Functional fitnessIn review

Dumbbell Swing

A ballistic hip hinge that uses hip drive to swing one dumbbell held in both hands.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Hinge
Modality: Functional fitness
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Bilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Stand with the feet slightly wider than hip width and the knees softly bent.
Hold the handle of one dumbbell with both hands in front of the hips. Use a handle that fits both hands securely.

Do the rep

Hinge and guide the dumbbell back between the legs.
Drive the hips forward and let the dumbbell swing to chest height with the arms long.
Guide the dumbbell back between the legs into the next hinge.
After the final return, slow the dumbbell and lower it to the floor under control.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when hip drive carries the dumbbell to chest height and it returns between the legs.

One rep starts with one dumbbell held in both hands behind the hips, reaches chest height from hip drive with the arms long, and ends when the dumbbell returns behind the hips.

Breathing

Exhale with the hip drive; inhale as the dumbbell returns.

Cues

Send the hips back.
Let the hips start the lift.
Keep the arms long.

Common mistakes

Lifting mainly with the arms
What you seeThe shoulders rise and the elbows bend before the hips extend.
FixStart the lift with the hips; let the arms follow.
Hip drive defines this ballistic hinge.
Squatting the movement
What you seeThe knees travel forward and the hips drop straight down.
FixPush the hips back with a soft knee bend.
The hinge gives the weight room to pass between the legs.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the grip slips or the dumbbell pulls you out of position.
End the set when you cannot guide the return between the legs under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Glutes · moderate confidence
Hamstrings · moderate confidence

Assisting

Spinal erectors · moderate confidence
Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence
Forearms and grip · moderate confidence

Equipment

Dumbbell

Use one dumbbell with a handle that fits both hands securely. Keep clear space around the body.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 12, written from the blueprint CSV row and the owner rules approved 2026-10-12 in #340. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the owner rules; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_kettlebell_swing, the closest Wave 1 record. Its review evidence is not carried into this draft.
Rule 1 requires 1 dumbbell; setup and technique use that quantity. Load-and-reps uses kg. Load steps come from user equipment, so load_increment_constraints stays empty.
Failure cost moderate: the user must control the stop with a free weight (rule 3).
The CSV says home no. Rule 1 gives home yes because every required item is a home item; classification and engine environments include home.
The optional bench from the CSV is removed because the movement does not use it.
Exception to rule 2: the CSV says hinge and strength. The record keeps hinge but uses functional_quality and skill_or_power with functional-fitness modality and functional_fitness true, as ex_kettlebell_swing; a ballistic lift must not be the main hinge.
The CSV says beginner. Skill tier intermediate: a ballistic hip snap needs training for one clean rep (rule 3), as ex_kettlebell_swing. Duration is also legal, as that record. CSV low impact is retained pending review.
The draft uses one dumbbell held by its handle in both hands. Review must confirm a secure two-hand grip, clearance between the legs, and the controlled stop.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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