9 Best Dumbbell Arm Exercises For Women At Home

Not sure what exercises you could be doing with your dumbbells for better arm strength?

In this post, I’m sharing 9 of my go‑to arm exercises you can do at home or in the gym using just a pair of dumbbells. Each one comes with a quick demo video and a few simple bullet points so you can follow along with confidence!

P.s This post may include affiliate links, which means if you click on them I could make a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep the content I share on this blog free and accessible for you!

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9 Arm Strengthening Exercises For Women

1) Bicep Curls

How-To Do A Bicep Curl

• In a standing position, hold one dumbbell in each hand, resting the arms long in front of the thighs, with the palms facing away from you.
  
• Keeping the elbows tight to the sides of your waist, begin to curl the dumbbells up toward your shoulders. Think about using your bicep muscle at the top half of your arm to do this.
  
• To return to the starting position, control the dumbbells slowly and lengthen the arms out again.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
If you find you’re leaning back to get the curl the dumbbells up, try using a lighter weight or alternating one arm at a time.

2) Hammer Curls

How-To Do A Dumbbell Hammer Curl

• Standing tall, hold one dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Palms are facing inwards.
  
• Keeping the elbows tight to the sides, start to curl the dumbbells up toward your shoulders using your bicep muscles.
  
• To return to the starting position, simply lower the dumbbells back down and lengthen the arms out.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
Keep the shoulders relaxed throughout this movement, trying not to shrug through your neck to curl the dumbbells up.

3) Triceps Kickbacks

How-To Do A Tricep Kickback

• Stand tall to begin, with a dumbbell in each hand by your side. Then simply hinge at the hips – sending tension into your hamstrings and bringing your torso forward. Bring the elbows up tight into your waist, so the arms are at about a 90 degree angle.
  
• From here, keeping those elbows tight to your side, simply start to straighten your arms back behind you, until you feel your triceps working.
  
• To return, simply reverse the movement and bring the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
Make sure to fully straighten your arms out to get that full tricep squeeze!

4) Overhead Triceps Extension

How-To Do An Overhead Triceps Extension

• Start by standing in an upright position, and bring one dumbbell over your head with you arms straight. Keep your elbows pointed fairly forward if you can, and close to your head.
  
• To begin, start to slowly bend your elbows so that the weight lowers behind your head.
  
• To return, press through your tricep muscles and straighten the arms back out.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
Do your best to keep your core and lower body strong throughout this movement. This will ensure the arms are really working by themselves!

5) Lying Tricep Extensions

How-To Do A Lying Tricep Extension

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and hold a dumbbell in each hand straight above your chest.
  
• To start the movement, slowly bend your elbows to lower the dumbbells to the sides of your head. Only go as far as you feel comfortable with.
  
• To return, press the dumbbells back up using your triceps muscles and straighten the arms out.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
Try really hard to keep your upper arms still through this exercise. Only the forearms should move! This will make sure that the triceps are working, not your shoulders!

6) Lateral Raise

How-To Do A Lateral Raise

• Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, palms facing toward each other. Soften the knees and relax your shoulders.
  
• From here, keeping the elbows soft – raise the dumbbells out to the side until they reach about shoulder height. Hold for a moment at the top for an added challenge.
  
• To return to the starting position, control the dumbbells back down to the front of your thighs.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
Stick with light dumbbells on this one and do your best not to shrug up through the neck as you raise.

7) Front Raise

How-To Do A Front Raise

• Start by standing tall, with a dumbbell in each hand resting on the thighs. Palms should face inwards towards the thighs.
  
• From here, keeping a soft elbow – raise the dumbbells straight out in front of you until they reach shoulder height. Hold for a second if you can!
  
• To return, simply reverse the movement and bring the dumbbells back down to your thighs.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
If you find it hard to keep the rest of your body stable whilst raising the arms up, just stand with your back against a wall for support and be sure to use lighter weights for this exercise.

8) Underhand Rows

How-To Do An Underhand Bent-Over Row

• Start by standing tall, one dumbbell in each hand by your sides. Make sure you holding onto them with an underhand grip – your palms facing upwards. Send the hips back finding tension in the hamstrings, bringing your torso forward and letting your dumbbells hang down in line with your shoulders.
  
• From here, pull your elbows back, keeping the dumbbells close to your body as you do this. Really think about using your bicep and back muscles to pull. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
  
• To return to the starting position, simply let your arms hang long again.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
Throughout the underhand bent over row, try keep your core stable and make sure the shoulders aren’t hunched up to your ears at any point.

Underhand Rows are really great for strengthening the back muscles too!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE BACK EXERCISES YOU CAN DO AT-HOME WITH DUMBBELLS!

9) Shoulder Press

How-To Do A Standing Shoulder Press

• Start by standing tall, with one dumbbell resting on each shoulder. Keep the knees soft, bum squeezed gently and core strong. Palms can face in or slightly angle out.
  
• From here, simply press the dumbbells straight up overhead. Try not to lean backwards or forwards.
  
• To return to the starting position, control the dumbbells back down to your shoulders.

Jane’s Technique Tip 💋
If you need more support for your back during your shoulder press, just a grab a chair or bench and perform this movement seated.

Underhand Rows are really great for strengthening the back muscles too!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SHOULDER EXERCISES YOU CAN DO AT-HOME WITH DUMBBELLS!

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What Dumbbells I Use For Home Workouts

For home workouts I like to use HEX DUMBBELLS. They’re super versatile and due to the hexagonal shape of them, they won’t roll away from underneath you meaning you’ll feel much safer and stable.

I also find the non-slip grippy bit on the handle (the knurling) means you can hold them better in comparison to softer neoprene dumbbells which can be quite slippery if you’re sweating.

You can easily get them on Amazon – these are the ones that are best reviewed in the UK/Ireland and seem to be most popular! If they’re not available just look for similar ones, there seem to be plenty of options available! 💪🏻

I hope this list has given you some useful ideas for exercises to do at home to build strength in your arms using your dumbbells.

If you want to save this list so you can refer back to it later, I’d recommend either bookmarking it in your favourites folder on your browser or save it to Pinterest below! 💋

Let me know in the comments if you’ll try any of these arm exercises in your next home workout or if you have a favourite!

Save This List To Your Pinterest 📌

DISCLAIMER ☁️✨

Just a friendly heads‑up: The workouts and tips I provide on this site are here to help you move, feel strong, and learn — but they’re absolutely not a substitute for personalised medical advice. If you have any health concerns, injuries, or conditions, it’s always best to chat with a healthcare professional before trying something new. Listen to your body, take things at your own pace, and stop if something doesn’t feel right.