Full Body Dumbbell Workout for Weight Loss: A Comprehensive Guide

By Blouberg MediSpa / Nov 05, 2025

As you age, muscle loss accelerates, aerobic ability diminishes, joints stiffen, and both mobility and flexibility decline. However, exercise can help slow down the effects of aging, which is why it’s always beneficial to start an exercise routine - no matter your age. This at-home dumbbell workout builds strength and improves cardiorespiratory fitness, posture, and mobility.

Experts recommend at least two days a week of muscle-strengthening activities that target all of the major muscle groups. Even a quick at-home workout with dumbbells can help you take steps toward that goal. Dumbbell workouts allow for balanced development of muscle groups on both sides of your body, while also engaging smaller muscles and providing a greater range of motion. The exercises in this routine target your whole body, and they can help reduce your risk of injury while improving mobility, endurance, strength, and posture.

Getting Started

Before you start your workout, make sure you have the equipment you’ll need:

A set of dumbbells at a weight that will be challenging when you reach the last repetition of each set
An exercise mat (optional but recommended)
Weight-lifting gloves (if you have difficulty grasping the dumbbells)
Sturdy, comfortable shoes to protect your feet and help you keep your balance
A bottle of water or other hydrating beverage

Also, be sure to check the safety tips provided later in this article to help you exercise without injury and get the most out of each move.

If you complete one set of each exercise, resting 30 to 45 seconds between sets, this workout should take you about 20 minutes. If you have more time and are up for a challenge, you can do two or even three sets.

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Exercise Routine

The exercises below are in order of the largest muscle groups worked to the smallest. This progressive order allows you to perform each exercise to the highest level of intensity - working smaller muscle groups first may cause the larger muscle groups to tire prematurely, which may prevent you from getting the full benefit of the exercise.

Sumo Squat

Squats can strengthen your core, help with stability, enhance your flexibility, promote healthy bones, and strengthen your lower body. And sumo squats may activate your thigh muscles more than other squat variations.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes pointed out at a 45-degree angle. (If the position feels uncomfortable, you can move your feet a little closer or a little wider.)
Hold a dumbbell vertically with both hands in front of your chest.
Keeping your back straight, push your hips back and bend your knees out over your toes to squat down. Think about sliding down a wall, keeping your back as straight as possible and not leaning forward or sticking your butt out.
Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or as low as you can comfortably go while maintaining good form).
Activate your core, glutes, and quads to propel your body back upright, driving your weight through your feet to return to a standing position.
Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.
Repeat for 12 reps in total.

Lying Single-Arm Chest Press

The chest press is a great upper-body move to strengthen the muscles in your chest and triceps. You’ll also activate your core to maintain your balance throughout the exercise.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

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Grab a dumbbell and lie flat on the floor, with your knees bent and your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Hold the dumbbell over your chest in your right hand, with a prone (overhand) grip, palm facing away from you toward your feet. Your triceps should be resting on the floor and your elbow should be at a 90-degree angle.
Extend your free arm (the one not holding the dumbbell) out next to you, with your palm flat on the floor.
Exhale and brace your core, pressing the dumbbell toward the ceiling.
Pause, then return your arm to the original starting position.
Do 10 reps, then switch to the other arm and repeat.

Bent-Over Row

Bent-over rows increase upper-back strength and mid-back mobility, while also improving endurance in your lower back. Improving upper-back strength can improve posture as well. Bonus: Bent-over rows also work your biceps and forearms.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing each other.
Push your hips back and soften your knees to lean your torso forward until it’s nearly parallel with the ground and your weight is centered in your heels. Let the dumbbells hang straight down in front of your knees.
Brace your core and keep your back completely flat.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together and then pull through your arms to raise the dumbbells up toward your rib cage. Pause at the top of the movement.
Keep your core and spine stable as you reverse the motion, extending your arms to lower the dumbbells so they hang by your knees.
Do 12 reps.

