This home dumbbell shoulder workout will help you build a stronger frame for injury-free strength sessions and big upper-body gains…
There’s nothing wrong with regularly doing a full-body dumbbell workout but our shoulders require special attention. That’s why we’ve devised this home dumbbell shoulder workout. The big muscles in the joint have the capacity to shift a large amount of weight but if you ignore the small stabilising muscles that are deep in the joint you could end up with an injury that’s hard to heal.
This dumbbell shoulder workout begins with two exercises – external and internal rotations – that strengthen the deep-lying stabilising muscles. They will also warm up your joints for the bigger lifts, such as the seated shoulder press, that follow.
As with any body part, it’s important to work the shoulders from a variety of angles. The lateral raise will target your middle shoulders, the front raise targets your front shoulders and the halo targets the front, middle and rear shoulders.
Try this dumbbell shoulder workout at home
- Dumbbell external rotation (12-15 reps each side | 2 sets)
- Dumbbell internal rotation (12-15 reps each side | 2 sets)
- Dumbbell kneeling hammer-grip shoulder press (10 reps | 3 reps)
- Dumbbell lateral raise (10 reps | 3 reps)
- Dumbbell front raise (10 reps | 3 reps)
- Dumbbell halo (10 reps | 3 reps)
How to do this dumbbell shoulder workout:
- Do exercises 1-6 in order
- Rest for 1 minute between sets
- Rest for 2 minutes between exercises
1. Dumbbell external rotation
Reps: 12-15 each side
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 2
Do this move as a warm-up before heavy shoulder exercises or at the end of a workout to develop your stabilising muscles.
How to do a dumbbell external rotation:
- Firstly, lie on your side with your knees bent for stability.
- Next, with your upper arm in line with your body, bend your elbow to 90 degrees and hold a dumbbell.
- Then, rotate your arm as far as is comfortable and return to the start.
Perform these floor exercises in this dumbbell shoulder workout on an exercise mat
2. Dumbbell internal rotation
Reps: 12-15 each side
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 2
Move your shoulder in the opposite direction to the external rotation.
How to do a dumbbell internal rotation:
- Start by lying on your side with your knees bent for stability, your upper arm in line with your body and your elbow bent at 90 degrees.
- Hold a light dumbbell in your upturned palm.
- Now, rotate your arm so the dumbbell points upwards with your elbow still at 90 degrees.
3. Dumbbell kneeling hammer-grip shoulder press
Reps: 10
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 3
Kneeling while doing the press makes the exercise more stable and allows you to lift more weight.
How to do a dumbbell kneeling hammer-grip shoulder press:
- Firstly, kneel with the dumbbells held at shoulder height and your elbows out to the sides.
- Make sure you keep your core braced throughout the move and avoid arching your back.
- Now, press the weights directly overhead but don’t let them touch at the top.
4. Dumbbell lateral raise
Reps: 10
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 3
Use a light weight to target both your delts and your upper traps to give yourself broad-looking shoulders.
How to do a dumbbell lateral raise:
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, your body upright and your core braced.
- Then, lift the weights out to the sides with straight arms.
- Stop at shoulder level and hold for a second before lowering slowly.
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5. Dumbbell front raise
Reps: 10
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 3
By raising the dumbbells out in front of you, you place the stress on the front of your shoulders.
How to do a dumbbell front raise:
- Firstly, hold the dumbbells in front of your quads with your palms facing you.
- Now, lift the dumbbells out in front of you to shoulder level, pause for a second, then lower slowly to the start.
6. Dumbbell halo
Reps: 10
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 3
Moving the dumbbell around your head in a 360-degree rotation works your whole shoulder joint, making this exercise a great addition to this workout.
How to do a dumbbell halo:
Start position:
- Firstly, hold the dumbbell in front of you at chin height with palms facing forwards.
- Next, rotate the dumbbell around your head then reverse the movement back to the start.
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