Dumbbell Lateral Raise
The dumbbell lateral raise isolates the medial (side) deltoid head to build wider shoulders. Standing with dumbbells at your sides, you raise them out to the sides until they reach shoulder height.
How to Perform
Stand tall with a slight forward lean and dumbbells at your sides, palms facing inward.
Raise both arms out to the sides until they reach shoulder height — no higher.
Lead with your elbows, keeping a slight bend, as if pouring water from two pitchers.
Lower the weights slowly under control back to your sides.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using momentum and swinging the weights up with body English instead of strict form.
Raising the dumbbells above shoulder height, which shifts work to the traps.
Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears, which recruits the traps over the delts.
Muscle Activation
Variations
Track your Dumbbell Lateral Raise progress with Revy
Log your sets, see your strength gains over time, and get AI-powered recommendations to break through plateaus.