Sledgehammer Swing

How to do it

1. Stand facing a tyre laid flat, feet a little wider than shoulder width, holding a sledgehammer with the top hand near the head and the bottom hand at the end of the handle.
2. Raise the hammer up and over one shoulder, sliding the top hand up the handle as it rises.
3. Swing it down onto the tyre, letting the top hand slide down to meet the bottom hand as the hammer drops.
4. Let the hammer bounce and catch it with the arms rather than gripping hard against the rebound.
5. Reset with the hammer back over the same shoulder, or alternate shoulders each swing.
6. Drive the swing from the hips and trunk rotating, with the arms guiding the head of the hammer.

Common mistakes

• Swinging with the arms alone. The power comes from the hips and trunk turning; the arms steer the hammer and would tire in a minute on their own.
• Keeping the top hand fixed. It slides down the handle as the hammer falls, which is what gives the swing its length and its speed.
• Standing too close to the tyre. The hammer should land near the far edge of the tyre; standing over it makes every swing a chop into the floor.
• Doing all the swings from one side. Alternate the leading shoulder, or the trunk is rotated the same way every time.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Abs
• Obliques

Secondary

• Calves
• Forearm Flexors
• Forearm Extensors
• Lats
• Rhomboids
• Middle TrapeziusTraps
• Shoulders