Dumbbell Exercises for the Office

Taking a few quick, 10-minute breaks to complete dumbbell exercises at the office can boost your metabolism, increase your strength and keep your energy levels high throughout the day. A study published in a 2010 edition of “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise” reports that resistance training can also help prevent weight gain and reduce body fat. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults participate in strength-training exercises involving all major muscle groups at least two times each week. These include your leg, gluteus, abdominal, back, chest, biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles. Aim to complete at least three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions for each exercise you perform.

  1. Leg Exercises

    • To build muscle mass, slowly start to increase your dumbbell weight.

      Squats and lunges are excellent leg- and glute-strengthening exercises you can perform at the office. For best results, alternate squats with lunges for each leg and repeat. When performing squats, stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and slowly squat down, holding your dumbbells, until your thighs are about parallel with the floor and repeat. Complete lunges by taking a big step forward with one leg and pulse slowly, up and down. Repeat the lunges with your opposite leg.

    Arm Exercises

    • Alternate dumbbell curls with triceps extentions.

      Performing biceps and triceps exercises using dumbbells is fairly easy to do when you’re at your office desk. Alternate standing biceps curls with standing triceps extensions. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, slowly lift and lower your weights in front of your body using your biceps to complete the curls, and raise and lower your weights behind your head using your triceps to complete the extensions.

    Shoulder Exercises

    • Alternate lateral with front raises.

      Standing shoulder presses, lateral raises and front raises are simple shoulder exercises you can complete between meetings at the office. Using your shoulder muscles, raise and lower your dumbbells above your head to complete the shoulder press. Keeping your arms straight, raise and lower your dumbbells in front of your body to perform front raises and out to the sides of your body to complete the lateral raises.

    Back Exercises

    • Bend forward to complete reverse flyes and deadlifts.

      Two excellent back exercises you can perform using dumbbell weights at the office are deadlifts and bent-over reverse flyes. Complete deadlifts by standing up straight with your feet together or shoulder-width apart and slowly bending down using your waist but keeping your back straight. Lift your body back up to a standing position using your back muscles and repeat. Perform bent-over reverse flyes by bending forward using your waist, keeping your back straight, and holding that position. Keeping your arms fairly straight, raise your dumbbells up toward the ceiling until they are parallel with your back, then lower back down. Alternate these bent-over reverse flyes with deadlifts with short or no rest periods between sets.