Dumbbell Lateral Raise
How to do it
Starting position
- Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart
- Hold the dumbbells at the sides of your thighs
- Open your chest and look straight ahead
- Bend your knees very slightly to maintain your balance
Movement
- Raise them out to the sides with the backs of your hands facing the ceiling
- Raise the dumbbells until they are in line with your shoulders
- Maintain muscle tension as you slowly lower down
Breathing
Exhale as you lift the dumbbells and inhale as you lower them
Trainer tips
- Slightly bend your elbows and raise them out to the sides
- Raise with your pinkies slightly higher
- Raise only up to shoulder height, then lower with control
Cautions
- Excessive weight strains the shoulder joint, so start with a light weight
- Shrugging with the traps to lift
- Using momentum just to lift heavy
- Dropping the elbows below the wrists
If you feel pain during the exercise, stop. If it continues, talk to a professional.
Exercise info
| Primary muscles |  Side delts |
|---|---|
| Secondary muscles | Front delts · Traps |
| Equipment |  Dumbbell |
| Movement pattern | Isolation |
| Rep range | 10–15 reps |
22 similar exercises
Representative exercise: Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Empty Can Exercise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise Hold
- Dumbbell Seated Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise (Back Supported)
- Dumbbell Lateral Pulse Raise
- Dumbbell One Arm Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Bent Arm Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Side Lying Raises on Floor
- Dumbbell Seated Bent Arm Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Standing Bent Arm Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Seated Alternating Lateral Raise
- Band Lateral Pulse Raise
- Bottle Weighted Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell LU Raise
- Dumbbell Iron Cross
- Dumbbell Poliquin Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise from Back
- Dumbbell Super Rom Lateral Raise
- Weighted Plate LU Raise
- Dumbbell Single Arm Leaning Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Single arm Leaning In Lateral Raise
- Weighted Plate LU Raise (Demo 2)
Exercise GuideAre you swinging your body to raise your arms?Watch the video and see how to fix it
How GYMKC sets the weight for this exercise
For example, if you do 10 reps with 12 kg in each hand and log that you could have done about 2 more, GYMKC estimates your 1RM per hand at about 17.3 kg.
With the dumbbell, each step is 2 kg (5 lb), so the next weight is 14 kg per hand. Within your 10–15 reps target, the sets you log decide whether to add reps first or add weight.
These numbers are an example of how the calculation works. Your actual prescription is recalculated every set from your own records. See how the calculation works
Related exercises
Dumbbell Incline One Arm Lateral RaiseHarderDumbbell LU RaiseHarderMachine Lateral RaiseSimilar exerciseBand Lateral RaiseSimilar exerciseWeighted Bar Standing Lateral RaiseSimilar exerciseWeighted Full Can ExerciseSame muscle · different equipment
This information is based on our analysis of public content from evidence-based training experts in Korea and abroad. It is not a substitute for medical advice.
Weights and sets differ from person to person. The GYMKC app uses the sets you log to calculate the weight and reps for your next set.