Push ups are one of the best exercises for your upper body, but push ups with dumbbells can make more powerful and effective exercises and help you to build upper body strength, muscle mass and increase overall balance.
These push ups with dumbbells are super exciting, challenging and a fast and effective exercise for building strength. When you are done with proper form, the push ups can also strengthen your lower back and core by engaging the abdominal muscles.
However, below is the list of dumbbell push ups exercises with step-by-step instructions and what are the benefits of each dumbbell push up variation.
- Also Read: The 7 Best Lower Chest Dumbbell Exercises
- Also Read: 13 Best Rear Delt Dumbbell Exercises
Table of Contents
6 Best Push Ups with Dumbbell and Their Benefits
Let’s see how to do each of the dumbbell push ups variation with step-by-step instructions (video), and how they are effective for you.
01. Standard Push Ups with Dumbbell
Dumbbell standard push ups are very much like a normal push up and it is a strength exercise. To perform this exercise, you need to grip the dumbbells instead of placing your hands on the floor.
- Equipment: Pair of Dumbbells
- Primarily Muscles Worked: Chest & Arms
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Core, Shoulder & Back
How to perform:
- First, grab a pair of dumbbells and place them on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- Hold the dumbbells with your hands, palms facing each other.
- Get into a high plank position to perform push-ups with your body straight from the head to bottom. That’s your starting position.
- Now, lower your chest as close as to the floor.
- Pause the position for a second and then push back up to the starting position. That’s one rep.
- Try to complete every rep smoothly and slowly in a controlled manner.
- You can do 3 sets of as many as reps.
- You can do this exercise at least 2 times a week to increase strength and build muscles.
Benefits of Standard Push Ups with Dumbbell
- Dumbbell standard push ups allow your pecs to engage greater and help to grow chest muscles.
- This exercise increases strength and power, which can help you in other workout movements.
- They also activate the shoulder and triceps and promote muscle growth.
02. T-Push Ups with Dumbbell
Dumbbell T push up is a great exercise to increase strength and endurance, and you will get more activation in your chest, arms and shoulder. This exercise is a good all-round strength builder by targeting major muscle groups and joints.
- Equipment: Pair of Dumbbells
- Primarily Muscles Worked: Chest, Arms and Shoulder
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Core, Traps, and Gluts
How to perform:
- First, grab a pair of dumbbells and place them on the floor slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
- Get into a high plank position, and keep your hips, core and glutes tight and back straight. That’s your starting position.
- Now, slowly lower your body until your chest comes close to the floor.
- Hold the position for a second and then press yourself back until your arms are fully straight.
- Now, raise your right arm along with your body to the right. Rotate your body until your right arm is straight up toward the ceiling so your body forms the letter “T”.
- Then, slowly return back to the starting position in a controlled manner.
- Repeat the same steps with the opposite arm to complete one rep.
- Try to use lightweight dumbbells to perform this exercise smoothly.
Benefits of Dumbbell T push up
- Dumbbell T push ups primarily strengthen your chest, arms, shoulders and core muscles.
- This exercise also works on your hips and lower back.
- They increase core strength and improve posture.
- They can also increase muscle flexibility and body balance.
03. Renegade Row Push Ups with Dumbbell
The dumbbell renegade row push up is a strength exercise and best for targeting your upper body muscles like chest, shoulders, back and arms.
This exercise is effective because they utilize full-body engagement.
- Equipment: Pair of Dumbbells
- Primarily Muscles Worked: Chest, Arms, Shoulder, Back, Core and etc.
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Traps, and Gluts
How to perform:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and keep them shoulder width apart with your arms straight on them.
- Get into a high plank position with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
- Brace your core and things, and keep your body straight from the head to the heels. That’s your starting position.
- By bending your elbows, lower your chest as close as to the floor.
- Pause the position for a second, and then push back yourself until your arms are fully straight.
- Now, raise your left elbow at your side until the dumbbell comes to your rib level.
- Hold for a second and then lower it down. And same steps on the right side to complete one rep.
- Try to use lighter dumbbells to perform this movement.
