16 Effective Dumbbell Compound Exercises

Dumbbell workouts can offer you impressive benefits for many muscles but what are some compound exercises you can do with dumbbells?

Dumbbells are handles with weights attached to them, they are one of the most popular types of gym equipment, and for a good reason. Dumbells can play a role in many exercises for a wide variety of muscles.

Compound exercises are movements that work out multiple muscles at the same time. Dumbbells are especially useful for these since your arms still have so much room to move.

The best dumbbell weight for compound exercises varies from exercise to exercise and individual to individual. If you are not sure which weight would be right for you, you can start with light dumbbells and slowly build up from there.

Keep in mind that even though there are upsides, your injury risk is generally also higher when you do exercises with more weight/resistance. You may want to talk to your primary care provider before starting a new workout routine.

1. Bench presses

The bench press with a barbell is one of the most popular weight lifting exercises for bigger chest muscles. Even so, you can definitely also use dumbbells for this compound exercise. To do a decline bench press with dumbbells take the following steps:

1. Sit on the end of a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand. To get in position you can let the dumbbells rest on your thighs.
2. Use your legs to kick up the dumbbells and lie down on the bench at the same time. Keep your arms slightly less than stretched and pointing up. Your hand palms should face about upward/forward and your hands should be about shoulder width apart.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells to your chest. Your upper arms should be at an angle of about 45 degrees to your sides.
4. Push the dumbbells back up again in a controlled motion.

Doing the bench press with different hand positions will influence what muscles you mainly target. By doing the bench press with a close grip you focus more on your tricep muscles.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: chest, triceps, and front part of the deltoids (main shoulder muscle).

2. Deadlifts

The word deadlift is almost synonymous with the words compound exercise. To do a deadlift with dumbbells take the following steps:

1. Stand up straight with your feet at more or less shoulder width in front of one or two dumbbells. You can set them up for a grip angle that is comfortable for you.
2. Slightly fold your knees and tilt your upper body forward to grab the dumbbell(s) on the ground.
3. Stretch your knees and tilt back your upper body at the same time until your upper body and legs are stretched in one straight line. When doing a deadlift it is very important to keep your back in a straight line during the exercise.
4. Slowly move back into the position of step 2.

Good technique is important in any exercise to avoid injuries but especially so for deadlifts. Before trying to deadlift the heaviest dumbbells it is smart to improve your technique first by starting with light or no dumbbells at all.

After that, the deadlift is traditionally an exercise that is done with relatively heavy external weights. You may need two dumbbells to make this exercise challenging enough.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: glute muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, erector spinae, and trapezius.

3. Squats

Squats are one of the, if not the most, popular leg exercises, and for a good reason. They are a great compound exercise for training a variety of leg muscles. To do a squat take the following steps:

1. Stand up straight with your feet at more or less shoulder width. Hold one or two dumbbells in your hands.
2. Slowly lower your hips by bending your knees. How far depends on different factors like knee health but at your lowest point you want your hips to be at or lower than your knee height. You will likely have to bend forward for balance but keep your back in a straight line throughout the movement.
3. Push yourself up again into starting position by stretching your legs.

To make squats challenging enough to get in a good workout you likely want to use relatively heavy dumbbells. The most convenient way to do squats with heavy dumbbells is by holding one dumbbell in each hand and letting your arms hang down beside your body.

If you want to focus more on core muscles you can hold the dumbbells on your shoulders. Something else you can do to make squats more of a compound exercise is doing a shoulder press at the top of the movement.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, erector spinae, and lower back.

4. Dumbbell shoulder presses

The shoulder press with a barbell is one of the most popular compound exercises for growing shoulder muscles. You can also easily do the same exercise with dumbbells instead. To do a dumbbell shoulder press take the following steps:

1. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at about shoulder height with your hand palms facing forward. Your elbows can point slightly more forward than just a horizontal line with your shoulders.
2. Slowly move the dumbbells up until your arms are slightly less than stretched.
3. Lower the dumbbells back into starting position in a controlled motion.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: front and middle shoulder muscles, triceps, and trapezius.

5. Side plank dips

To do a side plank dip take the following steps:

1. Sit sideways on the ground leaning on one of your lower arms with the upper arm of that arm vertical to support your upper body.
2. Walk away from your upper body with your feet until you can put your body in a straight side plank. Hold a dumbbell on your hip with your free arm during the exercise.
3. Move your hips as far down as comfortable.
4. Move your hips as far up as comfortable.
5. Return your body into the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.
6. Repeat the same number of repetitions while leaning on your other arm.

If the ground stops you from bending down further you can consider doing side plank dips with your arm on an elevated object like for example a weight bench.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: abs, obliques, and shoulders.

