Lateral Raise
Movement demo
Watch a video demonstration of this exercise on MuscleWiki. The demo opens on an external site.
Muscles worked
Effectiveness
★★★☆☆ 3/5
Acute EMG studies found the lateral raise produced the highest medial deltoid activation among common shoulder exercises in trained lifters and bodybuilders. No longitudinal hypertrophy trials of the lateral raise were identified, and EMG amplitude does not establish growth.
Note on this rating: it leans on EMG studies, which measure muscle activation during the movement. EMG amplitude does not establish muscle growth.
How to perform
With dumbbells at the sides, the lifter raises the arms out laterally to about shoulder height by abducting the shoulders. The medial deltoid is the primary mover through most of the range, with the anterior and posterior deltoids contributing. It is a single-joint isolation movement for the shoulder.