We are so used to seeing machines and other high tech equipment in the gym and on TV but realistically it does not take more than a set of dumbbells to have a great workout.

A dumbbell workout is pretty easy to do. I had various weights of dumbbells from 15-30 pounds. Actually you can get dialed dumbbells that allow you to change the weight that you are using from 20 to 60 pounds although I have just tried them in a store.

Most importantly there are a lot of exercises that you can do and you can basically hit every muscle group in an effective dumbbell workout. Lets look at the exercises based on the muscle groups.

Dumbbell workout for biceps

Of course the most common exercises for biceps are the alternating curls. The alternating curls are a great exercise and they work great as long as you do not cheat and swing the weights. Keep very controlled movement up and down. Another great dumbbell workout exercise is concentration curls. Concentration curls are done one arm at a time.

Dumbbell workout for triceps

There are two exercise that work great for triceps. Tricep Extensions are done by extending your arm above your head and lower and raise your weight by extending your arm at the elbow. The other great dumbbell workout exercise for triceps are tricep kickbacks. These are done by extending your arms behind you so that there is tightness in the tricep thanks to gravity at the top of the kickback.

Dumbbell workout for shoulders

There are a few dumbell workout exercises that you can do for shoulders. There are front, side, and rear laterals. Also you can do pullups and military press quite easily with dumbbells

Dumbbell workout for back

With one leg up on a bench and one weight at your side you can do one armed rows with a single dumbbell. You can use more weight with this than you can with shoulders as your upper back is much stronger than your shoulders.

Dumbbell workout for chest

The best exercises that you can do with dumbbells for your chest are flyes, bench press (same as flyes but allow your elbow to bend) and crossbench pullovers.

Dumbbell workout for legs

Thinking about this I was having a bit of trouble coming up with exercises that you can work your legs with dumbbells until I pictured lunges. Lunges are done by taking long steps and allowing your rear leg to drop close to the floor and bending the front leg at the same time. The gait looks a little funny but it is a killer for your legs and a pair of dumbbells can make this even more difficult.

As you can see, if you just have a few sets of dumbells you can have a great dumbbell workout and hit every one of your main muscle groups.