Circus Bell

A shoulders exercise targeting the shoulders.

Circus Bell demonstration
Circus Bell — demonstration

Body part

Shoulders

Equipment

Other

Target muscles

Shoulders

Secondary muscles

Forearms, Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back, Traps, Triceps

How to do Circus Bell

  1. The circus bell is an oversized dumbbell with a thick handle. Begin with the dumbbell between your feet, and grip the handle with both hands.

  2. Clean the dumbbell by extending through your hips and knees to deliver the implement to the desired shoulder, letting go with the extra hand.

  3. Ensure that you get one of the dumbbell heads behind the shoulder to keep from being thrown off balance. To raise it overhead, dip by flexing the knees, and the drive upwards as you extend the dumbbell overhead, leaning slightly away from it as you do so.

  4. Carefully guide the bell back to the floor, keeping it under control as much as possible. It is best to perform this event on a thick rubber mat to prevent damage to the floor.

Muscles worked

Primary (target)

Shoulders

Secondary

ForearmsGlutesHamstringsLower BackTrapsTriceps

Related exercises

All shoulders exercises →

Track Circus Bell in NutriMind

Log your sets and the app does the rest — automatic PR detection, progression charts for every lift, and progressive overload that adjusts your next workout. Paired with AI nutrition coaching so your training and your plate pull in the same direction.

Planning your next heavy session? Estimate your max with the One Rep Max Calculator and build up to it with the Warm-up Calculator. More free tools →