I will never forget my wife telling me she searched for a shoulder and arm dumbbell workout in one of my former employer’s workout database and couldn’t find anything.
At the time, my opinion was that shoulders and arms are kind of a weird muscle group pairing.
She let me know that there were probably a lot of women who were looking for a similar workout.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a unique pairing that both sexes might want to add to their workouts as a standalone session.
For women, building muscles of the shoulders and arms can help with several aesthetic goals. The shoulders are ever present in a variety of dresses, tanks, and swimwear.
For men, the same applies regarding tanks as well as filling out a t-shirt in all the right ways. Additionally, if you’ve ever had a goal of obtaining a superhero-like physique, some of the most impressive portrayals of superheroes (cough Thor cough) have had broad shoulders and well-formed arms.
So, in this article, I am going to finally deliver on that workout my wife was looking for years ago.
The following workout template will provide you with a template for training your shoulders and arms. And all you will need is a set of dumbbells.
Shoulder and Arm Dumbbell Workout Overview
The following workout is a shoulder and arm workout that only requires a set of (adjustable) dumbbells. It can be performed in either a gym setting or at home.
Each exercise is picked to help you train the deltoid muscles of the shoulders and both your biceps and triceps. Performing the biceps exercises will help you build definition in the front of your arms; while performing the triceps exercises will help you build definition in the back of your arms.
The workout, as written, will take you anywhere from 20-35 minutes to complete. The total duration will depend on the length of your rest periods in between sets and exercises. It is important to rest in between sets and exercises. A general rule of thumb is 45-60 seconds of rest between each set.
It is important to remember that like all workout routines found on Legacy Muscle, the template provided below was written in a way that is very generalized. It is important to keep in mind your own personal goals, fitness level, and capabilities. Tailor any workout you find online to match these considerations to your own personal needs.
Dumbbell Shoulder and Arm Workout
| Exercise | Set Range | Rep Range |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 2-3 | 8-15 |
| Dumbbell Front Raise | 2-3 | 8-15 |
| Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise | 2-3 | 8-15 |
| Dumbbell Curl | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Overhead Tricep Extension | 3-4 | 8-15 |
Final Thoughts on Dumbbell Shoulder and Arm Workouts
Training shoulders and arms together is something someone might choose to do based on aesthetic goals.
This sort of muscle pairing can be performed as a standalone workout or be added to a workout routine to better fit your aesthetic goals.
For instance, this workout could be added to a full body workout to provide an additional training day where you focus on the selected muscle groups.
The same can be said about adding this type of workout to an upper/lower workout routine.
And, if you are more of an at-home weightlifter, you enjoy our dumbbell only workout routines. Most of these workouts require nothing more than a pair of (adjustable) dumbbells.
If you enjoyed this workout, please consider bookmarking the Legacy Muscle website so that you can come back and check out other workout routines and exercise guides we have on the website.
Lastly, consider sharing the website with a friend or family member who wants to accomplish their fitness goals.
I am creating 100% human-generated content nearly every day and would love nothing more than to be part of your (and your friends’/family’s) fitness journey!