Stationary Lunge

Stationary lunges strengthen your entire lower body, which helps give you stability and may make it easier to perform everyday movements like bending to pick something up off the floor.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand tall, with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, arms at your sides and palms facing each other.
Step back several feet with your left leg, rooting your right heel into the ground.
Keeping your chest upright, bend your right knee to 90 degrees. At the same time, lower your left knee to hover just above the ground, bending to 90 degrees.
Press through your right heel and straighten your right leg to return to standing. Simultaneously straighten your left knee (but don’t lock it out).
Switch legs and repeat.
Perform 12 reps in total, alternating legs.

Biceps Curl

This upper-body workout helps you build biceps strength, which is important for everyday tasks like carrying groceries or lifting a package. It can also improve your grip strength and enhance joint mobility in your elbow and shoulder.

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Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with a dumbbell in each hand and your arms at your sides. Bend your knees slightly, engage your core, and maintain an upright posture.
Position your arms so that your palms are facing in toward your hips. Hold the dumbbells firmly, but don’t grip them so tightly that you feel a strain in your forearms.
Rotating your palms to face forward and bending your arms at the elbow, lift both dumbbells up toward your shoulders. Flex your biceps muscles as you perform the movement.
Lower the dumbbells the same way you raised them, until your arms are fully extended and back in the starting position. Make sure you keep your wrists straight throughout the movement and avoid bending them backward.
Repeat the movement without swinging your weights, relying on your muscles rather than momentum. If you find yourself needing to add momentum to lift, try using a slightly lighter dumbbell instead to help prevent injury.
Do 12 reps in total.

Triceps Kickback

Triceps kickbacks help strengthen the triceps while also improving rear deltoid and upper-back stability and strength.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with a dumbbell in each hand and your arms at your sides with your palms facing toward each other. Bend your knees slightly, engage your core, and maintain an upright posture.
Bend over about 45 degrees while maintaining a straight back. Keep your head in line with your spine. Hold the dumbbells firmly, but don’t grip them so tightly that you feel a strain in your forearms.
Bend your elbows back, holding the dumbbells close to your torso, until your forearm and upper arm form a 90-degree angle.
Pretending your elbows are glued to your body, extend your arms straight back in a controlled movement and squeeze your muscles at the top. Be sure to keep your wrists straight throughout the movement.
After a brief pause, bend your arms to lower the dumbbells back to 90 degrees to the starting position.
Do 12 reps in total.

Romanian Deadlift

Deadlifts can help strengthen your glutes and hamstrings. The variation referred to as a Romanian deadlift aims to strengthen both your core and lower body, and it teaches you how to lift with your hips rather than your lower back. Though it’s often done with a barbell, you can do it with dumbbells as well.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs, with your arms fully extended and your palms facing your thighs.
Pinch your shoulder blades together and engage your core. Push your butt back and hinge at your hips.
Lower the dumbbells toward the ground until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings or the dumbbells are near the tops of your feet (whichever comes first).
Press your feet into the ground, engage your hamstrings, and start to rise back up by driving your hips forward. Keep your shoulders back, your chest upright, and your head in line with your spine.
As you near the starting position, squeeze your hamstrings and glutes, then repeat.
Do 12 reps in total.

Lateral Raise to Front Raise

By combining lateral and front raises in this move, you can target several muscles in the arms, chest, and shoulders, including your deltoids, pecs, traps, and triceps.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand up straight, with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, with your arms at your sides and your palms facing toward each other.
Breathe in and hold the dumbbells slightly away from your body to maintain tension in your side deltoid muscles. As you exhale, raise the dumbbells out to the side with your arms extended, until you reach approximately shoulder height (being careful not to let your wrists rise higher than your elbows at any point).
Pause, then slowly lower your arms back to the starting position while inhaling.
Exhale as you lift the dumbbells out in front of you with your arms extended and your palms facing down. Keep a slight bend in your elbows to ease tension on your joints.
When your arms are about parallel with the floor, pause for a moment.
Inhale as you lower your arms slowly and in a controlled manner back to the starting position.
Alternating between the lateral raise and front raise, do eight reps of each in total.

Russian Twist

The Russian twist strengthens your core and your spine, which can help your posture, reduce back pain, and improve your balance and mobility.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Sit on the floor, with your knees slightly bent and your heels touching the floor. Lean back at a 45-degree angle. (To increase the challenge, you can lift your legs slightly so that your feet are off the floor.)
With both hands (each hand holding the weight at one end), hold a single dumbbell horizontally toward the center of your chest.
Bracing your core and squeezing your glutes, twist your torso to the right, keeping your shoulders and back upright. Let the weight follow the movement of your body.
Rotate your torso back through the center, then twist to the left. That completes one repetition.
Repeat for 20 reps on each side, or a total of 40 reps.

Windmill

Though this exercise is sometimes performed using a kettlebell, you can use dumbbells just as easily. Windmills build strength in your shoulders, core, and hips, all while enhancing your flexibility and mobility.

Here’s how to do the exercise:

Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with the toes of your left foot pointing sideways at a 90-degree angle (or as close to 90 degrees as possible).
Holding a dumbbell in your right hand, reach that arm toward the ceiling, letting your left arm hang down at your side.
Engaging your core and pushing your hips to the right, slide your left hand down your leg so that you begin leaning to the left, while keeping your right arm fully extended vertically throughout.
Go as far as you can without straining your leg, which should be kept straight without locking out your knees.
After a brief pause, return to standing by pressing through your feet.
Switch sides, shifting the dumbbell to your left hand and rotating the toes of your right foot instead of your left, and repeat on that side.
Do 10 reps on each side, or 20 reps in total.

Additional Exercises and Workout Plans

Beyond the core routine outlined above, numerous other dumbbell exercises can contribute to a full-body workout aimed at weight loss. These exercises target various muscle groups and can be incorporated into a structured plan for optimal results.

Compound Exercises for Maximum Fat Burning

When maximizing fat burning, compound exercises are your secret weapon. To truly amplify fat burning, the focus should be on involving as many muscle groups as possible without overextending or injuring yourself. Track your rest periods between sets and exercises, aiming for a balance that allows sufficient recovery without allowing your heart rate to drop too much.

Consider these exercises:

Front Squat: The front-racked squat is a fundamental exercise for lower-body strength and healthy aging, calling on the major muscles in your lower half.
Lunge With Twist: This version takes the stability component up a notch thanks to the added twist, tests your lower-body muscles and balance. The core rotation will also fire up your obliques, the muscles that run along the sides of your trunk.
Arnold Press: This dumbbell exercise not only tests your upper-body strength, but it also helps improve your daily functioning for years to come. The ability to press weight overhead is crucial for strong aging.
Alternating Bent-Over Row: This move will put your back muscles, which are often neglected but play a key role in supporting your posture, through the wringer.
Kickstand Single-Leg Deadlift: This booty-building move gives you all the strength benefits of a single-leg deadlift, but the kickstand makes it a bit less of a balance test, so it’s perfect for beginners.
Woodchop: Unlike static planks, this dynamic move challenges your core in multiple planes of motion, which can help improve your day-to-day functioning.
Dumbbell Walking Lunge: Not only does this move work the lower body muscles, but it’s also a killer metabolic workout.
Alternating Lateral Lunge: Luckily, this lower body exercise trains the side-to-side motion (lateral) and builds hip strength.
Sumo Squat: The sumo squat is an alternative to the traditional squat that’s especially great for lighting up your adductors (the muscles that are in the inner thighs).
Renegade Row: This move serves major bang for your buck. While you’re pulling a weight toward you to strengthen your back muscles, this exercise also requires full-body stability so that you stay in position.
Reverse Fly: Strengthening your back is especially important since most of us spend a majority of time leaning and hunching forward throughout the day, and the reverse fly does just that.
Russian Twist: The Russian twist is a classic move for a reason: it strengthens and trains your core stability.
Overhead Triceps Extension: This one hits the long head of your triceps hard and works your biceps.