6. Farmer’s walks

The farmer’s walk is a resistance training exercise where you simply pick up two dumbbells from the ground and walk a certain distance or time. Make sure you keep your posture upright and your palms facing your body.

This exercise is a type of isometric exercise. In simpler words, this means that you engage your muscles in a more static way, without taking the main muscles through a big range of motion.

On the other hand, you have isotonic exercises where you engage your muscles in a dynamic way, by moving.

Isotonic exercises are generally more useful for growing and strengthening muscles. That means that the other isotonic exercises on this list are likely better than the farmer’s walk for building more muscle mass.

On the other hand, farmer’s walks can be helpful for training muscle endurance. Since most people use the target muscles this way in their daily life, this can be helpful too.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: trapezius muscles, calves, quadriceps, core, glutes, grip, and hamstrings.

7. Bent-over dumbbell rows

To do a bent-over row with dumbbells take the following steps:

1. Stand up straight with your feet at about shoulder width and a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Slightly fold your knees and tilt your upper body forward until it is at about a 45-degree angle with the ground while keeping your back straight. Let your arms hang down to the ground for now.
3. Bend your elbows until your hands reach your body. The goal is to mainly make your back muscles support this movement. Keep your arms close to your body, your body in a straight line, and your feet in the same position during the movement.
4. Lower your hands again to the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: latissimus dorsi (big back muscle), rhomboids, trapezius, legs, and core.

8. Step-ups

For step-ups you need a stable object or platform strong enough to stand on. A sturdy plyo box may be a good option depending on how much pressure you want to put on it. Something like a concrete platform works too.

Once you have a suited object or platform, to do two step-ups take the following steps:

1. Stand upright in front of the object facing toward it with your feet at shoulder-width. Hold one or two dumbbells in your hands.
2. Raise one foot and put it on the surface of the object. Make sure your sole is entirely on the surface.
3. Raise your body by exerting pressure with the leg of the foot that is on the object.
4. Put your second foot next to the other one.
5. Step down with the first foot.
6. Step down with the second foot.
7. Do a repetition with the other foot first.

Dumbbells are an especially useful piece of fitness equipment to make step-ups weighted. This is because they still allow you to use your hands for extra balance which comes in handy when doing step-ups.

To make step-ups more of a compound exercise you can do a few dumbbell arm exercises at the top of the movement. Some examples include bicep curls, shoulder presses, lateral raises, and tricep kickbacks.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: glutes, calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, core, and traps.

9. Dumbbell swings

The kettlebell swing is a typical kettlebell compound exercise. Due to its unique form, kettlebells are generally better for this exercise but you can use dumbbells too. To do a dumbbell swing take the following steps:

1. Stand up straight with your arms stretched and one dumbbell in your two hands. Hold the dumbbell by one of the two ends to get a swing similar to the kettlebell.
2. Bend through your knees and move the dumbbell backward a small amount to initiate the full swings. Keep your back and shoulders straight throughout the exercise.
3. Swing the dumbbell forward until your arms are about horizontally at shoulder height. Stretch your legs throughout this swing.
4. Swing the dumbbell downward and backward between your legs as far as you safely can.
5. Alternate between the positions in step 3 and step 4.

Before increasing the weight of the dumbbell you use, make sure you can do a swing with the right technique with a lighter dumbbell.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: lower back, glutes, hamstrings, erector spinae, shoulders, and upper back.

10. Lunges

Lunges are a popular compound exercise with a focus on your leg muscles. Even though its bodyweight form can already be hard enough, you can easily add dumbbells to this exercise. To do two walking lunges take the following steps:

1. Stand up straight with your feet at more or less shoulder width. Hold one or two dumbbells in your hands.
2. Take a big step forward so that you get into a position where both of your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Your front foot should be flat on the ground, your back foot should only touch the ground with the ball of the foot (front).
3. Move your back foot forward and get into the same position as step 2 but with your other foot in the front. Make sure you use your leg muscles and not the momentum of your arms to do this movement.

Since lunges do involve some balancing at times you generally want to go for one dumbbell in each hand instead of one dumbbell in two hands. By doing weighted lunges this way you can still move your arms for balance.

By adding dumbbells to lunges you can make them more challenging for your muscles. In turn, this can lead to faster and more muscle growth.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: glutes, calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, core, and traps.

11. Upright rows

As the name implies the dumbbell upright row is similar to a bent-over resistance training row but standing up straight. To do a dumbbell upright row take the following steps:

1. Start standing up with your feet shoulder-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand. Your hand palms should point backward. Your arms start stretched.
2. Raise the dumbbells straight upward in a controlled manner until your hands are at about shoulder height.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells back into starting position.

