Sometimes people get bored of just running.  I know I do.  When that happens, I look for solutions.  One solution is to quit running altogether.  No.  One solution is to hold a weight while you run.  Ok, like a farmer’s carry?  Yes, but there are many ways to hold a weight while running.

You could hold a heavy bag on your shoulder, like a sandbag, or a bag of dog-food.  You could hold a kettlebell or a dumbbell down at your side.  You could hold one in the racked position while you run.  You could hold two weights or just one.  There are so many options, and they all work out different muscles.  I have found a new place to hold the dumbbell.

He's got it raised. Now he just needs to start running.

Call me brilliant.  Call me a free-thinker.  Call me someone who is unconstrained by the expectations of society.  The totally new way I have found to hold the dumbbell is overhead, using only one arm.  It provides a total asymmetrical workout.  From your very toes, through your twisted legs, through your bent core, past your flailing free-hand, through your crooked chest and shoulders, all the way up your lifted arm, to the dumbbell, you are macro- and micro-straining and working your muscles.

No, don’t use two hands to hold it.  The asymmetric twist is what makes this exercise so beneficial.  No, don’t bend your arm at the elbow; hold the weight straight up overhead.  No, don’t bend your lumbar back too much; that’s bad for your back; just lean over to the side a bit more.

Good, now are you ready to try it?  Are you ready for it to transform your body into one lean hunk of rippling muscle mass?  Good.  Grab a dumbbell; something light, like 15lbs for women or 30 lbs for men.  Raise it up overhead.  Run four hundred meters.  Switch arms.  Run four hundred more meters.  Good.  Try it with lighter and heavier weights.  If this doesn’t make your entire body ripped, then my name isn’t Jack Higgins.