When it comes to building an imposing body, nothing says ‘yeah, I workout…’ quite like a gargantuan set of boulder shoulders.
This single 'bell burner can be performed with either a dumbbell or a kettlebell, and is designed to not only build death start deltoids, but also to fire up your metabolism and sear through calories, all while delivering a serious shoulder pump.
Work through five rounds of the following circuit, resting only as needed to keep your form sharp and movements controlled, but keep the pace up for maximum muscle building and metabolism boosting benefits.
1. Hang Snatch x 6/6
Deadlift up a single 'bell from the ground and hold it between your legs. Hinge down with soft knees dropping the bell towards your knees (A). Drive up through your hips and knees, generating momentum to pull the dumbbell or kettlebell directly overhead in one movement (B). lower the weight under control back to between your legs and repeat. After six reps, switch sides and repeat.
2. Push Press x 9/9
After your final snatch switch hands and clean your 'bell onto your shoulders, palms facing in. Take a breath and brace your core. (A) Dip at the knees and use your legs to help (B) press your bell overhead. Lower under control to your shoulder and repeat. After nine reps, switch sides and repeat.
3. Hang Clean x 12/12
Push presses finished, drop your 'bell back between your thighs, then hinge at the hips to lower it to your knees (A). Stand back up with a slight jump, using the momentum to pull the bell on to your shoulder (B). Stand up straight, then lower back to between your legs and repeat. After 12 reps, switch sides and perform 12 more reps with the opposite arm.
4. Burpee Over Bell x 15
Finally, drop your bell on to the floor next to you, step back and hit the deck into a press-up position. Lower your body until your chest touches the floor (A). Stand back up and jump powerfully over the bell (B) – driving through your hips when you take off. Land and immediately drop to the floor and repeat. Perform 15 burpees, catch your breath and jump straight back into your next round.
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
