best dumbbell workouts for beginners.

Workout #1 - Arms

Single-Arm Wall Curl 4x20 (Each Side)

Back against the wall, hand supinated. Do not go all the way down or all the way up.

Seated Single-Arm Overhead Tricep Extension 4x15-20 (Each Side)

Keep the elbow in and forward of your head by using your non-working hand to hold it. Do not lockout at the top.

Concentration Curl 4x15-20

Elbow against the leg and pushed back behind the shoulder to isolate the bicep. Lower the weight slowly and hold for two seconds at the top.

Dumbbell Skull Crushers 4x20

Lay on the ground or on a bench and place dumbbells at the shoulders. Contract up by flexing the wrist. Do not extend completely.

Read more: Dumbbell Arm Workouts

Workout #2 - Shoulders

Arnold Press 4x15-20

Hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing you. Bring elbows out to the side while rotating hands so palms face forward and pressing the dumbbells overhead until arms are straight. Reverse the movement to return to start.

Single Dumbbell Front Raise 4x15-20

Sitting on a bench, hold one dumbbell vertically between your hands. Raise the dumbbell up to eye level and slowly lower it back down.

Seated Rear Delt Reverse Rotations 4x15-20

Hold the dumbbells in front of you with elbows bent so your forearms are parallel to the ground. Rotate the dumbbells out until they are perpendicular to your body and bring them back in slowly, keeping your elbows at your side.

Dumbbell Bus Drivers 4x20

- Begin the exercise by holding a dumbbell out in front of you with your arms slightly bent. Keeping your core tight, turn the dumbbells back and forth, flexing your shoulders.

Partial Lateral Raises 6x20 (3 Sets Bottom Half & 3 Sets Top Half)

For the first 3 sets, you will start with the dumbbells at your side and arms straight. Flex them away from your body with your delts until they are halfway up.

For the last 3 sets, use lighter dumbbells and start with them extended away from your body and your arms parallel to the ground. Lower them halfway and bring them back up.

Read more: Dumbbell Shoulder Workouts

Workout #3 - Legs and Glutes

This workout has leg exercises to target the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

Reverse Lunges 4x15-20 (each side)

Hold the dumbbells at your side. To target your glutes more, shift weight into hips and lean into your quad as you step back. Don't lock your knees out at the top. Only go 3/4 of the way up.

Dumbbell Frog Pumps 4x15-20

Lay flat on your back with your arms by your side and a dumbbell on your lap. Put the soles of your feet together and bend your knees, pointing them away from your torso and squeezing your glutes as you push your hips towards the ceiling.

Split Squats 4x15-20

The non-working foot is behind you. Hold dumbbells at your side. Do not come all the way up (this keeps tension on your quads).

Dumbbell Hamstring Curl 4x20

Hold a dumbbell between your feet while lying face down on a bench. Curl the dumbbell up with your hamstrings and slowly lower back down halfway, keeping tension on your hamstrings.

Use a decline bench, if possible. If not, a flat bench or the floor will do.

Dumbbell Calf Raises 4x20

Stand holding dumbbells at your side with the balls of your feet on an elevated surface and your heels touching the floor. Raise your heels off the floor and contract your calves.

Workout #4 - Chest

Dumbbell Press 4x10-15

Do them on a bench with a slight incline or from the floor. Keep your arms at a 45-degree angle from your body. Use a neutral grip. Lower the weight slowly.

Incline (or Floor) Squeeze Press 4x15-20

Keep dumbbells together (neutral-grip) and squeeze them together as you press up. Feel the contraction in your chest at the top.

Wide-Grip Push-Up on Dumbbells 4x20 (or until failure)

Place the dumbbells outside shoulder-width to better isolate the pecs during the movement.

Incline Chest Flyes 4x20

Do them on the floor or a flat bench if you have no incline bench.

Workout #5 - Back

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 4x15-20

Take a wide stance and place the non-working arm on your forward leg. Go low enough to stretch your lats and row until you feel the contraction in your lats.

Bench-Supported Wide Dumbbell Row 4x15-20

Lay face-down on an incline bench and keep your arms at 90 degrees. At the start of each rep, pull your shoulders back slightly and then row.

Two-Dumbbell Lat Pullover 4x15-20

Lying on the ground or on a bench, keep hands supinated and elbows bent throughout the movement. Contract your lats to pull the dumbbells over you.

Lower Back Reverse Hyper with Dumbbell Held Between Feet 4x20

Hanging off a bench or chair face down, curl your feet up feeling the contraction in your lower back. You might not need a dumbbell for this.

For more workouts like these, check out our dumbbell-only training series.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which dumbbell weight is best for beginners?

The best dumbbell weight to start with as a beginner is 10-20 pounds. Grab a pair of 10-pound or 15-pound dumbbells for isolation exercises or a pair of 20-pound dumbbells for compound exercises.

Can you train with only dumbbells?

You can train with only dumbbells regardless of what your goal is. Dumbbells provide more than enough versatility in usefulness to give you results. Be sure to consider how heavy your dumbbells are.

If you only have lighter dumbbells, you can add more repetitions and slow down the movement to make exercises harder. This leads to greater stress on your muscles, causing them to grow and it burns more calories.

Can I build muscle at home with dumbbells?

You can absolutely build muscle with just dumbbells at home. The key thing is to place enough stress on your muscles to get them to grow.

This can be accomplished by progressively lifting heavier weight or by keeping the tension on a muscle longer by doing more repetitions or slowing down an exercise.