Celebrity trainer Simone De La Rue has shared a single dumbbell exercise that she says works strength, balance and coordination at once. De La Rue, 51, is a former professional dancer and the founder of Body By Simone, and her client list has included Taylor Swift, Jennifer Garner and Gigi Hadid.
The movement is a compound sequence built around three parts. It begins in a split stance with one leg in front of the other, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. From there, both knees bend into a split squat, with the torso kept upright and the front knee tracking in line with the toes. The lifter pushes through the front foot to stand, presses both dumbbells overhead while bracing the core, lowers the weights back toward the shoulders, and then hops to one side with control before hopping back to the middle. The sequence is then repeated on the other side.
According to the breakdown, the split squat works the glutes, quads and hamstrings, while the overhead press engages the shoulders and arms. The lateral hop brings in the stabilizing muscles around the hips, including the gluteus medius, which help control the pelvis and keep the lower body stable during walking, running or standing on one leg. The core stays active throughout to keep the torso steady as the weight shifts and the arms move overhead. Because the exercise also demands balance and coordination, it is presented as a way to train qualities that tend to decline with age.
The recommendation is to break the move into its individual parts and practice each one before linking them, starting with light dumbbells until the transition from split squat to press to lateral hop can be done smoothly without losing balance or letting the knees collapse inward. The suggested target is two sets of six to eight repetitions on each side.
The exercise is positioned as an accessory movement rather than a replacement for heavier compound lifts such as squats and deadlifts, which allow for greater loading and remain important for building and maintaining strength with age. Its appeal lies in combining several training goals — strength, balance, coordination and mobility — in one sequence that does not require particularly heavy dumbbells to be challenging.
Sources: Tom's Guide.