Heavy Dumbell Swings

One of my favorite exercises explained and demonstrated. However, my gym only has dumbbells up to 85 lbs, so my swing goes all the way to overhead. I switch which hand is in front with each set, since the lead arm does a little more of the work.

Heavy Dumbell Swings

By Nick Nilsson

This is partly an ab exercise, partly a leg exercise, partly a shoulder exercise, partly a back exercise and very a much a total-body exercise.

The concept is simple...pick up a single dumbell then swing it up as high as you can in front of you!

There are some tricks to it, though.

First, you'll need a moderately heavy dumbell. Start moderate the first time you do it so you can get an idea of how much you can handle. I'm using a 115 lb dumbell here.

Squat down and pick it up, gripping on the handle with both hands (one hand will lock over the other).

Come up a bit then swing the dumbell forward a bit to get some momentum.

Now swing the dumbell back between your legs.

NOW power it up as high as you can using leg power, ab power, shoulder power and back power!

You're not trying to do a front raise with this...you're trying to swing that dumbell high and powerfully!

Let the dumbell swing back down again to the position behind your legs.

For me, because of how heavy the dumbell is, I don't want to immediately try and swing it back up - that'll put a lot of torque on the lower back. So I set the dumbell down on the floor here.

Then I begin the rep again just as I described. You'll see exactly what I mean in the video.

Basically, lift it up, swing it forward a bit, then take a backswing then heave it up!

This is an excellent exercise for building total-body power and, believe me, you'll get a cardio workout out of it, too.

Windows Movie File (WMV format)

QuickTime File (Mac format)

Tags: fitness, weight training, Health, Dumbell Swings, Nick Nilsson, Staley Training Systems