Legs · Dumbbell
Dumbbell One Arm Swing
How to do the dumbbell one arm swing, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Hinge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in one hand between your legs. Hinge at the hips to swing the dumbbell back, then snap your hips forward to drive it up to chest height, letting the arm float. Control it back down into the next hinge and complete the set before switching hands.
- 1Feel your glutes and hamstrings snap the hips forward to drive the swing
- 2Let the power come from the hip hinge, not the arm
- 3Brace your core and keep the spine neutral as the dumbbell floats up
Common mistakes
- Do not squat the movement; hinge at the hips instead
- Avoid rounding your lower back at the bottom of the swing
- Do not lift the dumbbell with your shoulder; let the hips do the work
Muscles worked
The dumbbell one arm swing mainly works the glutes and hamstrings, with the forearms, lower back, lower abs, lats, upper traps, upper abs, obliques, quads, and front delts assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- LatsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell one arm swing for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More glutes exercises
- How to do the agility ladder drill
- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.