Dumbbell push day workout: 6 exercises, sets and reps

Dumbbell push day workout

6 exercises 19 sets about 45 min a pair of dumbbells and a bench

Everything that pushes: chest, shoulders and triceps. It opens with a heavy press for the chest, follows with one overhead, and ends with direct work for the side of the shoulder and the triceps.

Dumbbells make each side carry its own weight, so a stronger arm or leg cannot cover for the other, and they travel through a longer range than a bar allows.

Start this workout free Creates your account with these 6 exercises already loaded. Free to log, no card.

The workout

Dumbbell Bench Press4 × 8Lower the dumbbells to the sides of your chest with forearms vertical, then press until they almost touch.2 min rest
Dumbbell Shoulder Press3 × 8Start with the dumbbells at ear height, elbows slightly in front of you. Press up without arching your lower back.2 min rest
Incline Dumbbell Press3 × 10Bench at about 30 degrees. Lower until your upper arms pass the line of your chest, then press up and in.90 s rest
Lateral Raise3 × 15Lead with the elbows and raise to shoulder height. Go lighter than you think and lower under control.60 s rest
Overhead Triceps Extension3 × 12One dumbbell held in both hands behind your head. Keep the elbows pointing forward and extend fully.60 s rest
Triceps Kickback3 × 12Upper arm parallel to the floor and still. Straighten the elbow fully and pause before lowering.60 s rest

Muscles worked

Front

Back

Triceps11
Shoulders9.5
Chest7
Traps3

Sets per muscle. A muscle that only assists in an exercise counts half.

How to run it

Before the first exercise, do two lighter sets of it: one at about half your working weight and one at three quarters. Rest for the time shown next to each exercise; the heavy lifts at the top need more than the smaller ones at the end.

Aim to finish each set with one or two reps left in you. If every set reaches its target easily, the session is too light. Dumbbells go up in big steps. When the next pair is too heavy, add a rep to every set first, and move up once you are two or three reps over the target.

It is the first day of a push, pull, legs rotation. Run the three days once a week, or twice through with a rest day in the middle if you train six days.

If something is taken

Dumbbell Bench Press→Push-Up

Keep the same number of sets. In the app you can swap an exercise for one session without changing the program.

In myreplog

It is already set up. These 6 exercises arrive in your account as a program, with the sets and reps above.
Tap, do not type. Set your weights the first time, then mark each set done as you finish it.
Records count themselves. From your second session, a lift that beats your best is marked as a personal record on the spot.
See what you trained. The session ends with this muscle map, drawn from the sets you actually did.

Logging is free for good. The first 14 days also include Pro, where a coach reviews each session and suggests the weights for the next one. No card needed.

Questions

How long does this push day workout take?

About 45 minutes. That is 19 working sets with the rests listed next to each exercise, plus five minutes to warm up.

What muscles does it work?

Mostly the triceps, shoulders and chest. The traps assist. The map on this page shades each muscle by the number of sets that reach it.

What equipment do I need?

A pair of dumbbells and a bench.

What muscles does a push day work?

The chest, the shoulders and the triceps: every muscle that straightens the arm or pushes a weight away from the body. The back and biceps are left for pull day.

Should push day start with chest or shoulders?

Start with the one you want to bring up. This session starts with a chest press because it is the heaviest lift of the day, and puts the overhead press second while the shoulders are still fresh.