Compound Dumbbell Exercises: Benefits, Muscles Worked, and How-To Workouts

A lot of people gravitate toward familiar, single-joint dumbbell exercises like biceps curls when they first start working out. There’s nothing wrong with these exercises, but they’re not as effective as compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Incorporating dumbbells into common workouts like squats or walking lunges is easy to do if you follow the right steps. Specialized compound dumbbell exercises such as dumbbell Romanian deadlifts provide similar benefits as their standard variations but with more versatility. Consequently, compound dumbbell exercises are ideal for anyone who wants to upscale their workout for something more challenging.

Benefits of Compound Dumbbell Exercises

Compound dumbbell exercises work multiple muscle groups at the same time, which is more efficient than working each muscle group individually. This helps save time and increase the effectiveness of your workout. Compound dumbbell exercises also help to improve overall strength and muscle mass, as they require the use of heavier weights and engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Additionally, these exercises can help to improve bone density, cardiovascular health, coordination, balance, and flexibility. Compound dumbbell exercises are also versatile and can be adapted to meet the needs of different individuals, making them suitable for individuals of all fitness levels.

Muscles Worked for Compound Dumbbell Exercises

Compound dumbbell exercises primarily engage the major muscle groups of the chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. For example, the dumbbell bench press works the chest, shoulders, and triceps, while the dumbbell row works the back, biceps, and shoulders. The core muscles are additionally engaged, which is essential for stability and balance. We consequently group compound dumbbell exercises with other exercises that target the core because the more you engage your core, the stronger your movements during the workout. Furthermore, by working multiple muscle groups simultaneously, compound dumbbell exercises can help to improve overall muscle activation and development, leading to improved strength and muscle mass.

10 Best Compound Dumbbell Exercises for Killer Workouts

If you’re not sure which compound dumbbell exercises you should be doing, keep reading. Below are ten compound dumbbell exercises to help you build muscle, burn calories, and see great results.

1. Dumbbell Bench Press

The dumbbell bench press is a versatile compound dumbbell exercise because you don’t need access to a barbell to make bench pressing a part of your routine. The dumbbell bench press is an effective alternative chest exercise that targets the pectoral muscles, as well as the upper back, arms, shoulders, and even the legs.

To do a dumbbell bench press properly, remember these tips:

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, lie flat on a bench and position the weights so they’re directly above your chest (palms should be facing forward)
2. Place the feet flat on the floor on either side of the bench
3. Engage your core and allow your lower back to arch a bit to help protect your shoulders
4. Inhale and lower the weights to either side of the chest (the elbows should be at 45-degree angles)
5. Exhale and push the weights straight up toward the ceiling (the arms should be perpendicular to the floor at the top of the exercise)
6. While you’re pressing the dumbbells, push into the floor with your feet and use your legs to help you get the weights up
7. Inhale and lower the weight back to the starting position

2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

The dumbbell Romanian deadlift is a type of compound exercise ideal for your lower body. Romanian deadlifts target your hamstrings and glutes, as well as your lower back and core muscles.

Here are some cues that can help you perform Romanian deadlifts correctly:

1. Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell held in each hand
2. Inhale, then exhale and slowly hinge at the hips, sending them back behind you as you lower the dumbbells down toward the floor
3. Make sure the core is engaged, and the back stays flat as you lower the weight
4. Keep the weights close to your body and stop when the dumbbells reach your mid shin
5. Inhale, press into the floor with your feet, and rise back up to the starting position

3. Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The dumbbell shoulder press functions as a compound dumbbell exercise because it targets multiple muscle groups. Dumbbell shoulder presses strengthen your shoulders, of course, but they’re also good for the upper back and core. Follow these cues when doing dumbbell shoulder presses to maximize your results:

1. Stand up straight with your feet hip-distance apart
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and curl them up, so they’re sitting in front of your shoulders with your palms facing out in front of you
3. Inhale and brace your core, then exhale and press the dumbbells straight up over your head
4. Keep pressing until your arms are straight and in line with your ears
5. Inhale and lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position

4. Dumbbell Farmer Carries

The farmer carries are typically done with kettlebells. The exercise is functional as a dumbbell compound workout since you can replace the kettlebells with dumbbells and reap similar results. Farmer carries are an often-underrated core exercise. They also help you improve your forearm and grip strength, which can translate to better deadlifts, pull-ups, and other pulling exercises.

Learn more: The Top 9 Benefits of Farmer’s Walk Exercise

Keep these cues in mind when doing dumbbell farmer carries:

1. Stand up straight and hold a dumbbell in each hand
2. Make sure your palms are facing in
3. Inhale and brace your core while pressing your shoulder blades down and back
4. Slowly walk forward, controlling your steps and moving with purpose

You can also do suitcase walks to better target your obliques. For this variation, hold a dumbbell in one hand and aim to balance the weight and avoid tipping as you walk.

