Around The Worlds

Also called around the world, dumbbell around the worlds and chest around the world.

Works

Chest, plus shoulders

Equipment

Dumbbells

Level

Intermediate

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Lay down on a flat bench holding a dumbbell in each hand with the palms of the hands facing towards the ceiling. Tip: Your arms should be parallel to the floor and next to your thighs. To avoid injury, make sure that you keep your elbows slightly bent. This will be your starting position.

1. Now move the dumbbells by creating a semi-circle as you displace them from the initial position to over the head. All of the movement should happen with the arms parallel to the floor at all times. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement.
2. Reverse the movement to return the weight to the starting position as you exhale.

Cues

• Palms up, light dumbbells.
• Soft elbows the whole arc.
• Sweep from the hips to overhead.
• Move slow, no shoulder pinch.

Common mistakes

• Too much weight.
• Bending the elbows into a press.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a sore shoulder. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

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