With a pair of dumbbells at arms’ length, take a short step forward and keep the front leg straight or only very slightly bent, and bend at the hip and back to lower the dumbbells to the floor at either side of the front foot. After lightly touching the dumbbells to the floor, stand again and step with the other foot to repeat.
 
Notes
Introduce this exercise with very light weights and conservative volume until you know how you tolerate it.
 
Purpose
The death march introduces back flexion and extension along with hip flexion and extension, which is a rarely trained motion but useful for back health and resilience. The staggered stance adds some work on hip mobility and stability and can help with symmetry.
 
Programming
Sets of 10-20 steps per leg are common for 3-4 sets. The death march should be done at the end of a training session when the back will no longer need to stabilize the spine under any load.
 
Variations
Different implements can be used such as kettlebells or a sandbag. The motion can be slowed down considerably as well.