Exercise guide · Intermediate · Compound

Dumbbell Standing Around World: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The dumbbell standing around world is a shoulder exercise that involves moving dumbbells in a circular motion around the body, targeting the deltoids and engaging the triceps and forearms.

Primary muscles
Shoulders
Secondary muscles
Triceps , Forearms
Equipment
Dumbbell
Level · type
Intermediate · Compound
Demonstration of the dumbbell standing around world
Front view: muscles worked by the dumbbell standing around world. Primary: shoulders. Secondary: triceps and forearms.
Back view: muscles worked by the dumbbell standing around world. Primary: shoulders. Secondary: triceps and forearms.
Primary Secondary

How to do the dumbbell standing around world

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Step 2: Extend your arms straight out to the sides at shoulder height, palms facing down.
  3. Step 3: Keeping your arms straight, slowly rotate your arms in a circular motion, bringing the dumbbells in front of your body and then overhead.
  4. Step 4: Continue the circular motion, bringing the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
  5. Step 5: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the dumbbell standing around world by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Dumbbell Standing Around World alternatives

More exercises that train the shoulders as their main target:

See the best shoulder exercises, ranked →