Hinges and bridges
Dumbbell swings
- Kit
- Dumbbells
- Works
- glutes · hamstrings
- Also
- lower back · core · forearms · shoulders
The dumbbell swing is a fast hip hinge: you drive a single dumbbell between your legs and snap your hips forward to float it up to chest height. It trains the glutes and hamstrings to produce force quickly, and it lifts your heart rate more than most strength work, which makes it a useful engine in a circuit. Best once you can hinge comfortably with a flat back.
Form
How to do dumbbell swings
- 1Stand with feet a little wider than your hips and hold one dumbbell by the handle with both hands, arms hanging in front of you. Soften your knees and set your chest tall.
- 2Push your hips back and let the dumbbell travel between your legs, staying close to your groin, with your back flat and your shins near vertical.
- 3Snap your hips forward and squeeze your glutes hard to send the dumbbell up. Let the arms stay relaxed: the hips throw it, the hands only steer it.
- 4Exhale sharply at the top, stand fully upright with ribs down, and let the dumbbell fall back down rather than dragging it.
- 5Catch the fall by hinging again as the weight passes your hips, breathing in on the way back, and keep that rhythm smooth for the whole effort.
- 6Set the dumbbell down under control at the end of the set instead of dropping it from the top.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Squatting the weight up and down instead of hinging.
Fix: Keep the knees mostly quiet and think of pushing your hips backwards towards the wall behind you.
Lifting the dumbbell with the arms and shoulders.
Fix: Let the arms hang like ropes and drive purely from a hard glute squeeze at the top.
Rounding the lower back at the bottom of the swing.
Fix: Set your chest and keep a flat back, and shorten the range or use a lighter dumbbell if you cannot hold that position.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions
Put it in a workout
None of the fixed workouts uses it. Pick a workout for your kit, or start today's session on /gym.