Seated Lateral Raise

How to Perform the Seated Lateral Raise

Sit on a flat bench or the end of an adjustable bench with your feet flat on the floor and a dumbbell in each hand.
Let the dumbbells hang at your sides with your palms facing your body and a slight bend in your elbows.
Keeping the slight bend in your elbows fixed, raise the dumbbells outward and upward to the sides.
Lift until your arms are parallel to the floor (shoulder height), leading with your elbows rather than your hands.
Pause briefly at the top, squeezing the lateral deltoids.
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position under control, resisting gravity on the way down.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, maintaining a consistent tempo throughout.

Raising the dumbbells too high above shoulder level

Stop at shoulder height; going higher shifts the work to the traps and increases impingement risk.

Leading with the hands instead of the elbows

Think of pouring water from a pitcher. Lead with your elbows and keep your hands at or slightly below elbow height.

Using excessively heavy weights and swinging

Lateral raises are most effective with lighter weights and strict form; the seated position helps but weight selection matters.

●Slight internal rotation of the wrists (pinky slightly higher than thumb) can increase lateral deltoid activation.
●Focus on a slow negative of 2-3 seconds for each rep.
●Do not let the dumbbells rest against your body at the bottom; maintain slight tension throughout.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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