Dumbbell Incline Lateral Raise
Lateral raises (also called side raises) are primarily performed to place more emphasis on the middle head of the deltoid (shoulder muscle).
Besides the main shoulder muscle itself, various muscles around the shoulder joint are engaged to stabilize it. Smaller stabilizing muscles such as the four rotator cuff muscles, as well as the larger trapezius, which pulls the shoulder joint upward.
In the arms, the biceps and triceps play a stabilizing role in keeping the position of the forearm relative to the upper arm consistent. The muscles in the forearms themselves then stabilize the wrist joint to control the dumbbells or barbell.
In this variation, lateral raises are performed on an incline bench with dumbbells as resistance.
Dumbbell incline lateral raise execution
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1
Lie on your side on an incline bench with a single dumbbell.
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2
Hold the arm with the dumbbell slightly bent beside or on your body.
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3
Move the arm outward and upward. Maintain the same slight bend in the arm. Keep the rest of your body as still as possible.
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4
Finish at the height just before you feel your shoulders become pinched. Keep your elbows slightly below shoulder height.
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5
Hold here for 1–2 counts.
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6
Lower the arm under control over 2–3 counts until you feel that there is no more resistance (so do not bring it all the way back against your body).
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7
Repeat.
Dumbbell incline lateral raise
Muscles involved:
Shoulder joint:
Chest:
Arms
Abdomen:
Lower back and spine:
Dumbbell incline lateral raise technique
"For the side of the shoulder"
The deltoid shoulder muscle pulls on the upper arms from three directions. Lateral raises are usually performed by people who want to train “the middle” of the shoulder with them. However, (limited) EMG measurements show that the anterior head also does the most work during lateral raises (while the posterior head works almost as hard as the middle head). The difference between the involvement of the different heads is considerably smaller than, for example, during the shoulder press.
Why use an incline bench?
Performing the exercise on an incline bench makes it considerably harder for the shoulder muscles. Because you are lying at an incline, gravity immediately provides a lot of resistance. When you are standing, this only happens halfway through the movement. This does mean that the movement should not be carried quite as far upward. Going too high means that the weight comes to rest on the upper arm and tension is lost in the muscles.
The incline bench also prevents any cheating by moving your upper body forward and backward to create momentum.
Arms bent or straight
The more straight your arms are, the farther your hands are from you, and the heavier the weight they hold becomes. Lateral raises with straight arms can therefore be heavier than lateral raises with slightly bent arms using a somewhat heavier weight. Normally, the goal is to make it heavier 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 have to stabilize it. Bending the arms slightly more can make it easier to concentrate fully on the upper arms.
Keep your wrist at elbow height
Rotating the shoulder inward or outward reduces the involvement of the middle head of the deltoid. If your wrist is higher than your elbow (at the highest point of the exercise), your shoulder is externally rotated and the anterior head works harder. If your wrist is (considerably) lower than your elbow, your shoulder is internally rotated and the posterior head works harder.
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