Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raise
How to Do the Dumbbell Side-Lying Lateral Delt Raise | 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 Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raises
LATERAL DELTOID
STARTING POINTERS
Starting Pointers
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
ALL WE'RE DOING:
Move your arm away from your body towards the ceiling.
This side lying lateral raise alternative will increase strength and stability throughout your entire shoulder. This will work the supraspinatus (one of your rotator cuff muscles at its strongest position and the lateral deltoid at its weakest position. By the time the lateral deltoid gets to the position where it is at its strongest the torque on the shoulder joint is pretty small. This is a good exercise for those that have shoulder problems and wish to strengthen their rotator cuff muscles.
The side-lying position is a good option for those with a history of shoulder injury or pain, or with a limited range of shoulder joint motion. The position begins with the arm in an adducted position (towards the midline of the body) and works the muscle up to approximately 70-80 degrees of shoulder abduction (out to the side of the body). The force of gravity pulling down on the dumbbell will be greatest when the weight is parallel to the floor (when the lever arm is the longest). Therefore, the side lying position will work the lateral portion of the deltoid muscle in a position where it is at its weakest. This position will also work the supraspinatus muscle more than the standing lateral raises - the supraspinatus is most active for lifting the arm in the first 0 - 60 degrees of shoulder abduction. As the arm lifts higher the torque on the shoulder joint will decrease - the muscle will not need to work as hard. Once the arm is straight up (90 degrees of shoulder abduction) the muscle will not be doing much work.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
LOOKS
HOW Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raises SHAPE OUR BODY
The 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: Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raises
EQUIPMENT, SETS & REPS
EQUIPMENT
SUGGESTED STARTING WEIGHT FOR WOMEN:
5-10 lbs
SETS & REPS:
2-3 sets of 8-10 reps
PACE:
BODY POSITION
BODY POSITION FOR THE Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raise
BODY STANCE: Lying on your side, knees bent (should be a comfortable position) to stabilize the body. Your hips can be bent slightly. Head down on the bottom arm, or bend the elbow of your arm on the floor and rest head in hand. You can also use a pillow to support your head if that is more comfortable.
HAND/GRIP: Grip the dumbbell with a neutral grip. Thumb will point forward (same way the body is facing)
ARM: Working arm is your top arm. Straight arm, slightly in front of your body (in scapular plane) with weight resting on floor. Shoulder blade in and down the back.
HOW TO DO
HOW TO DO Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raises
CUE: Remember that in this position higher is not better. The target muscles will be working the most at the lower levels - when the weight is parallel to the floor.
Lift your arm straight up to the side (towards the ceiling), lift your arm up into abduction (out to the side) to between 60 and 80 degrees. Feel like you are reaching outward with your hand (this helps to open up the shoulder joint and allow smooth gliding of the joint).
Slowly lower your arm back down.
HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF THE EXERCISE
At the end of the rep, set the weight on the floor.
COMMON MISTAKES
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT TO AVOID WITH THE Dumbbell SideLying Lateral Delt Raise
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 bending elbow much
AVOID: Avoid letting the elbow bend.
WHY NOT?
- Bending the elbow when the hand gets close to the floor can cause you to start substituting using the triceps to initiate the lift instead of the supraspinatus and lateral deltoid.
WHAT TO DO:
- Only lower the arm down as far as you are able to without bending the elbow.
2. avoid waist sagging
AVOID: Avoid waist sagging into floor.
WHY NOT?
- This will pull your low back out of the neutral position.
- This indicates that you are moving from your spine - repetitive spinal movement under load (weight of leg) ) can cause soft tissue/joint irritation or damage over time, and defeats the purpose of the exercise.
WHAT TO DO:
- Maintain a neutral spine position to prevent injury or muscle strain.
- In a side-lying position, the sides of the torso should be equal - both lengthened.
- You can use your top hand to monitor the pelvis for movement.
3. 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.
4. Avoid moving through the wrists
AVOID: Avoid bending at the wrists.
WHY NOT?
- This can lead to tissue/joint irritation or damage over time.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep the wrist in alignment with the forearm, as one piece. The movement is coming only from the shoulder.
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 lateral 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 SIDELYING LATERAL DELT RAISE
The rhomboids, trapezius, and lats hold the shoulder blade in and down while the arm moves. The muscles of the arm will work isometrically to stabilize the elbow and wrist joints.
When the arm is parallel to the floor the torque on the shoulder joint is the highest it will be during the exercise. In this position, the lateral deltoid is at its weakest and the supraspinatus is at its strongest position. The supraspinatus will contribute most to initiating the movement.
The supraspinatus and deltoid muscle contract concentrically to lift the arm up. The lateral portion of the deltoid is more active than the anterior or posterior portions. At approximately 60 degrees of abduction, the supraspinatus will continue to work to stabilize the shoulder joint but will not participate much in shoulder abduction. The middle deltoid will be the prime mover at this point up to the end of the movement, it is also the position (roughly 60 - 75 degrees of abduction) where the lateral deltoid is at its strongest.
The muscles will be working hardest when the weight is parallel to the floor, lifting any higher than approximately 70 degrees will not require much muscular effort.
The deltoid and supraspinatus will work eccentrically to lower the arm back to the starting position.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
