Dumbbell Side Swings | Illustrated Exercise Guide

Primary muscles: Shoulders, upper back
Secondary muscles: Arms, chest, lats
Equipment: Dumbbells

Dumbbell Side Swings Instructions

1. Stand straight and hold a set of dumbbells in front of your thighs.
2. Pull the left dumbbell toward the chest and raise the right dumbbell out to the side.
3. Lower the dumbbells, reverse the arms and repeat.

Proper Form And Breathing Pattern

Keep your back flat, your neck relaxed, open the chest and breathe out as you slowly lift the dumbbells. Squeeze your shoulders and your back at the top of the lift, maintain your core tight, and inhale as you lower the dumbbells back to the initial position.

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Exercise Benefits

The dumbbell side swings targets the shoulders and the upper back, and helps to strengthen and tone your arms, shoulders, chest, back, and lats. This exercise also enhances the symmetry of the upper body and helps to improve your posture.

Dumbbell Side Swings Demonstration

Sets And Reps

Complete 3, 30-second to 1-minute sets, or do 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions on each side. For a complete upper body workout, pair the dumbbell side swings with the dumbbell pullover, the single leg tricep dips and the dumbbell shoulder to shoulder press.

Calories Burned

To calculate the number of calories burned doing the dumbbell side swings, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

Related Upper Body Exercises

Try these other upper body exercises to tone, tighten and sculpt your triceps, biceps, chest, upper back and shoulders:
Lawnmower pull
Chest press legs extended
Pike push up
Medicine ball overhead circles

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