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20-Minute Full Arm Workout with Dumbbells

Strengthen and tone your upper body with dumbbells; a full arm workout at home! This giant set arm workout is designed to target your shoulders, back, chest, biceps, and triceps. Build strong arms at home.

This is DAY NINE of our Perform 20 Program.

Women performing a Single Arm Kneeling Pull Back Row.

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Build upper body strength with this efficient full arm workout with dumbbells.

Day nine of our 2-Week Perform 20 Dumbbell Workout Plan hits every major muscle group in the upper body.

As a personal trainer, and someone who typically works out five days a week I sometimes like to split train my upper body. When I split train arms I focus specifically on back exercises and bicep exercises or shoulder exercises.

But there are days I’m short on time and I just really want a full arm workout that hits every upper body muscle in a short amount of time. Which is why I created this dumbbell arm workout.

You’ll repeat each giant set to maximize muscle-building. I want you to reach for your heavy weights – the goal is to reach muscle fatigue (and maybe even failure) by the end of the final circuit.

If I was looking to build upper body definition I would include these eight arm exercises in my next arm workout at home.

Build strength in all the major arm muscle: upper body push muscles (chest, triceps, and shoulders) and pull muscles (biceps and back).

I suggest doing this upper body workout once a week as part of a well-rounded workout routine.

Workout Equipment:

Medium-to-heavy set of dumbbells. We’re using 10-25 lbs. Optional pull up bar and long loop resistance band if needed (discount code: NML).

Workout Instructions:

Follow along with the guided Full Body Workout on YouTube, led by certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, Lindsey Bomgren. 

Your Workout Looks Like This:

  • 2 Giant Sets 
  • 4-6 Moves Per Circuit (progressively building and increasing time under tension)
  • Timed Intervals (30 seconds of work, 10 seconds rest; complete as many repetitions as you can in the timed interval)
  • Repeat Each Circuit x2 Sets
  • 2-Minute Burnout AMRAP (repeating 5 reps of 3 arm exercises as many rounds as possible)

Workout Outline

GIANT SET ONE:

  1. Lateral Shoulder Raises
  2. Tricep Kickbacks
  3. Seated Shoulder Press
  4. Dumbbell Chest Press
  5. Single Count Dumbbell Chest Press
  6. Skull Crushers

GIANT SET TWO:

  1. Bicep Curls
  2. Single Arm Kneeling Pull Back Row
  3. Wide Bicep Curl
  4. Pull Up

AMRAP FINISHER: 

  1. 5 Push Ups
  2. 5 Push Press
  3. 2 Pull Ups

1. Lateral Shoulder Raise

Targets: The lateral deltoid (also engages the anterior deltoids and posterior deltoid).

One women doing a double arm lateral shoulder raise. Then other women alternating lateral shoulder raise.

How To Do A Lateral Shoulder Raise

  1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, slight bend in your knees, holding a dumbbell in each hand at hip level, palms facing in towards each other.
  2. Engage your core, perform a dumbbell lateral raise by lifting the dumbbells straight out to your sides, keeping a slight bend in the elbow. Lift just to shoulder height.
  3. With control, lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position and repeat.

2. Tricep Kickback

Targets: All three heads of the tricep brachii muscle (lateral head, medial head, and long head).

One women performing alternating tricep kickbacks and one women performing double tricep kickbacks.

How To Do Tricep Kickbacks

  1. Start with feet hip-distance apart, slightly bent knees. Hold one dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing in.
  2. Roll your shoulders down and back, hinge forward at the hips (bent over position) and lock your arms in at a 90-degree angle. Upper arms in line with ribcage, elbows bent at 90 degrees, weights near hips.
  3. Perform a tricep kickback; extending both arms long behind you, kicking the weight past your hips.
  4. With control, slowly return the dumbbell to the starting position and repeat.

3. Seated Shoulder Press

Targets: Shoulders and upper arms, hips and core.

One women performing seated shoulder press in a v-sit and one women performing standing narrow shoulder press.

How To Do A Seated Shoulder Press

  1. Start sitting flat on your mat, sending the legs straight out in front of you, forming a “V” shape with your legs. Hold a pair of dumbbells front racked at your shoulders.
  2. Engage your core and exhale as you press the dumbbells directly overhead until your arms are fully extended.
  3. Slowly and with control, lower the dumbbells down to the starting position at shoulder level and repeat.

4. Dumbbell Chest Press

Targets: Chest (pecs), shoulders (deltoids) and triceps.

two women performing chest press laying on their back with feet flat on the floor.

