What is a Devil Press

The devil press is a full-body exercise, but it places the greatest demand on the legs, glutes, core, shoulders, chest, and triceps. Because it combines a burpee with a dumbbell snatch, it trains both strength and conditioning in one movement.

What is a devil’s press 

A devil press starts with two dumbbells on the floor. You place your hands on or around the dumbbells, jump or step back into a burpee, lower your chest to the floor, then drive back up and use the momentum of your hips to bring both dumbbells from the floor to overhead in one continuous motion. It is usually described as a compound, multi-joint movement because it involves the legs, hips, core, shoulders, chest, and arms working together.

Why it matters

The Devil Press exercise is popular in CrossFit-style training and functional fitness because it combines muscular endurance, explosive power, and cardiovascular demand in one movement. It’s often used in workouts for conditioning, calorie burn, and whole-body work capacity rather than pure strength alone. Because the movement is demanding and technical, it is generally considered advanced.

How to perform a Devils Press

A clean rep usually looks like this:

1. Stand behind two dumbbells on the floor.
2. Grip the dumbbells and jump or step back into a plank.
3. Lower your chest and thighs to the floor.
4. Jump or step your feet back under your body.
5. Hinge, load the hips, and swing the dumbbells between your legs.
6. Extend the hips powerfully and bring the dumbbells overhead in one fluid motion.

The key technical point is that the dumbbells travel from the floor to overhead smoothly, without turning it into a separate clean, then press, then snatch sequence. Good reps rely on hip extension more than arm pressing, especially once the weights leave the floor.

Muscles Worked in a Devil’s Press

The devil’s press works the quads, glutes, hamstrings, core, chest, shoulders, triceps, upper back, and grip. It combines a burpee with a dumbbell snatch, making it a demanding full-body exercise that builds strength, power, and conditioning at the same time. The legs generate most of the force, the core stabilises the movement, and the upper body finishes the lift overhead.

Main muscles used in a Devil Press

• Quads: Drive the body up from the bottom of the burpee and help with the jump or step back in and out.
• Glutes: Power the hip extension needed to stand and explosively lift the dumbbells overhead.
• Hamstrings: Assist the hip hinge and help generate force during the upward drive.
• Core: Stabilises the torso and keeps the spine controlled during the burpee, hinge, and overhead lift.
• Chest: Helps during the floor-to-push phase of the burpee.
• Shoulders: Control and finish the overhead portion of the movement.
• Triceps: Assist with elbow extension and lockout overhead.
• Upper back: Supports shoulder stability and control during the lift.
• Grip: Works hard to hold and guide the dumbbells through the full range.

How the muscles work together

The devil’s press is not just a shoulder exercise or a leg exercise — it is a coordinated compound movement. The lower body creates the power, the core transfers that force, and the upper body finishes the lift overhead.

• The lower body provides most of the drive.
• The core keeps the body stable and efficient.
• The upper body controls the press and lockout.

Common  Devil Press technique Tips

• Keep the dumbbells slightly wider than shoulder width so your chest can reach the floor between them.
• Use your legs and hips to drive the weights, not just your shoulders and arms.
• Keep your core tight so the lower back does not overextend during the overhead finish.
• Move with control on the way down, then explode on the way up.

Common  Devil Press mistakes

• Starting with the dumbbells too close together, which limits a clean floor contact.
• Turning the movement into a sloppy press instead of a powerful hip-driven lift.
• Losing torso position and letting the ribs flare at the top.
• Using too much load too soon, which breaks the movement pattern and increases fatigue.

Devil Press Variations & Regressions

The main devil press variations are the single-arm devil press, the alternating devil press, and the devil clean and jerk. A few common regressions and programming swaps also show up, like using one dumbbell instead of two, reducing load, or replacing it with burpees plus a hinge-based movement.

Main Devil Press variations

• Classic two-dumbbell devil press: the standard version, combining a burpee with a double dumbbell snatch overhead.
• Single-arm devil press: use one dumbbell and alternate sides each rep; this is often easier to manage and helps address side-to-side differences.
• Alternating devil press: a broader label for switching arms/implement use between reps or using one weight in a more efficient cycling pattern.
• Devil clean and jerk: after the burpee, bring the weights to the shoulders first, then press or jerk them overhead instead of snatching straight up.

Useful Devil Press Regressions

• Reduce the weight or reps to keep form and pace under control.
• Use a step-back burpee instead of jumping back if you want a less explosive option.
• Swap in a similar conditioning move such as burpees plus kettlebell swings, burpees plus cleans, or burpees plus jump variations.

Who are Devil Presses For?

The devil’s press is best for people who already have solid burpee, hip hinge, and overhead stability mechanics. It fits well in conditioning sessions, mixed-modal workouts, and finishers when you want a time-efficient full-body challenge. Beginners can scale it with lighter dumbbells or simplify it before attempting full-speed reps