The 7 Best Dumbbell Moves for Mass

If you take the time to work out, it only makes sense that you want the best results for your effort. When it comes to building muscle mass, the most effective exercises are usually compound exercises. Compound exercises involve multiple joints and muscle groups and, subsequently, can stimulate the greatest amount of muscle growth. Use moderate to heavy weights and perform multiple sets of six to 12 repetitions for maximum mass-building results.

  1. Dumbbell Bench Press

    • The bench press is a traditional upper-body pressing exercise that can bulk up your chest, shoulders and triceps. Using dumbbells instead of a barbell requires balance and coordination and allows for a greater range of shoulder movement compared to barbell bench pressing. All of these factors can help bulk up your upper body. Perform this exercise on a flat, incline or decline bench using a palms-forward or neutral grip as preferred.

    Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows

    • In the single-arm dumbbell row, your non-working arm is used to provide support for your spine. This leaves you free to use heavy weights and really crank out the reps, which makes this exercises great for developing upper-back and biceps mass. High-weight and high-rep rows are sometimes called Kroc rows after powerlifter Matt Kroczaleski, who popularized this brutal back-mass builder.

    Dumbbell Shoulder Press

    • Pressing a weight overhead can really bulk up your shoulders and triceps. In bodybuilding's bygone years, overhead pressing was a common test of strength, whereas in more modern times, it's the bench press that rules the strength-testing roost. Performed seated or standing, with a palms-forward or a neutral grip, shoulder presses are an effective shoulder-mass exercise.

    Dumbbell Shrugs

    • Shrugs target your upper-trapezius muscles, which run from your shoulders to the base of your skull. Despite being on the back of your body, when well developed, these muscles are visible from the front. Well-developed traps are often called a yoke. You can build big traps by grabbing a heavy dumbbell in each hand and shrugging your shoulders up to your ears.

    Bulgarian Split Squat

    • The Bulgarian split squat may have an exotic-sounding name but it's a tough and effective leg-building exercise. While you can perform this exercise using nothing more than your body weight for resistance, add some dumbbells and you have an exercise that will work every muscle in your hips and thighs.

    Alternating Dumbbell Curls

    • Developing bigger arms is the goal of many weight trainers. Seated or standing, curling exercises target your biceps, which are located on the front of your upper arm. When it comes to building arm mass, the dumbbell biceps curl is hard to beat. By alternating your arms, you can really focus on one set of biceps at a time, which helps ensure that you will get the best results possible from this exercise. Try not to use your back to help you swing the dumbbell up though, as this simply takes weight off the target muscles.

    Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts

    • Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts target your hips, hamstrings and lower back and indirectly work your upper back and forearms. These are some important and potentially big muscles, so adding mass in these areas will contribute plenty to your total body size and strength. When performing this exercise, avoid rounding your back as this may lead to injury. Instead, keep your knees slightly bent and hinge forward from your hips while keeping your lumbar spine tightly arched and your abs braced.