How To Do A Lateral Raise

A lateral raise is an upper-body move that uses dumbbells to help strengthen your shoulder muscles. Not only do strong shoulders look amazing, but they are extremely important for everyday life—think of how many things you lift up or push overhead!

Here’s how to do lateral raises and the benefits of adding them to your workout routine.

Lateral Raise Instructions

Here are the steps to performing a dumbbell lateral raise:

1. Begin in a standing athletic position, feet a few inches apart and arms alongside body holding dumbbells.
2. Keeping a slight bend in the elbow, lift your arms up to shoulder height. Your thumbs point slightly down; it should look like you are pouring out two jugs of water.  
3. As you lower the weights, think about squeezing an orange under your armpits to engage the medial deltoids and avoid scrunching your neck.  

Tips: Start with lighter weights and maintain a controlled range of motion—avoid swinging the dumbbells by using slow, intentional movement. (Work up to using heavier dumbbells once you’ve mastered the form!) 

Keep your shoulders away from your ears and avoid scrunching your neck; use your trapezius muscles instead of your shoulders. This will help you avoid a pinched nerve or a sore neck. Relax your upper back and keep your shoulder blades pulled down. 

Lateral Raise Benefits

There are many reasons you should incorporate lateral raises into your workouts. Here are just a few:

Strengthens Shoulders

A lateral raise is a great upper-body move! This exercise will strengthen your shoulder muscles, focusing specifically on the medial deltoid, which is the part of the shoulder that can give it that beautiful shape and the freedom to lift your arms overhead for everyday activities. 

Think about something as practical as reaching for something up high in a cabinet or hoisting a heavy box up on top of a shelf. 

Strengthens Core

A lateral raise focuses on your shoulders, but for proper lifting technique, you need to pull your abs in and tighten your overall core in order to stand tall and steady.

Improves Mental Focus

In order to perform a truly good lateral raise, you need to focus on pulling the core in, lifting the arms without raising the shoulders, and keeping your body stable. 

There is a lot to think about for best performance, and this helps you keep your mental focus sharp.

Easy Ways to Incorporate Lateral Raises Into Your Workouts

Ready to incorporate the lateral raise into your fitness routine? Add it into your own workouts, or into one of mine below:

• 7 Moves to Sculpt Your Back and Shoulders
• Your Anti-Aging Arms Routine

If you like the lateral raise and the results you get from it, here are a few more shoulder exercises you might want to try:

• How To Do Shoulder Overhead Press
• How To Do Shoulder Front Raise
• How To Do Chest Fly