A staple of push day, training shoulders is a crucial component of any well-rounded fitness regimen. And what’s the point in having bulging biceps if you’ve got slight shoulders sitting on top of them?
Training shoulders with dumbbells is an ideal option whether you use a gym or do home workouts. Dumbbell shoulder exercises offer flexibility and versatility, and you can achieve a lot with only a little weight.
Here we look at the best dumbbell shoulder exercises, exploring the principles behind building strong and functional shoulders.
Shoulder exercise anatomy
Why are dumbbell shoulder exercises so good?
Dumbbells are among the most readily available free weights, and because you don’t need to go super heavy to target your shoulders, they’re ideal to incorporate into home workouts.
Dumbbells also give you a range of movement that you can’t achieve with a barbell. Our shoulders are a ball and socket joint, which allows for such a broad range of movement, but we all have varied mobility within that range.
Using dumbbells allows the shoulders more freedom of rotation so you can perform shoulder dumbbell exercises in the safest way for your mobility.
1. Dumbbell shoulder press
Targeting the anterior and medial deltoid, the dumbbell shoulder press is wonderfully versatile as they can be done seated or standing, single-arm, double, or alternating. What’s not to love?
If performing seated, ensure your bench is fully upright to support your back.
If standing, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, or you can use the B stance, where one foot kicks out behind you with the weight of the back leg resting on your toes, heel raised.
The stance you do is down to preference, as some people find one more stable than the other.
How to do the dumbbell shoulder press
- Position the dumbbells to each side of the shoulders, elbows at 90 degrees. (If performing this move standing, tuck your pelvis under to aid stability).
- Press the dumbbells upwards until the arms are extended overhead.
- Aim to keep the dumbbells over your forehead, don’t allow them to swing back.
- Lower the dumbbells back down to 90 degrees and repeat for desired number of reps.
This is an exercise where you don’t want to run before you can walk. If you don’t have a gym buddy to spot you, then start light to make sure you’re lifting a weight you can sustain safely.
8-10kg is a good place to start if you’re a beginner to lifting. While this may sound light, nailing the technique in the beginning will help you long-term.
As you get more confident you can stimulate muscle growth with a heavier weight for 5-8 reps for one to two sets, followed by a lighter one for 12-15 for endurance.
2. Dumbbell side lateral raise
This isolation exercise is a great bit of kit to have in your toolbox for working your medial deltoid primarily and engaging your anterior deltoid and traps as secondary muscles. But nailing the technique to ensure maximum output is key.
FYI: These are the muscles that tend to pop after a cut and look impressive in a tank top and on your socials, so don’t skip them.
How to do the dumbbell side lateral raise
- Stand with your feet hip-width (not shoulder-width) apart, knees soft with a slight forward tilt from your hips.
- Engage your core to protect your lower back.
- With dumbbells in both hands, raise your arms to the side until your elbows are in line with your shoulders, keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
- Then lower your arms back to your side with control.
To ensure you’re getting the best quality of movement, feel the lift from the medial and anterior part of your delt to lead the dumbbells into the air.
5-10kg is about average for this exercise. Rarely will you see people go above 12kg.
If you’re really trying to build your shoulders, you can do one to two heavier sets for 5-8 reps, then go lighter for 12-15 reps to build endurance for another two to three sets.
See one of our ambassadors executing the lateral raise perfectly here.
3. Dumbbell front raise
Another isolation exercise, this targets the anterior deltoid. Proper form is essential here to ensure you’re getting the most out of the exercise. Think “ go slow, weights low” and you’re halfway there.
This is not a momentum exercise, so if your weights are too heavy and you’re having to swing them up, put them down and pick up something lighter. It’ll save you a packet in physio.
You want a weight that’s heavy enough that you’re feeling it between 10-12 reps, but you’re able to keep control over the movement. Resorting to swinging means failure. If you’re hitting this by 6-8 reps, go lighter.
Right, lecture complete, let’s talk technique.