Because of this change in position the dumbbell upward row is a compound exercise that focuses on slightly different muscles than the bent-over row.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: deltoids, trapezius, rhomboids, and biceps a bit.

12. Renegade rows

To do a renegade row take the following steps:

1. Place the dumbbells on the ground at about shoulder-width and the grips at horizontal lines with each other.
2. Get into the position where your face is facing the floor with your hands on the dumbbell grips. Your arms stretched, and your knees on the ground.
3. Move your feet back until your body is in a straight line. If you notice you need more stability during the exercise you can put your feet slightly more apart.
4. Raise one dumbbell upward until it is at the height of your upper body. Keep your elbow close to your body and mainly use your back muscles for this movement.
5. Lower the dumbbell back into the position of step 3 and raise the dumbbell on the other side in the same way.

The upper body movement of the renegade row is similar to the bent-over row but due to the different lower body setup, this compound exercise engages your muscles with a different focus.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: lats, traps, abs, obliques, and biceps to some extent.

13. Bird dog crunches

To do a bird dog crunch with dumbbells take the following steps:

1. Place the dumbbells on the ground at about shoulder-width and the grips at horizontal lines with each other.
2. Start with your face facing the floor with your hands on the dumbbell grips, your arms stretched, and your knees on the ground.
3. Stretch one leg and raise it until it is in a straight line with your body. At the same time stretch the arm of the opposite side and raise it until it is in a straight line with your body. So if you choose your right leg, raise your left arm at the same time.
4. Lower the raised leg and raised arm again and move the elbow and knee toward and past each other as far as comfortable.
5. Lower the raised leg and raised arm again in a controlled motion to starting position.
6. Repeat the same movement with your other leg and other arm.

The bird dog exercise is an exercise that is mainly done to strengthen core muscles. By doing the crunch alternative you engage core muscles like your obliques even more.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: abs, obliques, back muscles, erector spinae, glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings.

14. T pushups

Pushups are one of the most popular exercises there is. By adding the extra movement specific to T-pushups you make this even more of a compound exercise.

Although you can definitely do T pushups on the ground, by doing them with dumbbells you can implement a neutral grip. This can make it easier to keep your shoulders at a safer angle. The extra weight can also benefit muscle building. To do a dumbbell T pushup take the following steps:

1. Place the dumbbells at about shoulder-width apart on the ground. For the neutral grip, you want them to face forward.
2. Get into the position where your face is facing the floor with your hands on the dumbbell grips. Your arms stretched, and your knees on the ground.
3. Move your feet back until your body is in a straight line.
4. Slowly fold your arms at your elbows until your face is close to the ground. Your arms should be at an angle of about 45 degrees to your sides. Another way to put it is if someone is looking down at you from above your arms should make an arrow, not a T.
5. Stretch your arms again until you are back in a straight arm plank position.
6. Shift your weight so that you only lean on one arm. Move the free arm sideways and up the air until your arms are in one line.
7. Lower the free arm again until you are in the position of step 5.
8. Repeat with leaning on the other arm to avoid any muscle imbalances.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: shoulders, obliques, abs, chest, triceps, and lower back.

15. Dumbbell face pulls

To do a dumbbell face pull take the following steps:

1. Start standing up with your feet shoulder-width apart, an upright posture, and one dumbbell in each hand with your hand palms facing each other. Keep your arms slightly less than stretched throughout the exercise.
2. While keeping your back straight bend your knees and slightly bend forward until your upper body is as close as horizontal to the ground while keeping your posture good. Let gravity do its work on your arms so that they point vertically to the ground.
3. Slowly raise the dumbbells straight upward until right below shoulder height. Your hand palms face the same way throughout the exercise.
4. Lower dumbbells again into starting position in a controlled movement.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: rear deltoids, rhomboids, and trapezius.

16. Dumbbell woodchops

To do a dumbbell woodchop take the following steps:

1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart. Slightly bend your knees for stability. Hold one dumbbell in your hands. In starting position you slightly turn your upper body to one side with the dumbbell at about hip height. Keep your arms slightly less than stretched throughout the exercise.
2. Move the dumbbell sideways and upward to above your shoulders at the opposite side of the starting side.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells along the same path it went up until it is in starting position.
4. Repeat the same number of repetitions with the dumbbell starting at the opposite side to avoid any muscle imbalances.

Make sure you don’t twist your back too much to avoid any injuries when doing the wood chop exercise. If you have a history of back issues this compound exercise may not be the right choice for you.

Some of the muscles you engage with this dumbbell compound exercise include: obliques, abs, shoulders, upper and lower back, and legs.