How to Do Dumbbell Lateral Raises

What is a lateral raise?

The lateral raise is a classic shoulder exercise that’s very simple to perform. You stand with your arms at your sides and raise them laterally, or out to your sides, until they’re level with your shoulders. Doing this exercise with your hands free, you probably won’t feel anything. But, lift some dumbbells and you’ll feel your shoulder muscles light up.

How to do a dumbbell lateral raise

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent for stability. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging down at your sides, palms facing your body.

Keeping your elbows slightly bent and your core tight, exhale and slowly lift the dumbbells out to your sides, elbows first, until your arms are parallel to the ground and no higher than shoulder height. Keep your shoulder blades back and down, away from your ears, throughout the movement.

Inhale and control the dumbbells down to the starting position. This is one repetition. Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps each.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 5 Modifications and Variations

1. Alternating Lateral Raise

A great modification is the alternating lateral raise. This turns the move into a unilateral exercise, increasing the demand on your core because it stops you from leaning to one side. It also helps you focus on the position of one arm at a time.

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with your palms facing you.
• Keeping your elbows slightly bent and your core engaged, exhale and slowly lift the right dumbbell to the side, elbow first, until your elbow is about shoulder height.
• Inhale and lower the weight with control to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side. This is one repetition.

2. Thumbs Up Grip

• Instead of using the standard grip with your palms facing down, try the thumbs up grip. This can help work different muscles in the shoulder complex, specifically, more of the anterior deltoid.
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with your palms facing forward.
• Keeping your elbows slightly bent and your core tight, exhale and slowly lift the dumbbells to the side, stopping before they reach shoulder height.
• Inhale, control the weight, and lower the weight back to the starting position. This is one repetition.

3. Seated Lateral Raise

Seated lateral raises help eliminate inertia and isolate the shoulder muscles more effectively.

• Sit on a bench or chair with your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with your palms facing forward.
• Keeping your elbows slightly bent and your core tight, exhale and slowly lift the dumbbells to the side, elbow first, until they reach shoulder height.
• Inhale and control the weights to lower to the starting position. This is one repetition.

4. Curled-Arm Lateral Raise

Research shows that this move works the triceps, anterior deltoids, and upper trapezius in addition to the middle deltoids. Because the weights are closer to the body, it is also easier for beginners to build strength.

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, place your arms at your sides with your elbows bent at 90 degrees and your forearms parallel to the ground with your palms facing each other.
• Keeping your elbows bent at 90 degrees and your core tight, exhale and slowly lift your arms up and out to your sides, stopping just before your elbows reach shoulder height. At the top of the movement, your palms should be facing the ground.
• Inhale and lower the weights to the starting position with control. This is one repetition.

5. Band Lateral Raise

Don’t have dumbbells? Try doing lateral raises with a long band, which studies show is just as effective as dumbbells in activating the mid deltoids. If your band isn’t long enough to perform this move as described below, stand at one end of the band and perform lateral raises with one arm at a time.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and loop a long band under the center of each foot. Grab one end of the band in each hand.
• Keeping your knees slightly bent, your core tight, and your chest lifted, exhale and lift the ends of the band out to your sides.
• Pause when your elbows reach shoulder height or when you can no longer stretch the band.
• Inhale and lower your hands to your sides with control. This is one repetition.

Mistakes to Avoid for dumbbell lateral raise

1. Lifting Too Heavy

Make sure not to choose a weight that is too heavy for this move. Doing so will compromise your form. Make sure you can do 8 to 10 good reps with the weight you choose.

2. Shrug

Be mindful to keep your shoulders down and relaxed throughout the movement.

3. Lead with your hands

If your hands are higher than your elbows, you are not doing this exercise correctly. This mistake removes tension from your deltoids and reduces your range of motion. Instead, lead with your elbows.

4. Use Momentum

Don’t swing the weight. This will allow your body to cheat on the movement and your deltoids aren’t actually doing the work of lifting the weight. Avoid bending forward or using your hips during this move.

5. Thumbs down

Doing this puts your rotator cuff at risk, causing potential injury. Make sure your thumbs are slightly up at the top of the movement so that your shoulders are externally rotated.

Tips for dumbbell lateral raise

• Stand up straight and try not to bend at the waist.
• Brace your core and lift your arms to shoulder height with a slight bend at your elbows.
• Lead with your elbows as you lift—not your hands—and control the movement during both the eccentric (lowering) and concentric (lifting) portions of the exercise.
• Try the 3-second countdown and 3-second countdown.

What muscles are worked in the lateral raise?

First, a little about shoulder anatomy: Your shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint with several muscles surrounding it. However, when most people talk about their shoulder muscles, they’re referring to the deltoid, a triangle-shaped muscle that covers the uppermost part of the outside of your arm like a hat. It’s divided into three parts: anterior (front), lateral (middle or inside), and posterior (back).

The lateral raise primarily works your lateral deltoid muscles. It’s an isolation exercise, which means it focuses only on your lateral deltoid muscles and is optimized to increase strength in that area.

A few other muscles get involved, too. You’ll also use your anterior deltoid and upper trapezius (the back muscles that run from your neck to your shoulders) a little bit. The lateral raise also minimally uses the posterior deltoid, supraspinatus (rotator cuff muscle), and serratus anterior (muscles above the ribs and below the armpit).

Benefits of Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Strengthening your medial deltoid muscles can help build stronger, more functional shoulders overall. The lateral raise helps increase shoulder mobility, range of motion, stability, and strength. This allows you to move more effectively in your daily life and can also reduce the risk of shoulder injuries. It is important to keep your joints healthy so you can reduce the risk of injuries and mobility problems in areas like the shoulder in the years to come.

Strengthening your shoulders can also help improve performance in sports or other exercises involving the upper body. The benefit of strengthening these muscles is of course the ability to lift heavier weights, but also to stabilize the joints. This exercise is also a great way to rehabilitate a previous shoulder injury.

If you are looking for dramatic results, the lateral raise can help you achieve that as well. The main benefit of the lateral raise is that it effectively works the muscles on the outside of the shoulder. Doing this exercise can help you build defined shoulders and rounded upper arms.

How to Incorporate Dumbbell Lateral Raises into Your Routine

You can incorporate lateral raises into any upper body workout. Perform lateral raises two to three times a week, resting at least one day between sessions to allow your muscles to recover and adapt.

If you are a beginner or just starting out, start with light weights. As you get stronger and more comfortable with the exercise, gradually increase the weight while maintaining proper form.

If you want to work your entire shoulders, try a circuit or triple set of front raises, lateral raises, and reverse flyes to work all three parts of your deltoids.