How to do the dumbbell front raise
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, dumbbells at your side. The trick here is to allow them to hang naturally, meaning your thumbs point outwards.
- This will give you smoother form as you raise the dumbbells up, keeping your thumbs slightly elevated so your hands are at an angle as opposed to straight.
- You’re still hitting the anterior deltoid, but the movement will feel a little more comfortable as it glides more naturally with your anatomy making it safer for your shoulders.
- When your arms are parallel with the ground, stop! This is as far as you need to go to engage the muscle you’re aiming to work. Any higher, you’re changing the point of the exercise.
- And here is where you can really do the good work. Pause at the top for a few seconds to really engage the work on the anterior delts.
Remember it’s intensity over volume. Then lower slowly and with control back to the starting position. Job done.
4. Dumbbell bent-over raise
This is a great exercise to target the posterior deltoid, ensuring you achieve an even workout of all three shoulder muscles.
How to do the dumbbell bent-over raise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, tuck your pelvis under, knees bent and tilt forward at a 45-degree angle.
- Allow the dumbbells to hang in front of you. To ensure you work the correct area, aim to have them roughly in line with your chin.
- Now pinch your shoulder blades to engage the muscles and slowly raise your arms (elbows slightly bent) upwards until they are in line with your back.
- Hold for a couple of seconds to really activate the muscle and slowly lower back down.
You’re probably noticing a bit of a theme by now. Shoulder exercises are about controlled movement. So don’t go too heavy. These muscles benefit so much from a lighter weight that you can maintain a slow, controlled movement over.
Again, choose a weight that you can control over 8-12 reps where the final 2-3 reps take all your mental strength to finish.
5. Dumbbell upright row
The dumbbell upright row is a good shout if you have muscular imbalances from right to left as it forces the weak side to work in a way it may not if you do the exercise with a barbell.
This exercise targets the medial and anterior deltoids, but also engages the traps and even the biceps.
How to do the dumbbell upright row
- You know the drill, lift with control, not momentum. Choose a weight that allows you at least 8 reps to minimise injury risk. And if you’re working with an imbalance, favour the weaker side.
- Feet shoulder width apart, pelvis tucked under to engage your core and protect the lower back, position your hands in front of your thighs, knuckles facing out.
- Glide the dumbbells upwards towards your shoulders, keeping them in line with your torso. As you reach the top part of the movement, your elbows will come up and out to the side.
- When the dumbbells reach anything from mid-chest to shoulder height, pause for a second before slowly lowering back to the starting position.
As with most shoulder exercises, the intensity comes from taking your time and engaging with the movement as you move through it.
6. Dumbbell shoulder shrugs
Now, what’s the point in having impressive delts if you haven’t got the traps to go with it? Growing your back and shoulders is a process, and dumbbell shoulder shrugs are the key to hitting the all important trapezius muscle.
It also incorporates the rhomboids, so don’t miss this outside of shoulder or push day.
How to do the dumbbell shrug
- Good news, if you’re feeling a bit emasculated after all those light weights, now’s the time to feed your ego. Well, maybe a light snack.
- You still want to be able to control the weight, but you can go heavier here. Choose dumbbells you can sustain for 12-15 reps.
- Stand with your feet hip width apart, dumbbells at your side with palms facing inwards. Engage your core and slightly pinch your shoulder blades together to engage them and to avoid rounding during the exercise.
- Now draw your shoulders upwards towards your ears ensuring your torso remains straight and you keep looking straight ahead.
- Try not to jut your chin forward. The movement is complete when you can’t raise your shoulders any further. This will differ for each person.
- Hold for a second at the top of the movement before slowly reversing back down.
7. Dumbbell Swimmers
AKA: The silent shoulder killer. This is an exercise that seems simple for the first, oh, 3 reps and then it’s nothing but regrets until the end. But it does target all three sections of the delts, so you learn to love to hate it.
Now GO LIGHT. Cannot stress this enough. If it’s too easy, go a bit heavier next time, but you do not want to overestimate this one. This is a great finisher when you’ve got very little left in the tank.
