Set Up:

  1. Stand with your feet about hip width apart. Feet should be parallel or toes just slightly pointed out.
  2. Either hold the ends of one dumbell in each hand, or hold one dumbell in each hand.
  3. Chest is up, shoulders are back.

The Movement:

  1. Squat with your weights on either side of your legs.
    or if you’re using one dumbbell, your hands would be positioned between your legs.

    • Review the Goblet Squat for demonstration on the squat movement.
  2. As you rise from the squat position, keep your elbows at your side, and lift the dumbbells to your shoulder.
  3. Use the momentum from the squat to press the dumbbells to the ceiling.
    Your arms should be straight towards the ceiling with your biceps next to your ears at the top of the motion.
  4. Lower the weights with control to your shoulders.
  5. Lower the weights with control to your sides.

Specific Cues:

  • Let the momentum of the squat help you get the weight into the overhead position.
  • Be careful to not hyper-extend your back. in the overhead position

Modifications:

  • You should use a weight appropriate for the most difficult exercise of the chain.
    Probably the bicep curl or the shoulder press.

Related Exercises

Escalating Density Squat/Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press

Note:

The form with this variation is exactly the same as the single repetition version of this exercise. The difference being that for each ‘chain repetition’, you will increase the repetitions for each individual exercise within the chain. You’ll ladder each repetition 1-5, and then start over at 1 again.

Example:

Repetition 1: Squat, Curl, Press

Repetition 2: 2 Squats, 2 Curls, 2 Presses

Repetition 3: 3 Squats, 3 Curls, 3 Presses

Repetition 4: 4 Squats, 4 Curls, 4 Presses

Repetition 5: 5 Squats, 5 Curls, 5 Presses

Repetition 6:  Squat, Curl, Press