These dumbbell exercises will give you a guaranteed sleeve-splitting arm pump.

The beauty of dumbbells lies in their versatility and reliability.

They’re versatile because you can change angles almost endlessly to keep introducing new growth-inducing tension.

They’re reliable because you can almost always have access to them - in any commercial gym, most hotel gyms, and even in your own home gym. They’re everywhere.

When it comes to growing your arms, you need to target them directly and dumbbells are the perfect way to do this.

These are the best dumbbell arm exercises for mass:

Drag Curls
Lying Incline Curls
Hammer Curls
Skull Crushers
Single-Arm Overhead Extensions
Seated Kickbacks

Each one of these exercises has been selected for this list to make sure we’re hitting all of the muscle groups in your arms.

But read further because we’re not talking about doing these the way everyone else does. We’re making some changes that will make all the difference.

Check out these dumbbell arm workouts to see more of these exercises.

Credit to Ryan Humiston, my go-to source for muscle-building dumbbell exercises, for the below photos. I recently did his 30-day program and it kicked my ass.

Keep your rest periods as brief as possible and alternate between biceps and triceps.

Best Dumbbell Bicep Exercises

Dumbbell Drag Curls

Keep the dumbbells at your side and drag them up by driving your elbows back. This exercise makes a great finisher for after you’ve already destroyed your biceps.

Grab a pair of dumbbells you can do this for 15 reps with and try to bust out 20.

Lying Incline Dumbbell Curls

Most people stand in front of the mirror and start curling the dumbbells. We’re not going to do that because we’ll lose a big part of the connection to our biceps.

Instead, lay face down on a bench set on an incline. Drive your elbows forward and curl the dumbbells this way. The difference will be noticeable from the first rep.

Rep range: 15-20 or until failure.

Dumbbell Hammer Curls

The standard hammer curl is great but we can make it better with a slight modification. Lean forward as you curl up and lean back on the negative. This will enhance both the stretch and contraction.

Rep range: 15-20 or until failure.

See these full dumbbell bicep workouts for more.

Best Dumbbell Tricep Exercises

Dumbbell Skull Crushers

Lay down on a bench or on the floor if you have to. Use a slight decline or incline to enhance the stretch. Use your shoulders as a guide and start with the dumbbells touching your shoulders.

Extend them up and away without fully extending them (this keeps tension on your triceps).

Drop sets are great for this exercise. Do 15-20 reps with higher weight, then grab two lighter dumbbells and do another 15-20 reps, then grab even lighter dumbbells and do another 15-20 reps.

Single-Arm Overhead Extension

Don’t let your elbow flare out to the side. Turn your elbow forward, putting a greater stretch on the tricep muscle, and flex up from there. Don’t lock out at the top.

Rep range: 15-20 or until failure.

Dumbbells can be used as home gym equipment. These are ideal to get pumped biceps and triceps at home too. You can try these easy exercises at home too and get gym-like results just after a few reps.