Strength Training · Bodybuilding
Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise
The seated dumbbell lateral raise trains the sides of your shoulders by lifting weights out to your sides. Sitting limits help from your legs, making controlled shoulder movement the focus.
- Beginner
- Isolation
- Low injury risk
- Rest 1 min
How to do it
- Sit upright on a bench with your feet flat and dumbbells hanging beside your thighs, palms facing inward.
- Bend your elbows slightly.
- Raise your arms out to your sides, slightly forward of your torso, until your elbows reach shoulder height.
- Lower the dumbbells slowly back beside your thighs.
Form cues
- Keep your wrists straight.
- Lead with your elbows.
- Breathe out as you lift.
Common mistakes
- Rocking your torsoUse lighter dumbbells so your torso stays still throughout the repetition.
- Shrugging toward your earsKeep space between your shoulders and ears rather than using a shrug to lift the weights.
- Tipping your pinkies upwardKeep your thumbs level with or slightly higher than your pinkies instead of pouring the dumbbells forward.
Safety
Heavy weights or jerky repetitions can strain or irritate your shoulders, especially as fatigue reduces control.
- Start with a light warm-up set before using your working weight.
- Limit the lifting height to a pain-free range.
- Finish each set with about two controlled repetitions left.
- Rest the dumbbells on your thighs before standing up.
If you have shoulder pain or a recent shoulder injury, get advice from a physiotherapist or doctor before adding load.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Flat Bench
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 10–15 reps
- Rest
- 1 min
Small weight increases are enough for this exercise; reach the top of the rep range before adding weight.