Lateral Raise: Build Your Side Delts
- Select the desired weight from the rack, then take a few steps back into an open area.
- Take a deep breath and raise the dumbbells to shoulder height using a neutral grip (palms facing in) while keeping the elbows slightly bent.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position under control.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
- Focus on keeping the reps slow and controlled. Because this is an isolation exercise, the focus should be on correctly working the muscle - not moving as much weight as possible.
- Don't bring your arms up too high - up to shoulder height is far enough.
- If you encounter pain in the shoulder while performing the movement, consider implementing one of the following tweaks:
- Tilt your pinkies slightly higher than your thumbs. Imagine you’re pouring out a cup of water.
- Turn your palms forward so that your thumbs are pointing away from your body. This will put the shoulder in a more externally rotated position and potentially open up the shoulder joint to allow for a bit more movement.