Benefits of Renegade Row Push Ups with Dumbbell
- Renegade row push ups are full body exercises that work on several muscles at once, such as arms, core, chest, shoulder, traps and glutes.
- It increases strength, power, builds a stronger core, and promotes muscle growth.
- It improves the flexibility and overall balance of your body.
- This exercise also increases your metabolism rate and helps you to burn more calories.
04. Dumbbell Diamond Push Ups
The diamond push ups are great exercises for building the size and strength of your triceps, as well as the chest and deltoids. The diamond push ups are more effective than the usual diamond push ups, and they target your triceps more deeply and help you to build triceps faster.
- Equipment: Pair of Dumbbells
- Primarily Muscles Worked: Triceps
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Chest, Shoulder, Core, and Back.
How to perform:
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and place them on the floor in a way that they form an “A” shape.
- Hold the dumbbell with your hands and get into a high plank position.
- Brace your core, gluten your glutes and keep your back straight.
- By bending your elbows, start lowering your chest as close as the floor.
- Hold the position for a second, and slowly push back up to the starting position in a controlled manner. That’s one rep.
- Try to perform the movement slowly.
Benefits of Dumbbell Diamond Push Ups
- The dumbbell diamond push ups will build stronger and shredded triceps.
- It also increases arms strength, and core strength.
05. Close Grip Push Ups with Dumbbell
The dumbbell close grip push ups are great and effective exercise for targeting your chest and triceps. You will also get a better grip and good muscle contraction during the movement.
- Equipment: Single Dumbbell
- Primarily Muscles Worked: Triceps, Chest
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Shoulder, Core and Back.
How to perform:
- Grab a one dumbbell and place it on the floor in a standing position.
- Sit on your knees and hold the head of the dumbbell with your hands.
- Now, get into a high plank position with your arms straight below your chest, and keep your body straight from head to heels.
- Brace your core, thighs and back straight. That is your starting position.
- Now, slowly lower your chest until your chest touches the dumbbell.
- Pause the position for a second, and then press back until your arms are fully straight. That’s one rep.
Benefits of Dumbbell Close Grip Push Ups
- It provides you with a good muscle contraction.
- Improve grip strength.
- It also increases your upper body strength, especially triceps and chest.
06. Floor Press-Up with Dumbbell
The dumbbell floor press-up is an effective exercise for building upper body strength. It strengthens the chest, shoulder and arms muscles. Here, instead of pushing yourself up, you need to push the dumbbells up towards the ceiling.
- Equipment: Pair of Dumbbells
- Primarily Muscles Worked: Triceps, Chest
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Shoulder & Core.
How to perform:
- Lie on your back on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand just above the floor.
- Keep your body completely straight from forehead to toe.
- Hold the weight slightly wider than shoulder width, palms facing forward.
- Brace your core, push the weight up toward the ceiling until your arms are fully extended.
- Bring the dumbbells close to each other, and pause for a second. Then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the beginning position. That’s one rep.
Benefits of Dumbbell Floor Press Up
- This exercise is a bit easier than other push-up variations, because here you just need to push the dumbbells up instead of yourself.
- This is a great way to target your chest, triceps and shoulder muscles easily.
Benefits of Performing Push Ups with Dumbbells
Performing push ups with dumbbells help you to target more muscle groups at a time. The push up with a dumbbell can strengthen your chest, arms, shoulder, core, and back. Below are some main benefits of performing dumbbell push ups exercises.
- Dumbbell push ups are challenging and super effective. You can also do them at home, and when you start doing them, you will enjoy them a lot.
- Performing push ups with a dumbbell is an effective way to build muscle mass and strengthen upper body muscles.
- It also improves your body posture and increases the overall balance of your body.
- Dumbbell push ups are a great way to target your upper body muscles, such as chest, triceps, shoulders, and back.
Conclusion
Dumbbell push ups are a great and effective way to build upper body strength and build muscles. all the above push ups with dumbbell exercises are good, and you can do them at home with just a pair of dumbbells.
First, try to perform each variation every day, then see what exercise suits you the most. Then, incorporate these exercises with your main workout routine for better results.
Hopefully, you like this article, if you have any questions and suggestions kindly put them in the comment box below.