Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Learn how to perform Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise, a Shoulders exercise, with setup, breathing and common mistakes.
Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise · Preview
Setup
Sit on a bench with the dumbbells at your sides, keeping your back tall and bracing your abs. The seated position reduces leg momentum and helps you focus on the side delts, so set your balance with your hips and feet first.
Start phase
Raise both dumbbells out to the sides, thinking of your elbows leading up and out ahead of your hands. Keep the feeling that your side delts are opening your arms outward to limit trap involvement.
End phase
Pause briefly around shoulder height, then slowly lower the dumbbells. Since sitting makes it harder to use momentum, simply controlling the descent can make the tension stronger.
Target muscles
This movement lets you focus on side-delt contraction while minimizing torso movement. If you feel your hands doing the lifting, lower the weight and try again with your elbows leading.
Common mistakes
Even while seated, leaning back or shrugging shifts the work from the side delts to the traps. Lifting above your shoulders blurs the tension, so stop at a comfortable height.
Breathing
Exhale as you lift and inhale as you lower. Keep breathing in the seated position to hold your torso more steadily.
Coach tip
The side delts respond more to tempo than to load. The right weight is one you can hold for 1 second at the top and lower for 2 seconds without shaking.
