Buzz
Small dumbbells are perfect for beginners: You can perform the same workouts as everyone else but with a lighter load. As we build strength, many of us tend to move away from these smaller weights, which is unfortunate. There are plenty of effective exercises that require very little weight, making them still worth your attention.
What qualifies as a 'light' dumbbell depends on your strength level. Even if you're just starting out, you might be able to handle exercises with something like 2-pound dumbbells. As your strength increases, you could be using 10-pound dumbbells. No matter where you're at, pick up those tiny weights and give these moves a shot.
Deadbugs with added weight
If you're not familiar with the deadbug, it's an exercise that targets your core by requiring you to stabilize your body while extending one arm and one leg. Once you're comfortable with the basic movement, holding small dumbbells in each hand will make it even more challenging.
Wrist curls
Wrist curls, or wrist-and-finger curls, are great for strengthening your grip, leading to healthier, more powerful forearms (and ensuring you never need help opening a jar again). For better focus, try doing these seated with your forearm resting on your knee, completing sets of 20 or more.
Reverse wrist curls
This lesser-known variation of wrist curls targets the opposite muscles, but you may want to use even lighter weights or reduce the number of reps. Perform it with your forearm resting on your leg, holding each rep at the top for a few seconds to increase the difficulty. Combine these with regular wrist curls for an intense forearm workout.
Shoulder workout circuit
Lateral (side) raises are one of those exercises that can be surprisingly challenging to perform correctly with a heavy weight. Opt for a lighter dumbbell and aim for higher reps. But don't stop at just that: front raises (where you lift your straightened arm in front of you) and rear delt raises (where you bend forward and spread your arms like you're flying) target the other parts of your shoulders, giving you well-balanced results. When you combine all three—say, 15 reps each—the light weight will quickly feel much heavier.
Side planks
While holding a side plank, what does your free arm do? For many, it's either raised or resting on the hip as we endure the exercise. If you're looking to increase the challenge, hold a dumbbell in that hand, forcing your core to work harder to keep you stable.
You can either hold the dumbbell still or perform lateral raises while in the side plank. Or, as shown by this person, try an entire dumbbell snatch (quickly lifting the dumbbell from the floor to an overhead position) while maintaining the side plank.
Fat grip dumbbell workout circuit
To strengthen your grip, thumbs, and forearms, try this circuit using fat grips on your dumbbells. (Fat grips are a specialized product, but you can also simply wrap towels around the handles.) Perform each of the following exercises for 20 seconds each:
Hold the dumbbells and tilt them to tap the bottom of one onto the top of the other.
Lift one dumbbell above the other to tap its bottom on the other’s top, mashed potato style.
Tap the bottoms of both dumbbells together.
Weighted supermans
The superman exercise is straightforward: lie on your stomach and lift your hips and shoulders off the ground. (This move is great for the back muscles that also make up your core, though you likely don't target them as much since they're behind you when you look in the mirror.) To make it harder, use small dumbbells. You can even press them in a motion similar to the one shown in this video for added difficulty.
Shoulder external rotation exercise
This is a rotator cuff movement, often used as 'prehab'—a proactive approach to prevent injury by strengthening muscles that typically don’t receive much direct attention. You can perform this exercise while lying on your side with your elbow supported against your body, or seated, as demonstrated in this video.
Shoulder internal rotation exercise
Just as we can perform external rotations with a dumbbell, we can also do the reverse movement. This exercise can be done in various positions, such as the side-lying version shown here. And don’t let anyone question why you're bringing a pillow to the gym—it’s for your shoulder workout, alright?
Devil's press
After focusing on lighter, more targeted exercises, it’s time to engage your entire body. The devil’s press is similar to a burpee, but instead of jumping, you swing the dumbbells overhead. This makes it a great option if jumping is not possible due to injury or a downstairs neighbor, but you still want a full-body movement. You don’t need to go extremely light on these, but you’ll need less weight than you might expect. In fact, your own body weight provides most of the resistance during the squat and push-up; the dumbbells add an extra challenge to help you stand up with power.
