History of the One Arm Dumbbell Swing
by Al Myers
Chad Ullom has the Top One Arm Dumbbell Swing ever done in the USAWA with a lift of 143 pounds. This was accomplished at the 2007 IAWA World Championships in New Zealand.
The One Arm (or one-hand as it was originally known as) Dumbbell Swing has been contested in weightlifting competitions as far back as the late 1800’s. In the early days, One Arm Swings were often done with Kettlebells. The USAWA rules only allow the use of dumbbells today.
There were originally two basic styles of One Arm Swings – the Classic French Style and the British Style. The French Style was the technique used first in the late 1800’s to early 1930’s, whereas the British Style became more popular after 1920. The differences between the two styles are significant. The French Style used equally loaded, balanced dumbbells and when swung overhead used a straight arm throughout. The British Style allowed the use of “Backhang” and the bending of the lifting arm.
Backhang is allowed by the USAWA Rules when doing Swings. What is Backhang? Backhang is the unequal loading of a dumbbell where more weight is put on the back end of the dumbbell prior to the lift. The USAWA rules allow backhang up to 10 kilograms or 22 pounds. Several of the old time strongmen would use backhang up to 40 pounds!! Once you master the technique using Backhang, it is possible to lift more in the One Arm Swing than with an equally loaded dumbbell.