Dumbbell Lateral Raise: Benefits and Muscles Worked

The dumbbell lateral raise is an efficient shoulder strengthening exercise that isolates the lateral head of your deltoid muscle. When this exercise is performed regularly, it helps in building broader and stronger shoulders. The best part is, you only need a pair of dumbbells to effectively perform this exercise.

In this article, we will discuss everything about the dumbbell lateral raise ranging from how to do the said exercise and muscles that it works to benefits and effective variations.

Dumbbell exercise (Image via Pexels/Andres Ayrton)

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How to Do a Dumbbell Lateral Raise?

Follow these step-by-step instructions to effectively perform the lateral raises and reap maximum benefits:

• Begin in a tall standing position while clutching the dumbbells with both your hands and your arms positioned at the sides of your body and palms facing inwards.
• Your feet should be apart at about hip distance with your shoulders rolled back, gaze to the front, and engage core muscles.
• Next, start simultaneously by raising your arms to each side, while keeping them straight until your body forms a ‘T’ shape.
• Hold on to the top movement before gently lowering down the dumbbells and bringing your arms to the sides.
• Breathe in during the lifting movement and breathe out during the lowering movement.
• Make sure to disengage your trapezius muscle to effectively target the deltoids.

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Lateral Raises Muscles Worked

The primary focus of the dumbbell lateral raise stays on your shoulders, and since this is an isolation exercise, it does not target many other muscles in your body, given that it is performed correctly. This is why this exercise engages stubborn and smaller muscles, which are usually not targeted.

The muscles that work with the lateral raises include serratus anterior, lateral deltoid, supraspinatus, anterior deltoid, upper trapezius, and posterior deltoid.

Biceps curls (Image via Pexels/Anete Lusina)

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Benefits of Dumbbell Lateral Raise

1. Muscle Hypertrophy of Lateral Deltoid

When performed regularly, a dumbbell lateral raise will help in promoting the muscle growth of your lateral deltoids. This exercise is one of the best to train your lateral deltoids for greater strength and well-rounded appearance. The lateral raises will help you achieve stronger shoulders with a broader appearance.

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2. Increased Shoulder Strength

The dumbbell lateral raise will also help in building shoulder strength which will significantly enhance the functional movement of your upper body. Additionally, lateral raises will also help in building well-rounded strength in your shoulders by correcting the muscle imbalances in the shoulders.

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3. Improved Joint Health

Improved joint health is also one of the major benefits of regularly performing the dumbbell lateral raise. This exercise will help you get bigger shoulders by targeting all three heads of deltoids, which will help in building the stability of the rotator cuffs and keeping your joint healthy. A well-rounded shoulder workout will also help in reducing the chances of potential injuries.

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Variations of Lateral Raises

1. Dumbbell Rear Lateral Raise

Here's how to do dumbbell rear lateral raises:

• Start this exercise in good posture with dumbbells in both your hands while maintaining a slight bend in your elbows.
• Keep your knees slightly bent with your arms positioned at the sides of your body.
• Hinge the front with engaged core muscles and an elongated spine.
• With your shoulder blades engaged, raise the dumbbell to the sides and at your shoulder height.
• Reverse the movement gently and repeat.

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2. Front Dumbbell Raises

Here's how to do front dumbbell raises:

• Start this exercise in an elongated posture of your body with dumbbells in both your palms and positioned at the front of your thighs.
• Raise your arms and weight to bring them to shoulder height and hold.
• Lower them slowly and repeat.

Dumbbell front raises (Image via Pexels/Karolina Grabowska)

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Overall, the dumbbell lateral raise should be added into your upper-body routine and should be performed alongside compound exercises that target your shoulders such as pull-ups, shoulder press, incline dumbbell press, and more.

You should also ensure that your shoulders are flexible enough so that you can abduct your arms to form the T shape of your body by lifting weights.