Side Lateral Raise

Shoulders

Equipment: Dumbbell

New to this

Your first side lateral raise

What weight should I start with on the side lateral raise?

Go lighter than feels reasonable. A pair of 5 or 10 lb dumbbells is the right starting point for most people, and that is not a typo.

Sets of 12 to 15 work far better here than sets of 5. This is a small muscle working through a long lever, so weight goes up slowly and that's normal.

If you can only do it by swinging, halve the weight. A clean 8 lb raise builds more shoulder than a sloppy 25 lb one.

What usually goes wrong on the side lateral raise?

You swing the weight up with your lower back. Stand still and lift with your shoulders only. If you can't, the weight is too heavy.

You raise your arms above shoulder height. Stop level with your shoulders. Higher brings your traps in and takes the work off the muscle you're trying to train.

Your palms face upward at the top. Keep your thumbs slightly lower than your little fingers, like pouring water out of a jug.

If the light dumbbells are all in use

Cables and bands give you the same movement with more even tension through the range, and there's usually a free cable station when the dumbbell rack is packed.

How to do it

Pick a couple of dumbbells and stand with a straight torso and the dumbbells by your side at arms length with the palms of the hand facing you. This will be your starting position.
While maintaining the torso in a stationary position (no swinging), lift the dumbbells to your side with a slight bend on the elbow and the hands slightly tilted forward as if pouring water in a glass. Continue to go up until you arms are parallel to the floor. Exhale as you execute this movement and pause for a second at the top.
Lower the dumbbells back down slowly to the starting position as you inhale.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.