Chest Supported Lateral Raise - Dumbbell
How to Do the Chest Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raise - Side Delt Exercise | In-Depth Guide [VISUAL LEARNERS]
Proper Form & Common Mistakes | Home Resistance Training
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
QUICK DEMO
QUICK DEMO
MUSCLES THIS WORKS
MUSCLES
MAIN MUSCLES WORKED IN Chest-Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raises
LATERAL DELTOID
STARTING POINTERS
Starting Pointers
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
ALL WE'RE DOING:
Move your arms away from your body out to your sides, like a bird taking flight.
This version of the lateral deltoid raise will challenge the core muscles, especially the back extensors. Dumbbell bent over lateral raise requires the trunk muscles to hold the body in a slight hinge position against an unstable surface.
The hip extensors (gluteus maximus and hamstrings) and the back extensors (erector spinae, multifidi) and the scapular retractors (rhomboids, middle trapezius) will be working to hold the position. The slight forward lean of the torso allows some external rotation of the upper arm and can be more comfortable (less chance of impingement).
This position may also recruit the posterior deltoid - depending on how far you are leaning over - more lean and more external rotation, or heavier load, will have a greater chance of activating the rear deltoid to help the lateral deltoid. This variation requires more of the trunk muscles to be active so you may be challenged with less weight than the standing version of the lateral deltoid lift.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
LOOKS
HOW Chest-Supported Dumbbell Lateral Delt Raises SHAPE OUR BODY
This shoulder exercise will tone and build the muscles of the top of the shoulder and the arm. It adds to that capped shoulder look.
When you train the shoulder muscles, it helps make the waist look smaller as well.
I personally love the capped shoulder look, so it’s something I have made a mainstay of my routine.
PROPER FORM
PROPER FORM: Chest-Supported Dumbbell Lateral Delt Raises
EQUIPMENT, SETS & REPS
EQUIPMENT
SUGGESTED STARTING WEIGHT FOR WOMEN:
5-8 lbs
SETS & REPS:
2-3 Sets, 8-10 Reps
PACE:
BODY POSITION
BODY POSITION FOR THE Chest-Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raise
BODY STANCE: Kneeling with the ball in front of you, neutral spine. Shoulder blades in and down the back. Hinge at the hips to let your thighs/belly contact the ball, the amount of lean is small - avoid leaning so far over that your lower ribs are on the ball. This position may require some adjustments to find the right position for activating the lateral deltoid - based on body size, ball size, amount of hinge at hips/body lean.
ARMS: Straight down to the sides, slight external rotation of your upper arm - try to position the lateral deltoid up. Elbows soft - it is ok to bend the elbows a bit if that is more comfortable.
HAND/GRIP: Palms angled between facing your thighs and thumb pointing straight up.
HOW TO DO
HOW TO DO Dumbbell Bent Over Ball Lateral Delt Raises
CUE: This movement is still a straight abduction of the arms from the body (not extension).
Lift your arms out to the side, away from your body. Continue lifting until your arm is in line with your shoulder - 90 degrees of shoulder abduction.
Pause at the top of the movement and slowly lower your arms down, with control.
HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF THE EXERCISE
When your arms are at the sides. Hinge back off of the ball and set the weights on the floor.
COMMON MISTAKES
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT TO AVOID WITH Chest-Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raises
KEY TIP:
Guess what? Good news! Many avoids are the same for most movements. Once you learn the basics, there's really only a few extra avoids for each individual movement.
1. Avoid hands above shoulders
AVOID: Avoid hands above shoulders.
WHY NOT?
- This will not increase the work the muscles are doing
- This position can increase the risk for pinching the supraspinatus muscle (shoulder impingement).
- Lifting higher can promote low back extension (as compensation when the deltoid fatigues).
WHAT TO DO:
- Monitor height of hands, they should not be higher than the shoulders.
2. avoid hands drifting forward
AVOID: Avoid letting the arm drift to the front of the body.
WHY NOT?
- Moving the arm in front of the body will use the anterior portion of the deltoid muscle.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep your arm directly to your side.
3. Avoid Bending Spine
AVOID: Avoid flexing/extending the spine.
WHY NOT?
- Repetitive movement through the spine can be irritating to the joints, discs and tissues.
