The 13 Best Dumbbell Hinge Exercises For You’re Workout Programme

Dumbbell hinge exercises are a group of very effective movements that can both strengthen and increase the muscle mass of the posterior chain. They are often used as accessory work to the main barbell lifts, but if you have access to heavy dumbbells you will be able to do strength work with them Try out some of these 8 challenging movements in your next workout.

2 min read
Sean Klein
Written by
Sean Klein
Published on
04/07/22
Last updated
19/09/23
In This Resource
  • Benefits of Dumbbell Hinge Exercises
  • Hamstring Strength and Hypertrophy
  • Lower Back Strength
  • Spinal Flexion
  • Low + High Technique Variations

Benefits of Dumbbell Hinge Exercises

Hamstring Strength and Hypertrophy

Dumbbells are one of the best ways to ensure you’re growing and strengthening your hamstrings. The hamstrings are the prime mover in all dumbbell hinge variations, with the muscles of the lower back playing a more support role.

More advanced trainees may find using dumbbells for strength training challenging as the limiting factor will be grip strength, even if you are using straps it will be challenging to set up correctly. However for more intermediate trainees and beginners, gaining strength through the dumbbell can be much easier than through the barbell, especially because the barbell can be too heavy to use in the first place.

Dumbbells are on of the most effective tools for hypertrophy for people of all abilities and dumbbell hinge variations are no different. Unlike the barbell the dumbbell creates a lot less general fatigue as it is easier to isolate specific muscle groups with dumbbells.

Lower Back Strength

Hinging with dumbbells will do wonders for your lower back, as the erector spinea muscles that run next to your spine will have to learn to take the load whilst the hinge is being performed. Therefore hinging regularly with dumbbells will enable you to grow a strong and stable lower back.

Spinal Flexion

Although there is an important distinction between hinging at the hips and flexing at the spine, both are key parts of building a strong and stable lower back. Dumbbells are extremely effective when performing spinal flexion exercises, barbells and kettlebells are not as effective tools when it comes to spinal flexion, so make sure your not missing out on these variations.

Low + High Technique Variations

Within this exercise list we have all variety of technical challenge, from the perfect exercise for beginners to learn to hinge, the Wide Stance Crush Grip DB Straight Leg Deadlift, to the most technically challenging even for an advanced trainee, the Rear Foot Elevated DB Straight Leg Deadlift. These two exercises represent how effective the dumbbell can be for both beginner and advanced trainees.

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This resource was written by Sean Klein. Sean Richard Klein has thousands of hours of coaching experience and a BSc in Sports Science with Management from Loughborough University. He owns a gym in Bayonne France, CrossFit Essor, which runs group classes and a Personal training studio.

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