{"id":3540,"date":"2025-03-11T21:28:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T21:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/proper-technique-for-lateral-raises-video.html"},"modified":"2025-03-11T21:28:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T21:28:46","slug":"proper-technique-for-lateral-raises-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/proper-technique-for-lateral-raises-video.html","title":{"rendered":"Proper Technique for Lateral Raises (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to sculpting strong, defined shoulders, the lateral raise is one of the most underrated exercises out there.<\/p>\n<p>Not only do lateral raises target the most visible muscles covering those joints \u2014 the deltoids \u2014 but they also help fill out your upper back by working several other muscles that support and control shoulder movement, including your traps.<\/p>\n<p>But aesthetics aren\u2019t the only reason to give your delts more attention in your workouts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body, and that comes with a consequence: greater risk of injury,\u201d says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S. \u201cStrengthening the muscles that stabilize and control your shoulders will go a long way toward minimizing that risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here are some tips on how to perform the lateral raise properly, and more reasons why you should make it a regular part of your upper body workout routine.<\/p>\n<h2>Lateral Raises: Step-by-Step Instructions<\/h2>\n<p><iframe title=\"How to Do Lateral Raises With Amoila Cesar | 645\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IVbr0Gvd6aA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair at dumbbells at arms\u2019 length by your sides, palms facing inward.<\/li>\n<li>Maintaining a slight bend in your elbows, raise your arms directly out to your sides until they\u2019re at shoulder level (your palms should be facing downward at the top of the movement).<\/li>\n<li>Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to Make Lateral Raises Easier<\/h2>\n<p>You can make this move easier by using lighter dumbbells.<\/p>\n<p>If you experience discomfort in your shoulders, Thieme suggests doing a more joint-friendly variation of a dumbbell lateral raise, called a scaption: Instead of lifting your arms out to your sides, lift your arms to shoulder level at a 30-degree angle from your body.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe weights should be vertical and your palms should be facing inward (neutral grip) at the top of the movement,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Make Lateral Raises Harder<\/h2>\n<p>Make lateral raises harder by using heavier dumbbells, or lifting more slowly, Thieme suggests.<\/p>\n<p>Slowing the movement down will extend your muscles\u2019 time under tension and ensure you\u2019re not relying on your momentum to complete the move.<\/p>\n<h2>Bonus Tips for Doing Lateral Raises<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cMost people keep their thumbs slightly higher than their pinkies as they lift the weights,\u201d says Thieme. \u201cBut if you rotate your hands so that your pinkies remain slightly higher than your thumbs, you\u2019ll get more lateral deltoid activation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The harder it works, the stronger it will become and the faster your gains will be.<\/p>\n<h2>Variations on the Lateral Raise<\/h2>\n<p>If you want to stray from the classic standing lateral raise, you can switch things up by making a few tweaks.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Seated dumbbell lateral raise<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Try a seated dumbbell lateral raise by performing the move sitting on a bench, which will reduce the amount your core has to work.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sit on a bench or chair, holding a pair of dumbbells at arm\u2019s length by your sides, palms facing inward.<\/li>\n<li>Keeping your arms and back straight, your core braced, and your feet flat on the floor, raise the dumbbells out to your sides until your arms are parallel to the floor.<\/li>\n<li>Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. Front raise<\/h3>\n<p>The front raise (raising your arms in front of you, instead of the side) will place more emphasize on the anterior deltoid.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-146400\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21123026\/shoulder-workouts-600-front-delt-raise.jpg\" alt=\"front delt raise | Shoulder Workouts\" width=\"668\" height=\"412\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stand with you feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your side.<\/li>\n<li>Keeping your arms straight, lift the weights up directly in front of you to shoulder height with your palms facing each other.<\/li>\n<li>Lower back down and repeat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Bent-over lateral raise (reverse fly)<\/h3>\n<p>A bent-over lateral raise (hinge at your hips so your back is parallel to the floor, then lift your arms to the side) will target your posterior deltoid and back muscles more.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/players.brightcove.net\/1634697872\/default_default\/index.html?videoId=6326347208112\" width=\"608\" height=\"342\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.<\/li>\n<li>Hinge at the hips (press the hips back as you lower your chest) until your chest is almost parallel with the ground. Allow the weights to hang straight down at arm\u2019s length, palms facing each other.<\/li>\n<li>Keeping your back flat and your core braced, raise your arms out to your sides until they\u2019re in line with your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.<\/li>\n<li>Return to the starting position, and repeat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. Resistance band lateral raise<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-76640\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BBB_Quiet-Workouts-lateral-raise-inpost.jpg\" alt=\"BBB_Quiet-Workouts-lateral-raise-inpost\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>No gym and no dumbbells? No problem. You can also do this move with resistance bands.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stand in the middle of a band and place each hand in a handle. Brace your core, and keep the band in place with your foot.<\/li>\n<li>Lift the band out to the sides to shoulder level, and hold for a beat before you return to start.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Or, if you have access to a gym, you can do a cable lateral raise.<\/p>\n<h2>The Benefits of Lateral Raises<\/h2>\n<p>Strong shoulders are the base of most upper body movements. They make motions like lifting, pulling, and pushing a lot easier.<\/p>\n<p>Any time you lift something overhead \u2014 whether that\u2019s groceries going up to the top shelf or lifting a toddler \u2014 your shoulders are kicking into high gear.<\/p>\n<p>Exercises like lateral raises will help you perform everyday moves like these with more ease.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, defined shoulders always look great in sleeveless shirts!<\/p>\n<h2>What Muscles Do Lateral Raises Work?<\/h2>\n<p>Lateral raises primarily build and strengthen the lateral (or middle) head of the deltoid. But they\u2019re not an isolation exercise.<\/p>\n<p>Thieme says lateral raises also work the anterior (or front) head of the shoulder, the trapezius, and the\u00a0supraspinatus\u00a0(one of the four muscles in the rotator cuff).<\/p>\n<p>In other words, \u201cmost of the muscles that control shoulder movement,\u201d Thieme explains.<\/p>\n<h3><strong data-redactor-tag=\"strong\">Deltoid<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-144336\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/20125852\/shoulder-heads-deltoid.png\" alt=\"shoulder heads deltoid | shoulder workout for mass\" width=\"600\" height=\"378\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>The deltoid is what gives your shoulders their size and definition.<\/p>\n<p>Each deltoid muscle has three heads: the anterior (front), lateral (middle), and posterior (rear).<\/p>\n<p>The anterior head moves your arm up and to the front; the lateral head lifts your arm to the side (as in the motion of a lateral raise); and the posterior moves your arm behind you.<\/p>\n<h3><strong data-redactor-tag=\"strong\">Rotator cuff<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The four muscles of the rotator cuff are collectively smaller than the deltoid, but they perform the very important task of stabilizing the shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned previously, the shoulder is one of the most mobile and injury prone joints in the body, making strong rotator cuffs valuable assets.<\/p>\n<h3><strong data-redactor-tag=\"strong\">Trapezius<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-108490\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/back-muscles.jpg\" alt=\"Back muscles - back stretches\" width=\"600\" height=\"505\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Often shortened to the \u201ctraps,\u201d these muscles run vertically along either side your upper spine and fan out toward your shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>The upper parts of your traps shrug your shoulders, the middle portions retract your shoulders, and the lower portions pull your shoulders downward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to sculpting strong, defined shoulders, the lateral raise is one of the most underrated exercises out there. Not only do lateral raises target the most visible muscles covering those joints \u2014 the deltoids \u2014 but they also help fill out your upper back by working several other muscles that support and control [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}