Sample 3-Day Workout Plan

Here's a simple 3-day workout plan incorporating the exercises mentioned above. If you are just starting out, please use weights that require minimal effort. The goal is to master the movement to prevent injury and gain confidence in the workout.

Day 1

Dumbbell Floor (or Bench) Press: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Bent-Over Row: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Front Squat: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Split Squat Jump: 3 sets of 20 reps (total)

Day 2

Push Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
High Pull: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Deadlift: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Jump Squats: 3 sets of 20 reps

Day 3

Press-Up on Dumbbells: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Renegade Row: 3 sets of 10 reps (each side/20 total)
Tempo Goblet Squats: 3 sets of 10 reps
Burpee Over ‘bells: 3 sets of 10 reps

This three-day plan uses a full body AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) approach to each session, ensuring that key movement patterns and muscle groups, including your chest, shoulders, back, quads and hamstrings are hit across the course of the week. Each workout delivers a muscle and strength building hit, leaving you with a trackable 'score' in the form of the total reps you achieve, which you will aim to beat in future sessions to ensure progress.

Men's Health Dumbbell Club

Welcome to the Men’s Health Dumbbell Club, your new weekly plan for a fitter, stronger body, using just two dumbbells. With workouts lasting from 20-40 minutes, designed to add lean muscle, build fitness and increase strength, your weekly dose of dumbbell goodness drops every Monday.

Important Considerations for Weight Loss

Yes, you can lose body fat with dumbbells. Yes, full body workouts can be effective for fat loss. By incorporating compound exercises that target different areas of the body, full body workouts maximize muscle activation and promote overall fat burning.

Weight loss can only happen if you are in a caloric deficit. Work out your maintenance calories by using a maintenance calorie calculator, then subtract 20-25% if you are looking to lose weight at a healthy rate. Using dumbbells to work out doesn’t burn any more calories than using barbells or machines.

Nutrition and Recovery

Consume adequate protein to support muscle recovery and growth. Track your calorie intake to create a calorie deficit for weight loss. Choose nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Limit added sugars, processed foods, and excessive saturated fats. Remember, consistency is key when it comes to body recomposition, and consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian for personalized guidance and support.

Rest and recovery are essential for muscle repair and growth. It is generally recommended to have at least one day of rest between full body workouts to allow the body to recover and adapt. Overtraining can increase the risk of injury, hinder progress, and negatively impact overall health.

Progressive Overload

As you complete this workout every other day, it will undoubtedly start to get easier as you gain strength. If you were doing eight reps on an exercise last week, try and do nine or ten this week. Aim to reach the target RPE on every single exercise. Between one and two minute rests is the sweet spot for muscle growth. It’s the number one driver of muscle growth and strength gain. Stay consistent. If you repeat this workout every other day, you will see results.

Safety Tips

To help prevent injury, it’s important to keep a few safety tips in mind:

Consider adding warm-up and cooldown stretches or exercises to your routine.
Start slow, with a low weight, and gradually build up to heavier weights and a longer routine. This can help prevent injury.
Before focusing on weight, it's essential to prioritize proper form. Start with lighter dumbbells and practice the correct form for each exercise. Once you have established proper form, you can begin to gradually increase the weight of the dumbbells.
Learn the correct form for each exercise, and take care to perform it properly on every rep, lifting the weights slowly and carefully. If you can’t keep good form, use less weight or do fewer repetitions.
Remember to breathe. You can breathe out as you lift weights, and breathe in as you lower them.
Stay hydrated during the exercises to help reduce any dehydration-related symptoms like dizziness or instability.
If you feel any pain during the exercise, stop and talk with your doctor.
Take a rest by waiting two days before exercising the same muscle group again.
And be sure to check with a doctor before starting any new workout routine.

To gauge the appropriate weight, focus on the difficulty of the last few reps. As you approach the end of your set, the last few repetitions should be challenging to complete with proper form. However, if you find yourself sacrificing form to complete the repetitions, it's a sign that the weight may be too heavy.

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