Forget weight machines – you only need a set of dumbbells and these five exercises to boost upper body muscle

A woman doing dumbbell curls in the gym.

We’ve all had those days where we’ve waltzed into the gym and all benches, barbells and weight machines are occupied. What's even worse is no-one seems to be in a rush to finish using them either. You may think this means your session is ruined, but think again. This upper body workout will help to build muscle in your shoulders, arms and back, and it only requires a pair of dumbbells and not even a weight bench. 

If you’re worried that dumbbells won’t deliver the same gains that machines and barbells would, there’s no need to be. A study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness that looked at the differences in strength, power and muscle using free weights and machine exercises, found improvements in strength and muscle to be similar using both bits of equipment. So, don't sweat it if you can't get on your favourite shoulder press machine, your hard-earned gains aren't going anywhere.

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This workout from Sweat App Founder, Kayla Itsines, is a classic hypertrophy-style session, so it's high reps to help stimulate muscle growth. This means you'll want to pick up a set of dumbbells that you can complete the set amount of reps below for, but find the last two to three reps difficult. If you're just bashing them out easily with plenty of gas left in the tank it's too easy. Complete three rounds in total, resting for 60 seconds between each exercise and two to three minutes between each round. Here's your exercises:

• Alternating shoulder press - 20 reps
• Hammer curl - 12 reps
• Side and front lateral raises - 12 reps
• Overhead tricep extension - 12 reps
• Bent over row - 12 reps

One thing this workout didn't include is a chest exercise, so here's a quick 10-minute chest workout for you to do afterward. Fancy more upper body workouts? Give this floor-dumbbell workout a try next, a great one if your legs are feeling a little dead from a hard lower body session the previous day (it also fires up your core muscles too. Alternatively, here's another great beginner-friendly dumbbell workout to hit your chest, arms and shoulders.