Complete Full Body Dumbbell Workout For Women

You can’t go wrong with a set of dumbbells when it comes to choosing exercise gear. 

They’re a great method to build strength and are transportable, inexpensive, and simple to store. You can perform an essentially endless variety of exercises with a pair of dumbbells; pick the best ones and arrange them in a circuit format for a highly effective strength training workout.

When deciding on the appropriate load size, choose a dumbbell weight that feels challenging (yet manageable) during your last two to three repetitions. 

We would recommended for a beginner:

• Arms/shoulders: 3kg-5kg
• Back/chest 6kg-10kg:
• Legs: 10kg and up

If your goal is to build muscle mass and feel stronger, then this full body workout is for you. Let’s get to it!

Why use dumbbells?

Any lifter’s exercise with dumbbells can be beneficial. They can improve coordination, balance out deficiencies in multiple muscle groups, and even help you develop strength. They can also help you build muscle mass.

Increasing range of motion is one of the best methods to overload muscles for strength or muscle-building purposes. With a machine row or press, one can only move through a certain range of motion; this is not the situation with dumbbell variations!

By extending the range of motion, dumbbells can give your go-to mass exercises a new level of overload.

A complete full-body dumbbell workout for women

Lunge

Muscles worked: glutes and hamstrings.

1. Inhale and take a large step forward with your right leg, landing on the heel. 
2. Bend at the knee until the right leg is parallel to the ground. While in the lunge posture, the left leg is bent at the knee and balanced on the toes.
3. To return to the starting posture, exhale and step back with the right foot.
4. Perform 10-12 reps and repeat with the left leg

Bent over row

Muscles worked: Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, Spinal Erectors, and Trapezius muscles.

 

1. Place your feet shoulder-width apart and your ankles slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell shoulder-width in each hand, hands facing each other. Take a deep breath in while bending over at a 45-degree inclination (no lower).
2. On an exhale, pull the weights up, towards the sides of your chest, or beside the bottom of your rib cage. Lift to the limit of your range of motion. Keep the wrists as still as possible while lifting.
3. As you inhale, slowly lower the weights to the beginning position. Continue to bend over until all reps (10-12) have been completed.

Glute bridge 

Muscles worked: glutes and hamstrings.

1. Lie on your back on your mat, legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Keep your feet beneath your legs, not in front of them. Put the weight on top of your lower abs. (below your belly button and above your hip bones). Hold the dumbbell with both hands to keep it from moving.
2. Raise your hips to the sky while tensing your abs and squeezing your buttocks. Make a long diagonal line with your torso from your shoulders to your knees.
3. Hold for three seconds, taking care not to round your back or sag your hips. Keep your core and glutes engaged.
4. Lower yourself to the floor; this is one rep.
5. Perform 20 reps.

Chest press

Muscles worked: pectorals, deltoids, and triceps.

 

1. Lie flat on your back or on a bench, feet level on the ground. Extend your arms straight over your shoulders, palms facing your feet, with a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and gently bend your elbows, lowering the weights parallel to your shoulders until your elbows form 90-degree angles.
3. Return the weights to the starting position slowly, squeezing your shoulder blades the entire time. That is one repetition.
4. Perform 8-12 reps.

Squat 

Muscles worked: quads, hamstrings, glutes.

 

1. Holding a set of dumbbells at arm’s length by your sides, stand with your feet hip to shoulder width apart.
2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body until your legs are parallel to the floor, keeping your back flat and centre braced. This is your squat
3. .Paise for a moment and return to your starting position.
4. Complete 10-15 reps.

Shoulder press

Muscles worked:deltoid, trapezius and triceps.

 

1. Hold the weights by your shoulders, palms forward, elbows out to the sides, and bent at a 90° angle.
2. Extend your arms to press the weights above your head without leaning back.
3. Then gradually return to your starting posture.
4. Perform 8-12 reps.

Lateral raise

Muscles worked: lateral deltoids and front deltoids.

1. Stand with your hands by your side, your feet hip width apart, and your knees soft. Engage your core while pulling your shoulders back. This is your starting position.
2. Next, raise both of your hands to the side so that they are shoulder-height.
3. Return them to their starting location.
4. Perform 3 rounds of 8–12 repetitions.

Tricep extension

Muscles worked: Triceps

1. Kneel down and place your forearms under the head of one side of a dumbbell while holding it with both hands.
2. Place your hands over your head, arms extended, and the dumbbell right behind your head.
3. Breathe in, flex your arms, and lower the dumbbell behind your head gradually.
4. Once your elbows are completely extended, stop.
5. Bring the dumbbell gently back to the starting position as you exhale.
6. Perform 3 rounds of 8–12 repetitions.

Dumbbell sit ups

Muscles worked: abdominals, quadriceps, chest and shoulders.

1. Holding the dumbbells in each hand next to your torso, begin by lying flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
2. Dumbbells should be raised in the air in a single motion while you sit up straight.
3. Do not allow momentum to lift your upper body off the ground.
4. Keeping your abdomen muscles contracted will help you maintain control of your body as you descend.
5. Perform 10-12 reps.

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Full body dumbbell workout for women FAQs

Are dumbbell workouts effective for women?

One of the best exercises for women to build strength is a dumbbell workout. To build and tone muscles in the legs, chest, back, arms, and core, use a set of dumbbells either at home or in the gym. To achieve the intended results, the exercises can be altered to concentrate on a particular area.

How heavy should women’s dumbbells be?

Different weight variations should be used for different exercises. As a rule we recommend for  beginners: 3-5kg for arms, 6-10kg for back and chest and 10kg+ for legs. Although you can always add more weight later, this should give you the ideal base for the majority of beginning lifts and gains.

Can you use dumbbells for the lower body?

Dumbbells are a remarkably powerful instrument for developing your leg muscles. Dumbbell leg exercises can tone or increase muscular mass by targeting a variety of muscles and muscle groups, including the quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes.