Lie chest-down on an incline bench and lift dumbbells out to your sides, abducting the arms to emphasize the lateral deltoids. The movement isolates the shoulder's outer head with minimal torso involvement.
How to do the Incline Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)#
- Set an incline bench to about 30–45° and lie face-down with your chest supported and feet anchored.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip and let your arms hang straight down under your shoulders.
- Keep a small bend in your elbows and your torso steady as you raise the weights laterally until your arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
- Pause briefly at the top while keeping the shoulder blades stable, then lower the dumbbells slowly to the start position.
- Maintain controlled tempo and avoid using momentum or shrugging the shoulders throughout each rep.
Muscles worked#
- Primary: Side delts (Lateral Deltoid)
- Secondary: Traps (Trapezius)
Common mistakes#
- Swinging the torso to help lift the weights.
- Shrugging or elevating the shoulders instead of isolating the deltoids.
- Raising the arms too far forward so the front deltoid takes over.
- Using excessively heavy dumbbells that force momentum.
- Straightening the elbows fully and turning it into a different pressing motion.
