Barbell Front Raise
Front raises are primarily performed to place more emphasis on the anterior head of the deltoid (shoulder muscle).
The pectoralis major assists in lifting the arms. This especially applies to the fibers that run from the clavicle to the upper arm, also known as the “upper chest.”
In addition to the deltoid itself, various muscles around the shoulder joint are engaged to stabilize it. These include smaller stabilizing muscles such as the four rotator cuff muscles, as well as the larger trapezius, which elevates the shoulder joint.
In the arms, the biceps and triceps have a stabilizing role in keeping the position of the forearm relative to the upper arm constant. The forearm muscles then stabilize the wrist joint to control the dumbbells or barbell.
Core muscles such as the abdominal muscles and the muscles along the spine keep the torso upright. Depending on the execution (standing, seated with or without back support), their involvement may be greater or smaller.
In this variation, front raises are performed with a barbell.
Barbell front raise execution
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1
Hold the barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart or slightly wider.
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2
Keep your arms slightly bent.
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3
Raise your arms forward and upward. Maintain the same slight bend in your arms. Keep the rest of your body as still as possible.
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4
Finish at the height just before your shoulders feel pinched. Slightly above shoulder height should be a safe height for most people.
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5
Hold the weight here for 1–2 seconds.
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6
Lower your arms in a controlled manner over 2–3 seconds back to the starting position.
Barbell front raise
Muscles involved:
Shoulder joint:
Chest:
Arms
Abdomen:
Lower back and spine:
Barbell front raise technique
“For the front of the shoulder”
The deltoid pulls on the upper arms from three directions. Front raises are usually performed by people who want to train the front of the shoulder with them. Two important points should be noted here:
The barbell shoulder press (and even the barbell behind-neck press) would activate the anterior head of the shoulder more. According to reasonably scarce EMG data, bench pressing itself appears to place more demand on the anterior head of the shoulders than front raises.
*This assumes that the hands are kept in a neutral position throughout the exercise, as is possible with dumbbells. The palms then remain facing inward. Performing the exercise with the pronated grip (palms facing backward, thumbs pointing inward) shifts the emphasis more toward the lateral head of the deltoid.
Arms bent or straight
The straighter the arms are, the farther the hands are from you, and the heavier the weight they hold becomes. Front raises with straight arms can therefore be heavier than using a slightly heavier weight with bent arms. Normally, the goal is to make the exercise harder through proper execution, which would mean straightening the arms as much as possible.
However, the more you straighten your arms, the greater the stress on the elbow joint and the muscles that stabilize it. Bending the arms slightly more can make it easier to focus fully on the upper arms.
Raise, don’t swing
Because you move the weight mainly forward during the first part of the exercise, the muscles do not yet have to work as hard. Gravity starts pulling harder as the weight rises. The endpoint of the exercise is therefore the hardest part. Unfortunately, this point is often neglected.
A common mistake with front raises (and lateral raises as well) is performing the exercise ballistically. The arms are thrown forward with a swinging motion, and momentum then helps bring the arm farther upward. At the top, the weight is barely held and is simply allowed to fall back down. Sometimes the legs are even used to generate momentum.
This is not a way to make the shoulder muscles work. It is a way to lift a weight with as little effort as possible. The shoulders then only have to work at the top of the movement, while the way down (the eccentric phase) is almost completely neglected.
Instead, raise the weight in a controlled manner. You should be able to hold the weight still for a few seconds at any point in the movement; if not, you are training with too much weight. At the top of the movement, actually hold the weight for 1 to 2 seconds. Then lower it in a controlled manner over about 3 seconds. Keep the rest of your body as still as possible to prevent “cheating.”
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