- Moving through the back to get the weights higher will not make the shoulder muscles work harder.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep your core muscles engaged to stabilize the torso and limit the movement to the shoulders.
- You should be able to draw a line straight down the side of the body.
4. Avoid Bending Neck
AVOID: Avoid tilting the neck.
WHY NOT?
- This can strain the muscles along the spine.
WHAT TO DO:
- Let your gaze go with the same degree that your torso bends over.
5. avoid leaning too far
AVOID: Avoid leaning forward/backward, or flexing/extending the spine.
WHY NOT?
- Sometimes with the lateral lean people will begin to curve (from feet to head – so hips dropping out towards the working hand). This can strain the muscles along the spine.
WHAT TO DO:
- Think about keeping your torso nice and still, with gently engaged abs, and moving only from the shoulder. Think about your torso's job is to keep you still and stable while you are moving your arms.
6. Avoid Bringing Shoulders Up Towards Ears
AVOID: Avoid hunching up shoulders.
WHY NOT?
- This will activate your upper traps (trapezius) and compress the vertebrae in your neck. Your upper trapezius is located on either side of your neck, where your bra straps would usually sit. These muscles can get too involved in LOTS of movements and lead to excessive muscle growth here that most of women don't really want, AND also cause tension in our shoulders and neck.
WHAT TO DO: Keep shoulders pressed down.
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
WHAT & WHY
BENEFITS OF TRAINING THE lateral deltoid
WHAT
We are hitting the side of our shoulder muscle today folks!
Main shoulder muscle = Deltoid.
Side portion of that muscle = Lateral Delt.
Why we're bothering to "hit" it in a minute.
The side lateral deltoid raise exercises focuses on working the middle (or lateral) portion of the deltoid and the supraspinatus (one muscle of the rotator cuff), with little input from the other parts of the deltoid muscle. There aren’t really a ton of exercises that target this muscle very well, so this is one of the really great core movements to use for training this muscle.
KEY TIP is to only raise the arms to shoulder height, no higher, to protect the health of your shoulders.
WHY BOTHER DOING IT?
WHY
WHY DO WE EVEN CARE?
The lateral delt, which remember is just a fancy word to say the side of your shoulder muscle, is used daily for activities that have to do with carrying items out to our sides or raising items out to our sides.
KEEP MUSCLES BALANCED IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER
All 3 parts of the shoulder muscle- the front, side, and back of the deltoid (which are called the anterior, lateral & posterior parts of the delt) work together to move and support the shoulder joint. It is important to include exercises that target each one of these portions of the muscle to keep all portions of the muscle balanced.
Many people only include exercises that work the front of the deltoid muscle, creating an imbalance that can pull the upper arm forward.
HELP RECTIFY IMBALANCE CAUSED BY DAILY MODERN LIFE
Another thing that can contribute to an imbalance is that much of our daily activities are done in front of our bodies, like working on a computer, writing, eating, driving, and reading. This can result in a rounded shoulder posture, and it can interfere with how the shoulder joint moves. Doing lateral raises will help to balance this out by increasing the strength of the side delt.
EFFECTIVE EXERCISE FOR THIS MUSCLE
Effective training for the lateral deltoid involves lifting your arm out to the side, away from the body. The lateral deltoid raise is exactly that. The exercise targets the lateral deltoid and supraspinatus by keeping the torso stable while lifting the arm out to the side. The addition of a weight serves two purposes, it pulls the arm down in the shoulder socket (the lateral deltoid and supraspinatus will work to hold the upper arm bone up in the socket), and it works the muscles as the arm is lifted up out to the side of the body.
A well-designed exercise program will include exercises that target each portion of the deltoid muscle. If one part of the deltoid is not strong enough, it can cause improper movement of the shoulder joint, which over time can cause damage.