How To Do A Dumbbell Chest Press

  1. Lay flat on your back (on the ground, on a bench, incline bench, or on a stability ball) with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold one dumbbell in each hand (palms facing knees), elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
  2. Exhale as you push both dumbbells overhead at the same time; dumbbells stacked over shoulders at the top of the press. Make sure your wrists are strong and in line with your shoulders.
  3. Lower the dumbbells back towards your chest with control. Option to get a greater range of motion by performing this exercise on a bench.

5. Skull Crusher

Targets: The triceps or back of your arm. 

How To Do Skull Crushers or Tricep Extensions

  1. Lie flat on the ground or on a bench or stability ball; legs bent at a 90-degree angle, feet planted firmly on the ground.
  2. Hold one dumbbell in each hand and extend your arms straight so the dumbbells are directly overhead (palms facing one another).
  3. Bending at the elbows, inhale and slowly lower the dumbbells towards your head (just bending at the elbows, lowering the dumbbells towards your temples).
  4. Then exhale as you press the dumbbells back overhead to return to the starting position.

6. Standard Biceps Curl

Targets: The biceps brachii (the front of your arms). This move hits both the long head and short head of the bicep muscle.

Two women performing standard bicep curls.

How To Do Standard Biceps Curl

  1. Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart and core engaged. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing outward (underhand grip or supinated grip).
  2. Exhale, squeezing the biceps muscle to curl the weights up to shoulder-height. Think about keeping elbows tucked into your sides and shoulder blades pulled down.
  3. With control, slowly return to the starting position with the dumbbells down by your sides. Return to the starting position and repeat.

7. Single Arm Kneeling Pull Back Row

Targets: Latissimus dorsi (or lats; the largest back muscle known for its large, flat “V” shape).

Bonus: unilateral exercises (single-sided exercises) like this single arm dumbbell row also work the abs and core.

One women performing knelling single arm back row and One women performing knelling single arm back row with a long loop resistance band wrapped around a pull up bar.

How To Do Single Arm Kneeling Pull Back Row

  1. Loop one end of the resistance band securely around a pull-up bar or sturdy door frame. Ensure it’s at a height that allows the band to provide tension when you’re in the kneeling position.
  2. Loop the other end of the resistance band around the dumbbell handle.
  3. Start in a kneeling position, knees under hips, core engaged. Keep your left knee on the mat and place your right foot flat on the mat, right thigh parallel to the ground (right knee in line with right hip).
  4. Hold the dumbbell in your left hand. Engage your core and maintain an upright posture. 
  5. Extend your arm holding the dumbbell forward slightly in line with the band, ensuring there’s some initial tension in the band.
  6. Exhale as you pull the dumbbell back toward your left lower ribcage, keeping your elbow close to your body.
  7. Inhale as you slowly extend your left arm back to the starting position, maintaining control and resisting the band’s tension.

8. Pull Up

Targets: Latissimus dorsi (lats), erector spinae, trapezius (traps), biceps, pectoralis major and minor (chest) and core.

One women performing pull ups and one women performing standard back rows.

How To Do A Pull Up

  1. Start standing underneath your pull up bar, feet hip-width apart, neck and shoulders relaxed.
  2. Reach up and grip the pull-up bar with your palms facing away from your body (overhand grip), hands slightly wider than shoulder-width distance apart.
  3. Allow your body to hang freely with your arms fully extended.
  4. Initiate the pull up by squeezing your shoulder blades together and pulling your chest towards the bar. Keep your elbows pointed downward throughout the movement.
  5. Continue to pull your body, pulling your chest up until your chin is above the bar, or as high as you can comfortably go. Keep your core engaged and your body straight throughout the movement.
  6. Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position, extending your arms fully.

Modification: Option to perform assisted pull ups or chin ups with a long loop resistance band. Or, perform a narrow dumbbell back row (demonstrated on the left in the above image).

What Are The Best Arm Exercises for Women?

When it comes to arm day, I like to start with some of the basics. Some of the best dumbbell arm exercises are back rows, hammer curls, lateral raises, chest presses and triceps extensions. These upper body exercises are classics for a reason – they each hit the upper body pull muscles and push muscles, so you get a well-rounded workout by combining them.

What Made Your Arms Look Toned?

Progressive overload and protein are the two most important things you should prioritize if you want to see muscle growth and definition in your upper body. Progressive overload means gradually increasing the intensity and difficulty of your workouts over time. You can do this by using heavier weights, increasing rep range or sets, or increasing time under tension. Additionally, I aim for 30 grams of protein at each meal.

woman flexing with text overlay describing dumbbell workout plan

Perform 20: FREE 2-Week Dumbbell Workout Plan

A 2-week performance based strength training program designed to build muscle in 20 minutes a day. 

If you liked this full body workout at home, download the FREE 2-Week Dumbbell Workout Plan.

Pin This Workout: Full Arm Workout

woman performing single arm shoulder raise as part of full arm workout

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