Dumbbell Front Raise
Learn how to perform Dumbbell Front Raise, a Shoulders exercise, with setup, breathing and common mistakes.
Dumbbell Front Raise · Preview
Setup
Stand tall with the dumbbells in front of your thighs, and brace your abs and glutes to keep your torso still. Keep a very slight bend in your elbows and your wrists straight.
Start phase
Slowly raise the dumbbells to shoulder height without leaning back, keeping your whole arm moving as one unit. Think of the front of your shoulders lifting the dumbbells to greatly reduce momentum.
End phase
Pause briefly at shoulder height, then lower the dumbbells slowly. Start the next rep before the dumbbells touch your thighs so the front of your shoulders stays under tension.
Target muscles
Focus on your front delts lengthening and contracting. If it feels like your arms are doing the lifting, reduce the weight and lift with the front of your shoulders only.
Common mistakes
Leaning back and using momentum reduces the work on your front delts. Lifting the dumbbells well above your shoulders makes it easy to shrug, so stop around shoulder height.
Breathing
Exhale as you lift and inhale as you lower. Calm, steady breathing keeps your torso stable and your tempo consistent.
Coach tip
A good weight lets you pause for 1 second at the top and lower over 2 seconds. Because each hand moves independently, check that one side is not rising first.
