Dumbbell Raise

The upright row is an exercise targeting all heads of the deltoid (shoulder muscle). Although it is primarily performed for the rear head of the shoulder, studies show that the middle and front heads work about equally hard as well. Still, it is not surprising that this exercise is aimed at the rear head. Most other shoulder exercises activate the front and middle heads to a much greater extent than the rear head.

Naturally, other muscles assist as well. The (upper part of the) trapezius and the levator scapulae help raise the shoulder blades. The biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis help flex the arm.

In this variation, the wide dumbbell upright row or dumbbell raise, the exercise is performed with dumbbells brought upward at shoulder width.

Dumbbell raise execution

Stand with the dumbbells in your hands. Keep your arms alongside your body and your thumbs facing inward (palms facing backward, a pronated grip).

Raise your elbows outward until you cannot go any further. Your hands remain at the sides of your body and directly below your elbows (not turned inward).

Lower your hands back to the starting position under control.

Dumbbell raise technique

You can partly determine the involvement of the trapezius (and levator scapulae) yourself. Their function is to raise the shoulder blades, as when you shrug your shoulders because “you have no idea.” The shoulder muscle itself is only involved in raising the upper arm.

Therefore, focus on keeping your shoulders down if you want to isolate the shoulder muscle as much as possible.

Hand position:

The upright row (with the barbell in front of the body) has often been associated with shoulder injuries. However, this risk can be reduced or even prevented.

Many shoulder injuries are caused by impingement of the shoulder joint. The likelihood is high when the upper arms are raised toward or above shoulder level and rotated inward.

We often see this when using a barbell held with a grip that is too narrow. In this position, the shoulders are not only rotated inward, but it is also possible to raise the elbows above shoulder level. A high risk, therefore.

By gripping the barbell at shoulder width or, better yet, wider, the shoulders are rotated outward and it is impossible to raise the elbows too high.

A nice additional benefit is that the muscles themselves (shoulders and trapezius) appear to show greater activity with the wider grip. More effective and safer. You can find more information here.

The same principle applies when performing the exercise with dumbbells. Therefore, keep your hands beside, not in front of, your body at the beginning of the exercise. They thus start at shoulder level and remain below the elbows at all times.

At a glance