If your shoulder day has become lacklustre, it might be time to borrow a move from the golden age of strength training. Long before cable machines and drop sets, strongmen were experimenting with unusual lifts designed to challenge muscles from every angle. One exercise was the 'barbell turn', a largely forgotten move since the 1940s.

While you're highly unlikely to spot the exercise in a commercial gym today, it delivers a surprising challenge for the shoulders, chest and arms using nothing more than a light barbell and a healthy dose of coordination.

According to sports historian and lecturer in social sciences at Ulster University, Conor Heffernan, the move deserves more attention than it receives today. 'Popularised by turn of the century strongman Siegmund Klein, the barbell turn is unlikely to be an exercise you see every day on the gym floor,' says Heffernan. 'Difficult in the extreme, the exercise is an excellent finisher for chest and shoulder days as it hits the triceps, pectorals and deltoids all in one.'

'Additionally, given the mechanics of the exercise, it is nigh on impossible to use heavy weights,' says Heffernan. 'This makes it a deceptively safe but nevertheless effective move.'

demonstration of weightlifting techniques by a muscular man

How To Do the Barbell Turn

  1. Hold a light barbell at chest height with your feet firmly planted on the floor.
  2. Press the barbell straight out in front of you, then return it to your chest.
  3. Rotate the bar slightly so it sits at a small angle, then press it forwards again.
  4. Return the bar to your chest and increase the angle slightly before the next rep.
  5. Continue pressing and rotating the bar until it reaches a vertical position, usually after 5 presses.
  6. Inhale as you press the bar forwards and exhale as you bring it back to your chest.

Perform 2-3 sets of 5 complete rotations per side, resting 60-90 seconds between sets. Use a light barbell.

While the barbell turn never reached the heights of the bench press or military press, that doesn't mean it should be left in the history books. If you're looking to add variety to your upper body training, or simply want a shoulder finisher that challenges your coordination as much as your muscles, this forgotten strongman favourite is worth revisiting.