A list of excellent exercises, only with dumbbells
In these times, and with gyms closing again, many people have chosen to set up their own gym.
Or mini gym.
Or maybe just some dumbbells to do some weight training, but without spending a lot of money.
The exercises included here, as the name suggests, require the use of dumbbells at a minimum, but the ideal is to also have a bench, as many of the variations, in particular, require one.
If you don't have any, there are still exercises for you here.
Finally, there aren't that many unique exercises, and many of them are just variations.
But, do they give results?
Yes, and that's what matters.
Chest press
It couldn't be missed, it was obvious and therefore, we started with it.
This is the best known exercise to work the chest with dumbbells and is very close to the famous flat bench press. The beloved Monday exercise.
Use this exercise in your training, as it is an excellent movement if you have a bench.
Use this exercise also if you don't have a bench.
As?
Lie down on a flat, stable floor. Make sure it's not slippery. Do the movement as you would with a bench, just be careful when descending, as the ideal is to stay close to the floor, not resting your arms between repetitions.
Variations
Incline Chest Press
Also widely used, this variant works more heavily on the upper chest area. If this area of your chest is lagging behind compared to the others, prioritize this exercise.
This movement really requires a bench to create the angle.
Decline chest press
Hard to guess, isn't it?
The decline press is another chest exercise that requires a bench, and is similar to the previous ones, only changing the execution angle and focus area.
One-Arm Chest Press
To vary your chest presses a little, you can try this variant in which you only work one side at a time, and therefore, you have to focus more on the side you work on.
Try it. If you like it, keep it. If you don't like it, change it.
Openings
Another exercise that you can include in your dumbbell training are the splits.
It requires less weight than the chest press, so if you're limited in that regard, the splits help.
Then, do you have a bank to do it? Great.
Don't have a bank? No problem.
Just like the flat chest press, you can do this exercise on the floor, taking the same precautions as described above.
It never hurts to reinforce, be careful when performing the exercise, as neither the arms nor the dumbbells are supposed to touch the floor.
Variations
Slanted openings
Following the same line as the press, you can change the angle of the exercise and do it with an incline, focusing more on the upper chest area.
Here you really need the bank to be able to make this move.
This exercise, as you would expect, gives greater focus to the upper chest area, and is useful if that area is lagging behind in comparison to the rest.
Declined Openings
Just like the incline variation, without a bench there is no exercise.
Here you lower the incline of the bench so that you are in a declined position.
This way, you work the entire chest, but with greater focus on the lower area compared to the other variations.
If you have a bank, try it.
Openings with just one arm
To vary your training a little, you can try this variation.
If done flat, you can use it without a bench, on the floor, just as you would do in the case of normal openings, but with the other arm providing support and stability to the movement.
You can also do it in the inclined or declined form.
An example image of the type of work you can do on the floor, without benches, just dumbbells and weights.
The ideal would always be to have the bench, which as you can see, allows you several variations that are not possible without it. But if you're on a budget, you can get good workouts using just dumbbells.
Extra
You can also include push-ups exercises, of which there are also several varieties, but there's nothing like a good workout with dumbbells.
This is an example of a push-up exercise, a little different from the usual one.
However, if we were to include the different varieties of push-ups, we would have to create a new article, as there are so many. (Maybe it will happen)
Conclusion
As you can see, although the exercises are few, the variations provide variety to the training, and allow for a complete workout just using dumbbells and, preferably, a bench as well.
With this equipment you can easily emulate a workout at the same level as you would do in the gym, just with less variety.
In terms of results, as long as you have enough weights to progress, you can also reach the same level as you would in a gym.
In other words, open or closed gym, as long as you have this equipment, the results will continue to appear.
Are there any exercises that were left out but that, in your opinion, should have been included?
Use the comments area below and tell us what it is!
