9 Dumbbell Squat Variations To Spice Up Your Home Workouts

Looking to spice up your home workouts with some new dumbbell squat variations?

I absolutely love doing squats, they’re one of the best exercises you can do for all-round lower body strength.

In this list I’m sharing 9 of my go-to dumbbell squat variations that you can add to your home or gym workouts. All these squat movements will help strengthen your legs, with a few adding in more of a challenge for your core and upper body. Enjoy!

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9 Dumbbell Squat Variations To Add To Your Home Strength Workouts

I’ve done my best to provide options for all fitness levels. Just pick and choose the variations that suit you and your abilities! 🩷

1) Dumbbell Goblet Squat

The most simple and effective way to squat with dumbbell. The variation I always come back to.

How To Do Goblet Squats

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell vertically with both hands (goblet style) close to your chest.
Lower into your squat by sitting the hips back and down, and driving your knees out.
Drive through your feet to stand back up and gently squeeze the glutes at the top.

2) Dumbbell Front Squat

This variation mimics a barbell front squat, and is great for challenging your core as well as your upper body!

How To Do Dumbbell Racked Front Squats

Stand tall and rest one dumbbell onto each shoulder.
Keep the chest lifted and lower down into your squat.
Drive through your feet to stand back up and gently squeeze the glutes at the top.

3) Offset Dumbbell Squat

How To Do Offset Dumbbell Squats

Rest a dumbbell onto just one shoulder.
Keeping the chest lifted, descend down into your squat.
Drive through your feet to stand back up and gently squeeze the glutes at the top.

4) Dumbbell Squat To Overhead Press

If you want to work your shoulders as well as your lower body, this exercise is my go-to! You’ll often find it called a ‘Squat Thruster’ as well.

How To Do Dumbbell Overhead Press

Rest one dumbbell onto each shoulder and get into your squat stance.
Lower down into your squat, keeping the dumbbells on your shoulders.
When you start to stand up again, press the dumbbells overhead like a shoulder press.
Then bring them back down to the shoulders and repeat.

5) Dumbbell Chair Squat

This variation is perfect if you’re a beginner, or just want to practice your squat with the safety of the chair!

How To Do Dumbbell Chair Squats

Stand in front of a bench or a sturdy chair holding a dumbbell ‘goblet’ style against your chest.
With control, sit down onto the bench, being careful not to rock back when you get there.
To return to your starting position, drive through your feet and legs to stand back up.

6) Dumbbell Sumo Squat

How To Do Dumbbell Sumo Squats

Stand with your feet in a wide stand with your toes slightly turned out.
Hold a dumbbell with both hands between the legs.
Lower down into your squat and drive the knees out in line with your toes.
Push through your feet to drive back up and gently squeeze your glutes at the top.

7) Dumbbell Narrow Squat

How To Do Dumbbell Narrow Squats

Stand with your feet close together, toes pointing forward.
Hold one dumbbell in each hand at your sides, or one at the chest.
Lower down into a squat, then press back up through your feet to standing again.

8) Dumbbell Split Squat

One of my favourite unilateral squat variations, and a great way to strengthen your legs individually.

How To Do Dumbbell Split Squats

Stand tall, then step one foot forward and one foot back into a split stance position.
Hold one dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
Lower yourself straight down by bending both knees. Your knee at the back should be inline with your hip and the front knee stacked over your ankle.
Push through your front heel to come back up again.

9) Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat

This is a single-leg squat variation, just a bit more advanced than a normal split squat, as you have your back foot elevated. So the front leg is working even harder!

How To Do Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat

Stand a little bit in front of your bench or a sturdy chair, and place one foot onto it behind you.
Hold a dumbbell close to your chest, or down by your sides.
Bend your front knee and lower down to the floor with both legs.
Drive through your front foot to come back up to standing.

What Dumbbells I Use For Home Workouts

For my home workouts I like to use rubber HEX DUMBBELLS. They are the type of dumbbells you’ll probably find in most gyms and you can do so many different exercises with them.

They’re also very safe & sturdy due to their hexagonal shape.

I also find they feel better to grip due to the knurling on the steel handle, in comparison to smoother neoprene dumbbells.

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! 💪🏻

What I’m Wearing In These Videos

UA Tech™ Twist t-shirt in Refresh Mint from Under Armour. Recently got this top and it’s so light which is perfect for lifting weights in or any sort of exercise!
UA Fly-By Women’s 3″ Shorts in Transparent Reflective from Under Armour. Great shorts for running, walking and lifting in. Really comfortable and I feel like there’s good coverage at the back!
Women’s UNO Stand On Air in Lilac by Skechers. So comfy for workout & just daily wear!

I really hope this list has give you ideas of how to spice up your squats at home with your dumbbells! Sometimes it’s fun to challenge yourself with something new!

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 if you’ll try any of these new dumbbell squat movements in your next workout!