Double Dumbbell Overhead Carry

A loaded walk with a dumbbell locked out above each shoulder, doubling the overhead load and removing the free arm that would otherwise help you balance.

How to do it

1. Clean or press a dumbbell to lockout above each shoulder.
2. Straighten both elbows fully and keep reaching up into the weights so the shoulders stay active, without letting the dumbbells sink down onto them.
3. Brace hard and keep your ribs down — with both arms overhead the temptation to arch is much stronger.
4. Walk forward with short, deliberate strides, keeping both dumbbells stacked over your shoulders.
5. Keep breathing shallowly and steadily instead of holding your breath for the whole carry.
6. Carry for the desired distance, then lower both weights under control.

Tips

• Start lighter than your single-arm carry weight per hand. Two arms overhead is not twice as easy, it is twice as much to stabilise.
• Have a plan for bailing out before you start, and carry where you can drop the weights safely.
• Short distances done well beat long ones done bent. Stop the set when your ribs start to flare, not when your shoulders give out.

Muscles

Primary: Front deltoid, Side deltoid

Secondary: Erector spinae, Serratus, Transverse abdominis, Traps, Triceps