How To: Dumbbell Lateral Raises

Want more shapely shoulders?

Then you should focus on developing the medial delts, which can be done with lateral raises, an exercise that has countless variations.

Another great movement pattern for the lateral delts is the upright row, which is traditionally performed with a barbell and just so happens to target the traps and rhomboids as well. However, as good of an exercise as the upright row is in building mass in the shoulders and upper back, it’s infamous for causing joint and soft tissue problems due to the barbell locking the wrists and shoulder blades into a fixed position that stresses them. Rather than abstaining from the exercise altogether or soldiering on with it because fucked up wrists and rotator cuffs are a worthy sacrifice for a banging body, you can simply perform the dumbbell variation.

Because each arm has to hold the dumbbell individually, dumbbell upright rows allow for greater flexibility with your positioning, which not only makes it easier on the wrists as the exercise is performed but also allows for the shoulders to move with more freedom, which reduces the risk of shoulder impingement, a condition where the rotator cuff tendons become pinched between the humerus and the scapula. Further, with each arm working independent of the other, the use of dumbbells enables you to correct muscle imbalances on account of one side of the body not having the ability to take over like can be done with a barbell.

INSTRUCTIONS

1). Stand tall with your feet together and a soft bend in your knees with a pair of dumbbells close together in front of your body and your palms in the direction of your legs.¹Here, your arms should be fully extended, though there should also be a soft bend in your elbows.

2). Hinge over at the waist slightly.

3). Brace your core and squeeze your glutes as you breathe out and slowly pull the dumbbells up toward chest level while keeping the dumbbells close to your body.

4). Pull until your elbows are almost parallel to your shoulders.²You want to stop the movement of the elbows a smidgen below shoulder height to reduce internal rotation, which can cause shoulder issues. Terminating movement at that point also keeps tension on the medial delts rather than shifting it directly to the traps.³While performing the pull sequence, make sure to allow your hands to separate, or move away from each other, so the ends of the dumbbells aren’t in contact by the time you reach the top of the movement.

5). Pause for 1-2 seconds.

6). Breathe in and reverse the movement by slowly lowering the dumbbells until your arms are fully extended in front of your body and the dumbbells are once again touching each other.

7). Pause for 1-2 seconds then begin the next rep.

For a workout routine that possibly includes dumbbell upright rows, as well as other exercises geared specifically to your goals, training experience, injury history, and available equipment, then find out more HERE

Glossary: arms, barbell, chest, dumbbell, exercise, exercise equipment, glutes, goal, routine, traps

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Monster Longe

Monster Longe is a personal trainer in San Diego. He has been lifting weights for +25 years and training clients in the gym and online for about half of that time. When not working with clients or making content that's easy to read, understand, and apply to everyday life, he enjoys long walks and leaving buildings crushed and entire city blocks decimated in his wake.

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