How to do Dumbbell Swimmers
- Stand with your feet hip width apart, those innocently looking light dumbbells at your side, palms facing in.
- In one smooth, slow and fluid motion, raise your arms to a lateral raise.
- When your arms are in line with your shoulders, flow them around in front so they’re now straight out in front of you.
- Lower down with control until the dumbbells are resting in front of your thighs, palms inwards.
- Now reverse this motion. Raising your arms straight up in front of you like a front raise, pull them back in line with your shoulders and lower laterally back down to your side.
- That’s ONE rep. Told you. Go light.
You can do 10-15 of these for 3-4 sets or set a timer for 60-90 seconds and just burn those bad boys out. Either way, washing your hair is going to be a whole thing tomorrow.
8. Incline dumbbell chest press
A chest exercise in a shoulder blog, what madness is this? Stay with us because there’s a method to the madness.
Unlike the flat bench press, the incline press actually transfers the focus of the movement into the upper part of the pectoral muscles as well as the anterior delts. Ah, see, method validation.
See more on which muscles the standard bench press works here.
How to do the Incline Dumbbell Press
Adjust your bench to a 30-45 degree angle. The greater the angle, the more you’ll engage those delts.
Choose dumbbells that are lighter than what you’d use for the flat bench press. Again, you’re incorporating shoulders into this exercise, so you won’t be able to take as much load as you can just through the chest.
You want a weight where you can do 8-12 reps with control. Sit on the bench with a dumbbell in each hand, resting the dumbbells on your thighs.
Brace your core as you lie back, keeping your elbows bent but locked to move the dumbbells back. Press them up straight over your chest, wrists in line with your forearm in one fluid motion.
When you reach the top of the movement, slowly lower the dumbbells to hover just over your chest or lightly touch it. Keep your elbows tucked in, facing the floor.
When you complete a set, bring the dumbbells safely to your thighs and use your core to sit up, as this is where you’re most likely to injure yourself when your focus is broken.
Shoulder workout plan for building muscle
Shoulder Dumbbell Workout 1
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 4 x 8
Dumbbell Bent Over Raise 4 x 8-10
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press 3 x 12
Dumbbell Shrugs 4 x 12-15
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 x 12
Swimmers – 3 x 10
Shoulder Dumbbell Workout 2
Dumbbell shoulder press 3 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs 4 x 12-15
Dumbbell Front Raise – 3 x 12
Dumbbell Bent Over Raise – 3 x 12
Dumbbell Upright Row – 4 x 8
Swimmers – 1 x 60 second burnout finisher
The key to any shoulder programme is to perform heavier weighted exercises first while you’re fresh. Once your shoulders start to fatigue you’ll struggle to do exercises such as shoulder and chest presses safely.
Frequently asked questions
How can I build my shoulders with dumbbells?
Dumbbells are a great option for shoulders. Because your shoulders are relatively small sets of muscles, you don’t need much weight to get a good workout, making dumbbells a great option.
And if you ensure you keep movements slow and controlled, you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck. Just always keep good form in mind.
What is the number 1 shoulder exercise?
The dumbbell shoulder press is one of the best exercises for building shoulder strength and gaining muscle mass (in line with a good nutrition plan).
It incorporates multiple muscle groups making it a compound exercise, and it’s one of the few shoulder exercises where you can significantly increase load over time.
How heavy should dumbbells be for shoulders?
Everyone will be different here, but the general rule is to select weights that are heavy enough to cause muscle fatigue within 8-12 reps.
And if you’re worried about safety or losing form, go a little bit lighter and really slow down the movement.
Shoulders respond well to this type of work, so you can achieve a lot by taking your time in the eccentric portion of the lift.
Summary: Best Dumbbell Shoulder Exercises
Dumbbells are highly effective tools for building strong, well-rounded shoulders. They offer versatility, targeting various angles and muscle groups of the shoulders and upper back effectively.
Whether used for compound or isolation exercises, dumbbells are perfect for both home and gym workouts.
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