90 Minutes Beginner Shoulders Workout with Dumbbell
A 90 minutes muscle building workout targeting your shoulders using dumbbell equipment. 7 exercises, 25 total sets, designed for beginner lifters.
90 Minutes
Duration
25
Total Sets
8-12 reps
Rep Range
~1125
Est. Calories
The Workout
Start with this as your primary movement. Warm up with 2 lighter sets first.
Form cues
- Stand tall with a slight forward lean and dumbbells at your sides, palms facing inward.
- Raise both arms out to the sides until they reach shoulder height — no higher.
- Lead with your elbows, keeping a slight bend, as if pouring water from two pitchers.
Hinge forward at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor.
Form cues
- Hinge forward at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor.
- Let the dumbbells hang directly below your shoulders with a slight elbow bend.
- Raise the dumbbells out to the sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Stand with dumbbells at your sides, thumbs pointing slightly upward.
Form cues
- Stand with dumbbells at your sides, thumbs pointing slightly upward.
- Raise your arms in the scapular plane — about 30 degrees forward from a straight lateral raise.
- Lift until your hands reach shoulder height, keeping a slight elbow bend.
Stand with dumbbells at arms length, hinge at the hips until dumbbells are at knee level.
Form cues
- Stand with dumbbells at arms length, hinge at the hips until dumbbells are at knee level.
- Explosively extend your hips and pull the dumbbells up to shoulder height with elbows high.
- Use the hip drive to generate momentum — do not muscle the weight up with your arms.
Start with dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
Form cues
- Start with dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
- Press straight up to full lockout, bringing the dumbbells close together at the top.
- Lower under control to the starting position — feel the stretch in your delts.
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your thighs.
Form cues
- Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your thighs.
- Raise one or both dumbbells to eye level with arms nearly straight.
- Pause briefly at the top and lower under control.
Finish strong — take the last set close to failure.
Form cues
- Start with dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing you (like the top of a curl).
- As you press up, rotate your palms to face forward at the top.
- Lock out overhead with palms facing away from you.
Why This Workout Works
This workout is built around the principles of muscle building training. Use moderate loads (65-80% of your 1RM) with controlled eccentrics and full range of motion. Prioritize progressive overload by adding reps before adding weight. Train each muscle group 2x per week with 10-20 hard sets per muscle per week.
Training Parameters
- Rep Range: 8-12 reps — the hypertrophy sweet spot for maximum muscle growth
- Rest Periods: 60-90 seconds — long enough for quality reps, short enough for metabolic stress
- Sets Per Exercise: 3-4 sets — optimized for muscle building
Shoulders Training Tips
- *Most lifters over-train the front delt and neglect the rear delt — prioritize face pulls and reverse flyes.
- *Lateral raises work best with lighter weight and strict form — no swinging.
- *Press overhead with a slight forward lean to keep the bar path over your center of gravity.
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