Dumbbell Lying Lateral Raise
Lateral raises (also called side raises) are mainly performed to place more emphasis on the middle head of the deltoid (shoulder muscle).
In addition to the large shoulder muscle itself, various muscles around the shoulder joint are recruited to stabilize it. Smaller stabilizing muscles such as the four muscles of the rotator cuff, 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 constant. 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 a flat bench with dumbbells as resistance.
Execution of lying Dumbbell lateral raise
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1
Lie on your side on a flat bench with a single dumbbell.
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2
Hold the arm with the dumbbell slightly bent beside or on top of your body.
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3
Raise the arm 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 the arm points straight upward.
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5
Hold here for 1–2 counts.
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6
Lower the arm in a controlled manner over 2–3 counts until you feel that there is no more resistance (so do not bring it all the way back against the body).
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7
Repeat.
Lying Dumbbell lateral raise
Muscles involved:
Shoulder joint:
Chest:
Arms
Abdomen:
Lower back and spine:
Lying Dumbbell 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, (scarce) EMG measurements show that (also) during lateral raises, the anterior head does most of the work (while the posterior head works almost as hard as the middle head). The difference between the involvement of the different heads is, however, considerably smaller than, for example, during the shoulder press.
Why use a bench?
Performing the exercise on a bench makes it considerably heavier for the shoulder muscles in the first part of the exercise. Because you are lying flat, 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 continued quite as far upward. Going too high means that the weight comes to rest on the upper arm and the tension in the muscles is lost.
The bench also prevents any potential cheating by moving your upper body forward and backward to create momentum.
Arms bent or straight
The more extended 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 with a slightly heavier weight and bent arms. Normally, the principle is that you want to make it heavier through proper execution, which would mean extending the arms as much as possible.
However, the more you extend 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 focus fully on the upper arms.
Keep the wrist at elbow height
By internally or externally rotating the shoulder, you reduce 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 the wrist is (considerably) lower than the elbow, your shoulder is internally rotated and the posterior head works harder.
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