Dumbbell squat clean is a simple exercise that you can perform at the comfort of your home since it does not require sophisticated machines and does not take much space in your room. This exercise will give a proper workout on a number of muscles in your body especially the glutes if well performed.
HOW TO DO DUMBBELL SQUAT CLEAN
Equipment needed; a dumbbell
It is important to observe the correct way of performing dumbbell squat clean so that you achieve higher stability and reduced chances of sustaining injuries during the exercise.
- Take a stance with your feet shoulder- width apart and place dumbbell on the floor on either sides of you.
- With your feet at about an angle of 45 degrees, bend your knees and lower your bottom to an extent that it touches the back of your feet with your knees kept higher than your bottom.
- Hold the dumbbell in each hand and raise them high up to your shoulder level.
- With your chin raised, push your chest outwards so that your spine curves slightly in your lower back.
- Push yourself up with great momentum to a standing position from the squat as you take the dumbbells with you.
- From the highest position, gently lower yourself back to the squat position, taking the weight with you.
- Without pausing in the squat position, push your body upwards again. This makes a complete repetition.
- Do as many repetitions as possible.
WHAT MUSCLES DO DUMBBELL SQUAT CLEAN DO?
Dumbbell squat clean is a compound exercise that works a number of major muscles in the body some of which are;
1. THE CORE
These muscles play a critical role when carrying out lifting. Dumbbell squat clean puts extra stress on the lower part of the back. It is therefore important to adequately brace the core for better results.
2. THE TRAPS
These muscles together with the delts collectively helps the lower body in pushing the weight up to the shoulder level. Besides that, the muscles are equally important in stabilising the body during the squat.
3. BICEPS
Biceps are elbow flexors that assist in the finishing of the clean part of the lift. However, care needs to be taken so that the clean is not turned into a cheat curl.
The momentum mostly comes from the area around the hips and lower body, not from the curling of the elbows.
4. THE GLUTES
This is a group of muscles that are responsible for powerful hip extension, rotation of the hips as well as abduction.
Lutes form the largest group of muscles in the body and are important for upright posture and general body movement.
5. HAMSTRINGS
Hamstrings are a group of muscles located at the back of your thighs.
They assist in the bending of your legs and straightening them back as well.
They are equally important in keeping the knees stable and aligned thus reducing the tear and other related knee injuries.
6. THE CALVES
Calf muscles are essential in maintaining body balance and withstanding gravitational force during the performance of dumbbell squat clean.
DUMBBELL SQUAT CLEAN BENEFITS
1. STRENGTHENING AND ALIGNING MUSCLES.
Dumbbell squat clean helps in strengthening your body muscles as well as enabling the muscles to gain symmetry.
There are some activities that may make you unconsciously favour one side of your body and ignoring the other.
This tendency is likely to cause asymmetries which can be appropriately corrected by performing dumbbell squat clean exercise.
2. FULL BODY WORKOUT.
Dumbbell squat clean works many muscles groups of the body. As such, the exercise is very crucial in helping building your muscle mass across both upper and lower body.
3. STRENGTHENING CORE
A strong core is important for your body as it helps you to assume a straight stance and keeps your trunk stabilised when you are engaged in your routine activities or during the performance of exercises.
A weak core on the other hand increases chances of muscle injuries, poor posture and lower back pain.
ALTERNATIVES TO DUMBBELL SQUAT CLEAN
The following exercises works muscles in a more or less similar way to the dumbbell squat clean.
1. SQUAT JUMP
Squat jump is an exercise that will enable you to develop power without necessarily lifting weights. It requires you to simply squat and jump as high as you possibly can.
You are advised to observe extra care during landing so that the landing force does not cause injury to the anckles,foot,hips or lower back.
2. PLYO PUSH – UPS
This is an explosive overhead press that are very ideal for developing the pushing power. It therefore works muscles similar to those of dumbbell squat clean. However, the exercise may be hard on the hands and wrist and should be avoided if you have a problem with either of the two body parts.
3. KETTLEBELL SWING
This is an exercise that gives a good result if you target burning fats in your body especially if it is performed with light weights for high repetition. In addition to that, with heavier weights, swings are a full body power exercise. For better results, it is advisable to drive your hips forward in a similar way as to when you are taking off for a jump.
4. SUMO DEADLIFT HIGH PULL
Like dumbbell squat clean, sumo deadlift high pull is a compound exercise that will work a number of muscles in your body simoultaneously.It is a good bet for developing an explosive upright row.
5. BOX JUMP
Box jump are a great alternative to dumbbell squat clean since they involve similar explosive triple extension. When performing box jump, you should reach the top without pulling the knees to the chest because doing so reduces muscle power.
DUMBBELL SQUAT CLEAN MISTAKES TO AVOID
1. LIFTING TOO HEAVY WEIGHT
You should choose a dumbbell with a suitable weight so that you use your muscles to perform a movement instead of using momentum as a result of lifting a heavy weight. Performing the exercise with perfect form clearly indicates that the weight used is suitable. This reduces chance of sore backs and other related injuries.
2. RUSHING THE REPS
Pushing the dumbbell up overhead should be more explosive since the muscles are contracting.
As the weight is lowered, the movement should be slow and controlled. This movement builds strength of muscles. Rushed repetitions may work against you.
3. BENDING WRISTS
Performing lifts with dumbbells demands for a straight wrist, therefore your wrists, hands and forearm should be stacked on top of each other in a straight line. A bent wrist puts a lot of strain where it should not be and this may lead to injuries. It is therefore important to keep the wrists straight.
4. IMPROPER GRIP
If you hold a dumbbell at the same point over and over, your hands and forearm might experience some sore and become tired ahead of the rest of your body parts. This will limit your ability to perform any more exercise without working the targeted muscles. Therefore it is important to mix the way the dumbbells are held.
5. IMPROPER POSITION OF THE WIGHT
When performing the exercise, it is important to observe proper positioning of the dumbbell as this will greatly influence the outcome of the exercise. If the dumbbell is held higher, it becomes harder to accomplish the movement.
[related_posts_by_tax posts_per_page="4"]