5. Weighted Walking Lunges

Compound dumbbell exercises are pairable with weighted walking lunges due to the versatility of compound workouts. Like many lower-body dumbbell compound exercises, these are great for the legs and glutes, but they also target the core and upper body.

Set up for weighted walking lunges the same way you would for dumbbell farmer carries — standing up straight with a dumbbell in each hand. From here, follow these steps:

1. Inhale and brace your core
2. Take a big step forward with your right foot, then lower into a lunge (bend both knees so they form approximately 90-degree angles)
3. Exhale and press into your front foot to stand up out of the lunge
4. Inhale as you take another step forward with the opposite foot
5. Remember to keep your back straight and core engaged as you lunge (avoid letting your chest collapse forward)

6. Dumbbell Goblet Squats

Dumbbell goblet squats modify standard squats to be more effective compound exercises. Standard squats strengthen your quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes, and back. Incorporating dumbbells ups the ante and delivers a more challenging workout than other types of compound dumbbell exercises. 

To perform a dumbbell goblet squat correctly, remember these tips:

• Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest between your hands
• Stand so your feet are hip-distance or slightly wider with the toes pointing forward or angled out to the side
• Inhale and brace your core
• Slowly lower down into a squat while keeping your chest lifted and core engaged
• Exhale as you press into the floor and rise back up to a standing position

7. Dumbbell Thrusters

Dumbbell thrusters are a compound exercise that incorporates dumbbells into a full-body workout. From the legs and glutes to the back and shoulders, they target almost every major muscle in the body. All you need to do them is a pair of dumbbells (you can also use kettlebells, a resistance band, or a barbell, but we’ll just focus on dumbbells for now).

Keep these cues in mind when doing dumbbell thrusters:

1. Begin standing up straight with the feet hip-distance or slightly wider
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand just in front of your shoulders (similar to the way you’d hold them for a dumbbell shoulder press)
3. Inhale and lower into a squat, keeping the chest lifted and core engaged
4. Exhale and press into the floor to rise out of the squat
5. At the same time, press the dumbbells up overhead, so you end at the top of a standing dumbbell shoulder press
6. Inhale and lower the dumbbells back to their starting position while lowering into a squat once more

8. Renegade Rows

Renegade rows are another dumbbell compound workout that strengthens the core, arms, and upper back. Set up for this exercise by setting a pair of dumbbells on the floor about shoulder distance from each other. From here, follow these steps:

1. Get in a plank position with a dumbbell in each hand
2. Separate the feet a bit wider than hip-distance so you can stay balanced
3. Inhale, engage your core, and squeeze your glutes to help stabilize your torso
4. Exhale and perform a row, pulling one dumbbell up off the floor and bringing it back toward your hip
5. Inhale and return the dumbbell to the floor, then exhale and repeat on the other side
6. To make this exercise harder, perform a push-up in between each row

9. Dumbbell Lateral Lunges

Lateral lunges are both a compound dumbbell exercise and a frontal plane exercise. Most exercises that we include in our workouts on a regular basis take place in the sagittal plane, an imaginary line that divides the body in half lengthwise into right and left sides. The frontal plane, on the other hand, is an imaginary line that divides the body in half into a front and backside.

Here are some cues that can help you perform dumbbell lateral lunges properly and improve your front-plane training:

• Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand
• Inhale and take a big step out to the side as you bend the knee and lower into a lunge position
• Continue to bend the knee to bring the dumbbell down toward the ankle while keeping the chest lifted
• Press into the foot and exhale as you rise back up to the starting position
• Repeat on the opposite side

10. Weighted Bulgarian Split Squats

Weighted Bulgarian split squats are an intense compound dumbbell exercise. They help to combat muscle imbalances and challenge your core strength and stability. You can make them more difficult, though, by holding a dumbbell in each hand.

Read more: 9 Bulgarian Split Squat Benefits & How to Do Them

Follow these instructions to get the most out of your weighted Bulgarian split squats:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand while setting up in a staggered stance with one propped up behind you on a box or bench
2. Stand up straight and make sure the toes of your front foot are pointing forward
3. Inhale and brace your core
4. Lower your body until your front thigh is at least parallel to the floor
5. Keep your back straight while lowering
6. Exhale and press into the floor with your front foot to rise up to the starting position

Add these compound dumbbell exercises to your workouts

Compound dumbbell exercises allow you to maximize your muscle gain and see results from your workouts faster. They help you get more bang for your buck and make your workouts more efficient as well.

What are you waiting for? Grab a pair of dumbbells and give one (or more) of these exercises a try today!