Video Demo
- Choose your dumbbells and stand tall with one in each hand.
- Position your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing mostly forward.
- Hold the dumbbells at the front/outer thighs, arms straight.
- Take a breath into your belly/ribs, tighten your midsection like you’re preparing to be bumped.
- Hold your shoulders "down and back," chest forward, spine neutral, knees slightly bent.
- Initiate with a hip hinge: push your hips straight back like you’re closing a car door with your butt.
- Let the dumbbells slide down your legs: keep them close to your thighs/shins (don’t let them drift forward).
- Maintain a neutral spine: your torso inclines forward as your hips travel back.
- Keep your neck neutral (look a few feet ahead on the floor).
- Keep your knees slightly bent: they should not keep bending deeper like a squat. Keep your shins mostly vertical.
- Lower until you hit your “hamstring stop”: usually when the dumbbells reach mid-shin, or when you feel a strong stretch in hamstrings without your low back rounding.
- Pause for control (optional): 0.5–1 second at the bottom while staying braced.
- Stand up by driving hips forward: press through mid-foot/heel, squeeze glutes, and bring hips back under you.
- Finish tall with your ribs stacked over pelvis, glutes tight, but don’t lean back or over-arch at the top.