Around The Worlds

What it is

This compound movement uses dumbbells to primarily target your chest, with significant contribution from your shoulders. You'll lie on a flat bench and perform a wide arcing motion with your arms, bringing the weights from your sides up over your head. This exercise helps build strength and muscular endurance in your upper body.

Technique tips

• Always maintain a slight bend in your elbows throughout the entire movement.
• Keep your arms parallel to the floor during both the upward arc and the return.
• Inhale as you arc the dumbbells up towards your head, then exhale returning to start.
• Engage your core to press your lower back firmly into the bench.
• Control the weight on the way down; avoid letting gravity pull the dumbbells.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.