Dumbells are becoming one of the most popular gym equipment simply because of the number of exercises that you can perform with them. Unlike the typical barbell, they offer a variety of movements that help in developing your strength, growing your muscles, and gaining weight. For Ectomorphs especially, dumbbell workouts are considered one of the best types of training that you can do since they focus on isolating your muscles and reaching the much-needed tension for growth. And the best thing about dumbbell workouts is that they can be done right in the comfort of your own home. I guarantee you that buying a pair of dumbbells will be your best investment this year.
And with the overwhelming information and types of workouts that you can find on the internet, I understand that it’s challenging to find a workout that’s adapted for Ectomorphs and skinny people in general.
That’s why in this article, we’ll fill you in on the benefits of using dumbbells while training, as well as the best dumbbell workouts for Ectomorphs.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Dumbbell Workouts For Ectomorphs:
Unlike the other types of workouts, using dumbbells during your training will help you achieve your fitness goals at a faster rate since they provide many benefits:
They Lead To Greater Muscle Activation
When you’re using dumbbells during your workout, your muscles are forced to coordinate and stabilize with each other which leads to more and greater muscle activation. In fact, this type of workout improves the ability of your muscles to work together, and the number of muscles used during the exercise. To put this into perspective, if you perform the same exercise (bench press for example) using a barbell and dumbbells, with the latter one, you’ll be stimulating more muscles which leads to more growth and activation.
They Can Be Used In a Variety of Ways
When you’re using a machine or a barbell, you’re actually limited to the number of movements that you can perform. That’s why they’re best used with compound movements or when performing a full-body workout. However, with dumbbells, you’re free to do any type of movement without any constraints. Due to their length and easy grip, you can perform a multitude of movements with just a pair. And while you’re doing an exercise, you can alter their position to hit different muscles, loosen up the shoulder muscles, and change the difficulty of the exercise.
They Allow You to Focus on Single Limbs
Let’s give an example of bicep curls. When you use a barbell, you’re pretty much forced to perform the exercise with both hands which can cause some unbalances in terms of muscle growth. If you’re right-handed, then that side will probably do the majority of work while lifting the bar. When you use dumbbells however, you can focus on one arm at a time, or even both since you’re using the same weight. This promotes muscle gain, increases strength, and improves endurance.
They Increase Your Range of Motion
If you compare a normal bench press with a dumbbell press, then you’ll notice that the latter gives you a better fuller range of motion. And when it comes to working out, increasing your range of motion allows you to squeeze your muscles till the last bit and it’s one of the best ways to overload your muscles and increase their time under tension which promotes growth.
Dumbbell Workouts For Ectomorphs:
We’ll split this part into two sections, the first one is a dumbbell full-body workout, and the second one is a dumbbell split workout. They’re both beneficial so I recommend varying between them every week.
Dumbbell Full-Body Workout For Ectomorphs:
For this workout, we’ll have:
- 3 sets
- Each set contains 8 dumbbell Exercises
- Warm-up exercises are 30 seconds long
- Give each exercise 40 seconds of work (or until failure)
- Take a 20-second break after every exercise
- Take a 60-second break after each set
- Use a weight that’s heavy enough to feel an intense tension during those last seconds.
- This workout should be done 3 times a week
The Workout goes as followed:
| Warm-Up | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
| Arm swings + pull | 1- Suitcase squat | 9- Drop squat | 17- Front rack squat |
| Active Hamstrings | 2- Alternating single leg hinge | 10- Single leg deadlift | 18- Staggered deadlift |
| Runner’s stretch | 3- Split Squat | 11- Front back reverse lunges | 19- Alternating side lunges |
| Down-dog + calf stretch | 4- Narrow shoulder press | 12- ISO wide shoulder press | 20- Alternating Arnold press |
| 5- Front raises | 13- ISO rows | 21- Rotating rows | |
| 6- Alternating neutral rows | 14- Hammer curls | 22- French press | |
| 7- Narrow chest press | 15- ISO chest press | 23- Switching chest press | |
| 8- Dead bugs | 16- Single leg tuck crunches | 24- Hollow knee tucks |
You can follow along with this video to know exactly how the moves are done:
Dumbbell Split Workout For Ectomorphs:
This split should be done 3 days a week. The first day will focus mainly on the chest and shoulders, the second day will focus on the biceps, triceps, and back, and the third day will focus on the legs.
Day 1: Dumbbell Chest & Shoulders Workout
- Each exercise should last about 30 to 40 seconds.
- Rest for about 20 seconds after every exercise.
The workout goes as followed:
- Side laterals
- Alternating dumbbell press
- Upright rows
- Cross raises
- Dumbbell front raises
- Underarm press
- Rear delt rows
- Half laterals
- Clean & press
- Explosive press
- Neutral raises
- Rear delt row backs
- Flat dumbbell press
- Neutral dumbbell press
- Flat dumbbell flies
- Press sequence
- Around the worlds
- Negative flies
- Close presses
- Seated dumbbell press
- Dumbbell pushups
- Rear delt shrugs
- Guillotine press
- Explosive presses
- Pause push-ups
You can follow along with this video to know exactly how the moves are done.
Day 2: Biceps, Triceps, And Back Workout
- Each exercise should last about 30 to 40 seconds.
- Rest for about 20 seconds after every exercise.
The workout goes as followed:
- Dumbbell curls
- Hammer curls
- Dumbbell drag curls
- Overhead tricep extension
- Tricep presses
- Zerker curls
- Peak contractions
- Dumbbells kickbacks
- Dumbbell hammers
- Dumbbell rotations
- Diamond pushups
- Forearm presses
- Lying extensions
- Concentration curls
- Weighted pull-up
- Pendlay row
- Dumbbell pullover
- One-arm dumbbell row
- One-arm pronated row
- Good mornings
- Dumbbell shrugs
You can follow both these videos to know how the exercises are done:
Day 3: Leg Workout
- Each exercise should last about 30 to 40 seconds.
- Rest for about 20 seconds after every exercise.
The workout goes as followed:
- Step back lunges
- Controlled squat
- Forward lunge
- Romanian deadlifts
- Staggered stiff legs
- Curtsy lunge
- Sumo dumbbell squats
- Half Romanians
- Goblet squats
- Toe jumps
- Quad squats
- Stiff leg deadlifts
- Negative jumps
- Calf rock backs
- Toe jumps
- Dumbbell hip thrusts
- Quad squeezes
- Quad lean backs
- Glute kickbacks
- Hamstring negatives
- Hamstring curls
- Dumbbell squat leans
- Pendulum squats
- Squat burnout
You can follow this video to know how the exercises are done: