Dumbbell Lateral Raise Overview

The dumbbell lateral raise is a shoulder exercise used to strengthen the muscles of the shoulder. It’s a good exercise for building width in your upper body which gives you the “V” shape.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise Instructions

1. Select the desired weight from the rack, then take a few steps back into an open area.
2. Take a deep breath and raise the dumbbells to shoulder height using a neutral grip (palms facing in) while keeping the elbows slightly bent.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position under control.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise Tips

• 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.