Lateral Raise
- Dumbbells
- Isolation exercise
- Shoulders
For the lateral raise, you stand tall and raise the dumbbells out to the sides with slightly bent elbows until your upper arms are level with the floor. It mainly trains the side delts, the middle part of your shoulder [1].
Shoulders
Drag to pause
- Main muscle
- Shoulders
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Reps
- 12–20 for muscle building
- Sets
- 3
- Rest
- 1:30
- Weight step
- 1 kg up to 10 kg, then 2 kg (2.5 lb, then 5 lb)
How to do it
- 1
Stand tall, dumbbells at your sides, elbows slightly bent.
- 2
Raise your arms out to shoulder height, no higher.
- 3
Lead with your elbows, no swinging from your torso.
Tempo of one rep
The figure shows a calm rep of 4.7 s; raising and lowering take 2 s each, as in a study with a metronome [1]. Tempo matters less than you’d think for growth; reps lasting 0.5 to 8 s build similar muscle [2].
Common mistakes
- Swinging your torso.
Momentum then lifts the dumbbells instead of your shoulders. Stand tall and still, elbows leading and hands following [3].
- Hands going above shoulder height.
Your shoulders then shrug up and your neck joins in. Raise only until your upper arms are level, with your hands slightly below your elbows [3].
- Thumbs pointing down.
With your arm turned in, as if pouring from a jug, work shifts to your upper traps [1]. Keep the dumbbells level or your thumbs slightly up.
- Bending your elbows a lot.
With a 90-degree elbow, the side delts work much less [1]. Keep your elbows slightly bent and the angle the same through the whole rep.
Sets and reps
How Tarvo plans the lateral raise as an isolation exercise, by goal and experience. Rest is the time between two sets.
| Goal | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle building | 12–20 | 1:30 |
| Strength | 10–15 | 1:30 |
| Both | 10–15 | 1:30 |
| Experience | Sets |
|---|---|
| New to it | 2 |
| Some experience | 3 |
| Experienced | 4 |
How Tarvo progresses your lateral raise
Dumbbells go up in fixed steps: 1 kg (2.5 lb) up to 10 kg (25 lb), then 2 kg (5 lb). Until you reach the top of your rep range, you add one rep.
Once your first set hits the top of the range and the others are no more than two reps below it, you move to the next pair. Tarvo works out from your strength how many reps you can do with it.
On lateral raises the jump is often big: going from 10 to 12 kg (25 to 30 lb) is 20 percent. If you couldn’t even reach the bottom of your range with the heavier pair, you first add reps beyond the range, one per session and five at most; after that, the jump comes anyway.
Your next lateral raise
Enter what you did last time. Tarvo works out your target for the next session with the same rule as in the app.
All on target, with two left. So the same weight, one more rep.
Variations
Questions
How high should you go on lateral raises?
Until your upper arms are level and your elbows are about at shoulder height [3]. Your hands stay slightly below your elbows.
Lateral raises with straight or bent arms?
Slightly bent, with the angle staying the same. With a 90-degree elbow, the side delts work much less [1].
How many sets of lateral raises for muscle growth?
Three sets of 12 to 20 reps with 1:30 min rest if you already have some experience. The wide range suits dumbbells, which go up in big steps.
What muscles do lateral raises work?
Mainly the side delts [1]. The front delts and upper traps help, the traps more when your thumbs point down.
What weight should I start with for lateral raises?
A pair you can raise 12 to 20 times cleanly without swinging, with one or two reps left in the tank. From your second session on, Tarvo sets the target.
Sources
- [1]Coratella et al. (2020). An Electromyographic Analysis of Lateral Raise Variations and Frontal Raise in Competitive Bodybuilders. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(17). www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govStudy of bodybuilders lifting for 2 s and lowering for 2 s. The side delts worked hardest with the thumbs forward and much less with a 90-degree elbow; thumbs down shifts work to the upper traps.
- [2]Schoenfeld, Ogborn, Krieger (2015). Effect of repetition duration during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy. Sports Med. doi 10.1007/s40279-015-0304-0Meta-analysis. Reps lasting 0.5 to 8 seconds built similar muscle; much slower reps built less.
- [3]American Council on Exercise. Lateral Raise (Exercise Library). acefitness.org. www.acefitness.orgExercise library. Arms up to shoulder height, elbows leading, torso upright, shoulder blades down.
Keep going
Tarvo sets your next lateral raise target.
Even with dumbbells that go up in big steps. You just check them off.
One email when Tarvo launches. Nothing else. Privacy
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