3 Dumbbell Push Workouts for Mass & Strength

Try these 3 dumbbell push workouts to gain strength & grow your upper body! Explore the best push exercises to add to your routine now!

Table of Contents

• What Is a Push Workout Day? Goals & Muscles Worked
• Benefits of Push Workouts
• Best Push Exercises With Dumbbells
• 3 Push Dumbbell Workouts to Try
• Wrapping Up

Push workouts are common for those who want to develop muscular size and strength. However, these often include exercises that require machines and barbells. Luckily, you can achieve great results even if you don’t have a gym membership and only own a few pairs of dumbbells. 

Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about push days, along with dumbbell push workouts ideas that can be performed either at home or at the gym. 

What Is a Push Workout Day? Goals & Muscles Worked

A push workout, as suggested by its name, uses pushing movements that require moving a weight away from the body.

The aim of these exercises is to trigger a stimulus in the muscles that is optimal for muscle mass and strength. 

Push workouts target the triceps, chest, and shoulders in the upper body and the quadriceps and calves in the lower body.

Here are some examples of exercises for each muscle group:

• Chest: Bench Press
• Shoulders: Overhead Press
• Triceps: Rope Pushdown
• Quadriceps: Squat
• Calves: Calf Press

This can come in handy when you are unable to dedicate multiple days a week to your training, as it enables you to do a push workout that covers both lower and upper body muscles.

It’s generally recommended to perform one or two push workouts a week, which are alternated with pull workouts. Pull workouts target the back, biceps, and hamstrings.

Your weekly program should also cover core and legs days. 

Alternating training days is important to strengthen the whole body and prevent muscular imbalances. ^[1]

Benefits of Push Workouts

There are several reasons why push-day workouts (and push-arm workouts, in particular) should not be missing from your fitness program.

Below, you can find the main benefits of incorporating a push day into your workout routine. 

Makes Training More Organized

Having set split days, including a push day, enables you to have a more regular and well-organized training schedule.

Prevents Muscular Imbalances

Splitting your training between pulling and pushing exercises can help prevent muscular imbalances in your upper body, as it ensures you target all main muscles equally. ^[1]

Helps Recovery Between Sessions

Including a push day in your workout split ensures you will have the time to fully recover your chest, triceps, and shoulders between push sessions.

More Time to Recover

Having the chance to recover appropriately between sessions helps develop more strength and size since the muscles won’t fatigue as fast as they would if only one muscle group was targeted throughout the session.

Best Push Exercises With Dumbbells

Whether you train at home or at the gym, you can develop your chest, shoulders, and triceps with as little as a pair of dumbbells. 

Below you can find the best dumbbell exercises for a push day.

Elevated Push-Ups

Technique

• Place yourself on the floor in an extended plank position, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Bend your elbows to lower your body to the floor, then push through the arms to return to the initial plank position.
• Be sure to keep your core tight throughout the movement.

Overhead Triceps Extensions

Technique

• Grab a dumbbell at the handle using both hands, then move it above your head by extending your arms. 
• Bend your elbows to lower the dumbbell behind your head, then extend your arms to lift the weight above your head. 

Check out this triceps workout with dumbbells for beginners for more workout ideas.

Standing Shoulder Press

Technique

• Grab a dumbbell with each hand, then stand upright. 
• Move your hands to your shoulders, with your palms facing forward, and push through your shoulders and arms to extend the weights above your head. 
• Then, bend the elbows to lower the weights down to the shoulders. 

We also recommend trying this expert-verified back and bicep workout with dumbbells and body weight.

Skull Crushers

Technique

• Holding a dumbbell in each hand, lie down on a bench or a mat. 
• Extend your arms up until they are perpendicular to your body, with the palms facing in. 
• Bend the elbows to lower the dumbbells to the sides of your head. 
• Then straighten the elbows to extend the arms and lift the weight up.

Chest Press

Technique

• Grab a dumbbell with each hand, then lie down on a bench. 
• Move the dumbbells next to your chest, with the palms facing forward, and push through your arms to elevate the dumbbells above your chest. 
• Then bend the elbows to move the dumbbells down to the starting position. 
• Please note that you can perform this exercise on a floor mat, but that exercise is called Dumbbell Floor Presses. It is actually preferred for anyone with prior shoulder issues.

Lateral Raises

Technique

• Grab a dumbbell with each hand, then stand upright with your arms extended down your sides.
• Lift the arms to the sides until they are in line with your shoulders, then lower the weights back down to your sides. 

Chest Fly

Technique

• Lie down on a bench or a mat while holding a dumbbell in each hand. 
• Extend your arms to the sides, with the palms facing up. 
• Keeping your arms extended but with a slight flexibility in the elbow, move the dumbbells up until they are parallel to the center of your chest. 
• Then open the arms to move them back to the starting position. 

Check out this butt workout with weights to complement your upper-body routine.

3 Push Dumbbell Workouts to Try

Below you can find some push-day workout examples using the exercises listed above. 

Alternatively, you can create your own using Muscle Booster, a workout app where you can find many exercises to choose from for your push day workout.

The following dumbbell push day workouts can be performed both at home and at the gym.

Dumbbell Push Workout

Workout time: 45 to 60 minutes, depending on sets and reps performed

Exercise	Reps	Sets	Rest Time (seconds)
Elevated push-ups	8	4	90
Superset:		3-4	90
▪️Chest press	8
▪️Chest fly	12
Superset:		3-4	90
▪️Shoulder press	10
▪️Lateral raises	12
Superset:		3-4	90
▪️Skull crushers	8
▪️Overhead triceps extensions	10

Dumbbell Push Workout for Strength

Workout time: 55 to 65 minutes, depending on sets and reps performed

Exercise	Reps	Sets	Rest Time (seconds)
Pyramid Training: Chest Press	set 1: 6	7	90-120
	set 2: 8
	set 3: 10
	set 4: 12
	set 5: 10
	set 6:  8
	set 7: 6
Shoulder press	6	5-6	90-120
Skull Crushers	6	5-6	90-120
Overhead triceps extensions	8-10	3-4	90-120
Superset:		2-3	60-90
▪️Chest Fly	8-12
▪️Elevated push ups	8-12
Lateral raises	8-12	2-3	60

Dumbbell Push Workout for Hypertrophy

Workout time: 50 to 70 minutes, depending on sets and reps performed

Exercise	Reps	Sets	Rest Time (seconds)
Shoulder press + Shoulder press drop set	12	4	90
	drop set 1: 8	1	no rest
	drop set 2: 10	1	no rest
	drop set 3: 12	1	no rest
Lateral raises	8-12	3-4	60
Chest press + Chest press drop set	12	4	60
	drop set 1: 8	1	no rest
	drop set 2: 10	1	no rest
	drop set 3: 12	1	no rest
Elevated push-ups	10-12	3-4	60
Overhead triceps extensions + Overhead triceps extensions drop set	12	4	60
	drop set 1: 8	1	no rest
	drop set 2: 10	1	no rest
	drop set 3: 12	1	no rest
Skull crushers	10-12	3-4	60

Wrapping Up

Adding dumbbell push exercises to your workout schedule can really help you uplift your training. Below you can find the key messages about push days: 

• Push exercises are those that involve moving a weight away from the body 
• Push workouts target mainly the shoulders, chest, and triceps, but some lower body exercises that target the quadriceps, like squats, are also classified as pushing movements
• Ideally, aim to have 1-2 push days per week along with pull, core, and leg workouts to prevent muscular imbalances
• Implementing push workouts in your fitness program can help you organize your training schedule more efficiently, helps you fully recover between sessions, and allows you to push harder during your training