Move · Videos · Strength · 43 min

40-Minute Upper Body Dumbbell Strength Workout

40-Minute Upper Body Dumbbell Strength Workout — video by Sydney Cummings Houdyshell Play · 43:05

Video by Sydney Cummings Houdyshell on YouTube · Open on YouTube

A warm-up, then one muscle group at a time - shoulder presses and raises, rows, flys and supermans, chest presses and push-ups, curls, tricep extensions and dips - finishing with a non-stop round and a cool-down. Swaps are shown for push-ups and dips.

  • 43 min
  • Intermediate
  • Low impact (no jumping)
  • dumbbells, mat
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Step by step 13

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Warm-up: arm swings, overhead side reaches, big backward arm circles, and cross-body and forearm stretches. 0:28
  2. Shoulders: Arnold presses with your traps down (no shrugging), then front raises and lateral raises. 2:10
  3. Shoulders round 2: the same three moves, going heavier if round 1 felt manageable. 5:10
  4. Back: rows started by drawing the shoulder blade in, back flys with knees bent, then supermans or bird dogs. 8:19
  5. Back round 2: rows, back flys and supermans again. 11:22
  6. Chest: dumbbell chest press, chest flys with bent elbows, then push-ups with your hands raised on a bench. 14:29
  7. Chest round 2: press, flys and push-ups again, keeping your body solid from head to heels. 17:42
  8. Biceps: hammer curls, supinated curls, then curl pulses, elbows close and still rather than swinging. 20:44
  9. Biceps round 2: hammer curls, supinated curls and pulses again. 23:54
  10. Triceps: overhead extensions, hinged kickbacks with lighter weights, then dips, or push-ups or lying presses. 26:53
  11. Triceps round 2: overhead extensions, kickbacks and dips again. 30:13
  12. Finisher: 30 seconds of every dumbbell move non-stop, then 30 seconds of push-ups, dips or supermans. 33:14
  13. Cool-down: arm swings overhead, then wrist and forearm stretches on each side. 40:30

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • Keep your traps down - no shrugging - during shoulder presses
  • Start each row by drawing the shoulder blade in, then bend the elbow
  • Keep your elbows close and still during curls rather than swinging

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses 4 takes load

  • Shoulders takes loadArnold press, raises, push-ups, dips, flyes
  • Elbows takes loadcurls, triceps extensions, kickbacks, dips
  • Wrists & hands takes loadpush-ups and bench dips on the hands
  • Lower back takes loadsupermen, bent rows and flyes in a hinge
  • Upper back movesbent rows, back flyes, supermen
  • Weight on your hands. The wrists bend back under load. Fists, push-up handles or your forearms ease it.
  • Down on the floor. You get down to the floor and back up again.

Easier option from the coach: Bird dogs for supermen; incline push-ups; French press or push-ups for dips

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

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Video by Sydney Cummings Houdyshell; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety