Double Dumbbell Overhead Carry

Muscles worked by the Double Dumbbell Overhead Carry

Primary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidSide DeltsLateral Deltoid

Secondary

Lower BackErector SpinaeSerratusSerratus AnteriorDeep CoreTransversus AbdominisTrapsTrapeziusTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: front deltoid, anterior delt, front delt, anterior deltoid, side deltoid, lateral delt.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Double Dumbbell Overhead Carry

1. Clean or press a dumbbell to lockout above each shoulder.
2. Straighten both elbows fully and pull your shoulder blades up into the weights rather than shrugging away from 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.

Form 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.

At a glance

Double Dumbbell Overhead Carry in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Arnold Press
• Banded Shoulder Stretch
• Barbell Front Raise
• Barbell Overhead Press
• Barbell Upright Row
• Behind the Neck Press
• Bodyweight Lateral Raise
• Bodyweight Overhead Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "double-db-overhead-carry",
  "name_en": "Double Dumbbell Overhead Carry",
  "name_de": "Doppel-Kurzhantel-Überkopftragen",
  "name_es": "Paseo con Dos Mancuernas sobre la Cabeza",
  "description_en": "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.",
  "description_de": "Ein Tragegang mit je einer Kurzhantel über jeder Schulter, der die Überkopflast verdoppelt und den freien Arm nimmt, mit dem du sonst ausbalancieren würdest.",
  "description_es": "Un paseo cargado con una mancuerna bloqueada sobre cada hombro, que duplica la carga por encima de la cabeza y elimina el brazo libre que de otro modo te ayudaría a equilibrarte.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "lateral_deltoid"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "serratus_anterior",
    "transverse_abdominis",
    "trapezius",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "strength",
    "endurance"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "shoulder_focus",
    "shoulder_stability",
    "core",
    "full_body"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Clean or press a dumbbell to lockout above each shoulder.",
    "Straighten both elbows fully and pull your shoulder blades up into the weights rather than shrugging away from them.",
    "Brace hard and keep your ribs down — with both arms overhead the temptation to arch is much stronger.",
    "Walk forward with short, deliberate strides, keeping both dumbbells stacked over your shoulders.",
    "Keep breathing shallowly and steadily instead of holding your breath for the whole carry.",
    "Carry for the desired distance, then lower both weights under control."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Bring je eine Kurzhantel im Umsetzen oder Drücken über jede Schulter in die gestreckte Position.",
    "Streck beide Ellenbogen vollständig und schieb die Schulterblätter in die Gewichte hinein, statt sie wegzuziehen.",
    "Spann fest an und halt die Rippen unten — mit beiden Armen oben ist der Zug ins Hohlkreuz deutlich stärker.",
    "Geh mit kurzen, bewussten Schritten vorwärts und halt beide Hanteln über den Schultern gestapelt.",
    "Atme flach und gleichmäßig weiter, statt die Luft über die ganze Strecke anzuhalten.",
    "Trag die gewünschte Distanz und setz dann beide Gewichte kontrolliert ab."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Lleva una mancuerna, en cargada o press, hasta el bloqueo sobre cada hombro.",
    "Estira ambos codos del todo y empuja las escápulas hacia los pesos en lugar de encogerte alejándote de ellos.",
    "Aprieta fuerte y mantén las costillas abajo — con los dos brazos arriba la tentación de arquearse es mucho mayor.",
    "Camina hacia delante con zancadas cortas y deliberadas, manteniendo ambas mancuernas alineadas sobre los hombros.",
    "Sigue respirando de forma superficial y constante en vez de aguantar el aire todo el recorrido.",
    "Carga la distancia deseada y baja después ambos pesos de forma controlada."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "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."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Fang pro Hand leichter an als beim einarmigen Tragen. Zwei Arme über Kopf sind nicht halb so schwer, sondern doppelt so viel zu stabilisieren.",
    "Überleg dir vorher, wie du notfalls aussteigst, und trag dort, wo du die Gewichte gefahrlos fallen lassen kannst.",
    "Kurze, saubere Strecken schlagen lange, krumme. Beende den Satz, wenn die Rippen aufklappen — nicht erst, wenn die Schultern nachgeben."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Empieza con menos peso por mano que en el paseo a un brazo. Dos brazos por encima de la cabeza no son la mitad de fáciles, son el doble de estabilizar.",
    "Ten pensado cómo abandonar la serie antes de empezar, y carga donde puedas soltar los pesos sin peligro.",
    "Distancias cortas bien hechas superan a las largas hechas torcido. Corta la serie cuando se abran las costillas, no cuando cedan los hombros."
  ],
  "met": 5.5,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/double-db-overhead-carry-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "double-db-overhead-carry");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.