How to Devil's Press

Why this movement is worth getting right

The devil's press is a burpee that finishes as a double dumbbell snatch. You take the bells to the floor, your chest meets the floor, then you snap the hips and take both dumbbells overhead in one motion. It is a conditioning piece that still has a standard: chest down, bells locked out overhead.

It carries into burpees, dumbbell snatches, and any workout that mixes a get-up with an overhead finish. If you press the bells with the arms, you will be done in five reps. If you use the hips, you can breathe and keep going.

Before you start

You should be able to burpee, hinge, and snatch or swing a dumbbell overhead on each side. Doing both bells at once asks for enough overhead range to lock out two bells without cranking the neck, and enough midline to keep the back from rounding on the way up.

If a single-arm dumbbell snatch at that load is ugly, do not double it. If burpees bother the wrists or shoulders, the devil's press will bother them more. Reduce the load. The movement is hard enough at a moderate weight.

The setup

Two dumbbells on the floor, about shoulder-width. Stand over them. You will grip them as you go down, or pick them up and then go down, depending on how you cycle. Palms in (neutral) is usual. The bells stay in the hands for the whole rep once you have them.

Give yourself space: overhead lockout plus a burpee. No rig in the path of the bells. Brace before you hit the floor so the get-up is not a limp deadlift.

Executing the movement

Burpee

Hands on the bells, jump or step the feet back, chest to the floor. The bells can stay on the floor with your hands on them. You should feel a real chest contact, not a hover. Then push up enough to get the feet back towards the hands.

Hinge and scoop

Feet land outside or behind the bells in a stance you can hinge from. Hips go back, then you hike the bells between the legs as you would for a swing. This is not a squat clean. You should feel the hamstrings load.

Hip snap and punch

Extend the hips hard. The bells travel up the body. Punch them overhead to a lockout: arms straight, biceps by the ears, bells stable. You should feel the hips do the launch and the arms finish a sit-through, not a slow press from the shoulders.

Reset

Lower the bells under control to the next burpee, or ride them down as you go to the floor. Do not throw them. The next rep starts when you still have the grip.

What usually goes wrong

Pressing from the shoulders

The hip never snaps, so the arms press two bells from the hang. Drop the load or slow down and hike. Think swing, then punch.

No chest contact

A half burpee so you can save energy. If the standard is chest to floor, hit it. Film it.

Rounded pull

You deadlift the bells with a bent back because the feet are too far back. Get the feet closer, hinge, then snap.

Bells crashing overhead

You throw them and hope the lockout appears. Punch to a position you can hold. If you cannot lock out two bells, the weight is too heavy.

Landing the feet too wide

You cannot hinge, so you squat-press. Land in a stance you would swing from.

Staying safe

The combination of a tired burpee and an overhead snap is hard on the lower back and the shoulders. Stop if the back rounds under load, if a shoulder cannot lock out, or if the bells are drifting behind the head. See a professional if pain persists.

If you fail overhead, guide the bells down in front of you, not onto the floor from behind the neck. Do not drop dumbbells from overhead onto a hard floor if they are not built for that — control them down. Wrist pain on the burpee is a reason to use a push-up on the bells that keeps them still, not a diving catch.

Scaling and progression

Single-arm devil's press (one bell). Burpee plus a dumbbell snatch as two movements. Lighter bells. Burpee to a hang, then a separate press, if the snatch is not there.

When you can hike both bells and lock them out without a grind, that is the movement. In a workout, a lighter pair you can snap is better than a heavy pair you press. Step the feet back on the burpee if the jump is the limiter; keep the hip snap honest.