This is a great leg and core exercise
- VERY challenging even though you're using lighter dumbells than
you normally could for a "standard" dumbell squat.
Basically, with this exercise, you're
not going to hold the dumbells at your sides at arms length (which
I've also thought was more of a dumbell deadlift anyway, rather
than a squat, which is what a lot of people call it).
With THIS version, you're going to
kick the dumbells up and rest them on end on your shoulders. THEN
you squat.
So grab a couple of moderate weight
dumbells (in the demo, I'm using 65's and that was plenty). It's
a whole different animal than regular squats because of how you're
holding the dumbells.
Grab the dumbells then get them up
onto your shoulders. The easiest way to go is one at a time, rest
the dumbell on end on your thigh, then use leg power to launch the
dumbell up and rest it on end on your shoulder.
This, naturally, works best when your
dumbells don't have big weight posts sticking out the ends - flat
ended up dumbells are necessary.
Once you get both dumbells up on your
shoulders, set your feet for squatting. With this variation, a somewhat
wide stance is best for balanace. A little outside shoulder width
is good - feet angled out a bit.
Now squat down. As you come down,
you'll be forced to balance the dumbells on your shoulders, which
is a challenge. As you come down, you'll probably notice you have
to tilt them backwards a bit to keep that balance.
Push yourself back up. That's one!
Keep going until your legs or your
core can't support the weight anymore.
Even though you're using relatively
lighter weights here, their position on your body really makes a
huge difference in the effect of the exercise.
Nick Nilsson is the Director
of Online Operations for Staley Training Systems. He has
a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been
inventing powerful new training techniques for more than
17 years.
Nick is the author of a number
of bodybuilding eBooks (listed below) all available by clicking
here and has written for a variety of publications
including Men's Fitness, Reps, Musclemag, Bodybuilding.com
and many others. He can be contacted at nick@staleytraining.com.
