If you’ve ever heard someone say the devil press is one of the hardest full-body workouts, they were right about it. I put that to the test by doing 50 devil presses each day for the whole week, and what I got was a combination of soreness, gaining strength, and a heavy respect for this burdening yet powerful movement.
What is the Devil Press?
Before we get into the trial, I will break down the basics of the exercise before we can see why it is such a deadly exercise for tone and strength – so it is a good thing as well as a bad thing. The devil press is an exercise that targets every major muscle in the body and it is realized by the chest-to-floor burpee and double dumbbell snatch. These are the pectorals, the lats, the shoulders, the glutes, the legs, and especially the core.
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You first do a burpee over two dumbbells, jump back to your feet, and continue driving the two weights over. As a result, you get a move that incinerates fat and at the same time provides muscles with quality building up which is ideal for any HIIT training session.
Why I Chose to Do 50 Devil Presses Daily
I take up so many challenges in physical or health matters but this one was really strange. The devil press is not an ordinary strength activity – it is a bomb of energy the one who tests its might while running your heart rate through the roof until the moment you ended up exhausted. I just wanted to see the effects on the body, their quantity, and the rate of recovery by practicing daily 50 reps and measuring at that time…
I did the reps with the EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) system i.e. I was doing 8-10 reps of devil press every minute until I hit the mark of 50 to achieve that. Thereby, I was on time and didn’t lose motivation because of the 10 sec breaks.
The First Few Days: Full-Body Soreness
The third day made me feel as if I had been worked on every inch of my body really good (and really bad) way. Thanks to the devil press, every muscle group is involved in the exercise, and doing it every day leaves no chance for your muscles to recover completely. The most painful were the lower back, the glutes, and the shoulders. Halfway through the challenge, I decided to reduce the weight of the dumbbells, so my focus was clear about the correctness of the movement and not getting injured.
What I Learned About Form and Fatigue
During the week, I saw how the form can be undermined when one is tired. The temptation to go fast with reps and the use of momentum instead of strength can both result in poor hip alignment and back strain. I went with emphasizing the proper isolation of the core and at the same time using my explosive hip drive as in a kettle-bell swing.
At the same time, this helped me realize the importance of being in tune with your body. When reaching the 35th rep in each session I was unable to continue further, that is, I learned to relax, then refocus and finally make deliberate movements — not driven by pride.
The Hidden Benefits I Didn’t Expect
Aside from having sore muscles, I stumbled on some brilliant little victories: more core activation, an improved posture, and yet more synchrony with others during, let’s say, power cleans. And of course, the feeling of power is the first thing that cannot be left out of this limit-pushing process. The very progress of being capable of a rough, sweat-drenched movement that allows the release of endorphins is what it is about.
Short high-intensity exercises are also beneficial for the heart and overall health, which has been proved by some research. A 12-week study, for instance, unveiled that taking in, say, 10 minutes of HIIT regimen every day is as effective as engaging in more prolonged forms of trek when it comes to the improvement of cardio-metabolic health.
Recovery Is Just Not An Option
What if I do devil presses every day? No, if you don’t recover properly. Muscles develop and recover when you are sleeping or resting. I not only did more stretching but also added yoga as a cool down and made sure I had active recovering periods to avoid over-training. If one is to go through with the challenge, just make sure to plan a variety of muscle groups to be involved or perhaps take rest days.
The Winning Move — With Reservations
Reliving the experience of a sore, quite humble, and somewhat dependent person with only 350 reps in a week. The devil press is an absolutely reasonable moniker for it — it’s volatile and aggressive, still very efficient as well. If the quest is for just a challenging exercise that will ensure strength, test your stamina, and provide even instant results, this is the one. However, be wise in your training, perfect your technique and give rest its rightful place. If you want to improve flexibility in the beginning, you can try these easy stretches to warm up your muscles and relax your spine first.