EVERYDAY LIFE
EVERYDAY LIFE &
MUSCLE FUNCTION
HOW WE USE OUR side deltoid MUSCLES IN EVERYDAY LIFE
1. LIFTING ARMS STRAIGHT OUT TO YOUR SIDES
This is called abduction & nope, it doesn't involve your arms being abducted by aliens, a good thing wheww. Think about how many movements we do throughout the week, I mean even throughout the DAY that involve our arms moving out to the sides or holding them out to the sides of us in some way, which is its main function:
- Dressing
- Washing, drying your hair
- Brushing teeth
- Pulling up socks or pants
- Carrying kids on your hip
- Lots of stuff with kids
2. STABILIZING YOUR SHOULDER JOINT
Pulls upward on our upper arm bone (humerus) against downward pulls. This helps ensure the bone stays in the right place on the body so the joint doesn't get damaged.
- Carrying heavy items down at your side like:
- Multiple bags of groceries anyone?
- Buckets
- Luggage (you should stop doing that and get one with rollers btw)
QUICK NOTE: The lateral deltoid is not actually it's own muscle - it's 1 part of a larger muscle (just "the deltoid") that has 3 main parts. I needed to clarify that or Carol the PT I work with will probably kill me. Just kidding, she's way too nice to do that.
HOW TO FEEL WHAT MUSCLE IS WORKING
How to Feel What Muscle is Working
Place your fingers of one hand on the top of the opposite shoulder. Lift the arm straight out to the side.
SCIENCY STUFF
SCIENCY STUFF
SPIFFILICIOUS FACTS ABOUT MUSCLES & MOVES
As we've discussed, the lateral deltoid muscle is what moves the arm away from the body out to the SIDE of you.
This is the movement that you would use to lift your arm out to put your arm into the sleeve of a coat, or lift and carry items out to the side, such as groceries, buckets, a suitcase, or carrying a child on your hip. The lateral deltoid works with the supraspinatus (one of the rotator cuff muscles) to perform this movement. Although the primary function of the lateral deltoid is to lift the arm out to the side, if you lift an object that is too heavy for another portion of the deltoid to lift (regardless of where the arm is) the lateral deltoid will assist the other portions of the deltoid.
The three portions of the deltoid muscle are all insert on the upper arm bone through one tendon. Anytime that one of the portions of the muscle is not strong enough to do its job, the other portions of the deltoid will help. If you use a heavy weight, The front of the delt (anterior) and posterior delt (rear) of the deltoid muscle are also active. The different portions of the deltoid can be targeted by changing the position of the arm relative to the body and also with rotation of the arm.
This lateral deltoid raise will also strengthen all of the rotator cuff muscles and the muscles that move the shoulder blade which contributes to good posture.
Another very important function of the lateral deltoid muscle is to hold the upper arm bone (humerus) in the socket of the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint is a very unstable ball and socket joint. The role of the muscles that stabilize the joint is to hold the ball or head of the upper arm bone (humerus) centered in the socket when holding an object and with the movement of the arm. Gravity and the other rotator cuff muscles (all but the supraspinatus - teres minor, infraspinatus, and subscapularis) are positioned to move the head of the humerus down in the socket. The lateral deltoid (with assistance from the other portions - but it depends on exactly how the arm is being pulled down) contracts to hold the head of the upper arm bone (the humerus) up and centered in the socket. This is important for avoiding shoulder injuries of the rotator cuff muscles and preventing degenerative changes in the joint.
The way that these muscles act together to hold the ball in the socket is known as a force couple - the muscles each pulling in different directions to stabilize the joint. It is important that all portions of the deltoid and the rotator cuff are exercises in ways that will train the muscles to stabilize the joint.
ALLLL MUSCLES & WHEN
ALL MUSCLES WORKING & WHEN DURING THE Dumbbell Chest-Supported Lateral Delt Raise
In the beginning position, the hip extensors (gluteus maximus and hamstrings) and the back extensors (erector spinae, multifidi) and the scapular retractors (rhomboids, middle trapezius) will be working to hold the position. All of the muscles (rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques, quadratus lumborum) of the torso - in addition to the back extensors, will be more active to stabilize the core. The slight forward lean of the torso allows for some external rotation (isometric contraction of the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid) of the upper arm.
The upward movement is due to concentric contraction of the supraspinatus and lateral deltoid. The supraspinatus initiates the movement as the arm is lifted out to the side, the lateral deltoid will become more active as the arm moves up away from the side of the body. The posterior deltoid can assist if the weight is heavy.
The arm is lowered back down with eccentric contraction of the lateral deltoid and the supraspinatus.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
