Dumbbell lateral raise: shape up your middle delts with this free-weight move - Perfect Form

technique

* Stand upright with a slight arch in your lower back, feet fairly close together, toes pointed slightly outward and kness soft.

* Hold a dumbbell in each hand, either in front of your upper thighs or at your sides, with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Your arms should be straight and relaxed, and your vision should be focused forward.

* Bend your elbows slightly, and hold this position throughout the exercise by keeping your elbows locked at that angle.

* Inhale slightly more than usual and hold your breath as you raise your arms up and out to the sides.

* Raise your arms to a level just above your shoulders.

* Exhale at the top, then return to the start position, keeping the weights under control at all times.

* Maintain a stable stance through-out execution.

performance

* For maximum development of the deltoid, avoid using extra-heavy weights, which will prevent you from raising your arms to or above the horizontal position. In addition, heavy weights will force you to bend your elbows more, which cuts down on the amount of effective resistance you're using. This decreases emphasis on the middle deltoid.

* Raising your arms above the level position allows for the strongest contraction of the deltoid and also involves the upper portion of the pectoralis major.

* This exercise can also be done on a double-cable apparatus using the low pulleys. Grasp the pulley on the left with your right hand and the pulley on the right with your left hand, and hold them in front of your upper thighs with extended arms. Execute in the same manner as with dumbbells, but raise your arms only until they're parallel to the floor. Raising them above level isn't effective since the resistance will decrease the higher you go. This is one reason why the dumbbell lateral raise is recommended for more effective and full development of the deltoid.

* Be sure to inhale and hold your breath as you raise the weights. This helps to stabilize your torso, allowing for safe and effective execution and greater power.

* Remain upright as you perform this exercise. Avoid leaning forward as you raise your arms, which sometimes happens if you lift them more forward rather than directly out to the sides. This often occurs when your elbows are bent too much.

* To maintain a full range of motion in the shoulder joints, do a set with light dumbbells and take your arms completely overhead. Not only does this still tax the deltoid, but it also helps maintain shoulder-joint flexibility.

Primary muscles involved

In the shoulder joint, the deltoid and the supraspinatus are involved. The deltoid is a three-headed muscle that covers the front, side and back of the shoulder. Only the anterior (front) and middle sections are involved in this exercise. The supraspinatus lies under the deltoid in the top rear section of the scapula (shoulder blade).

In the shoulder girdle, the major muscles are the upper and lower trapezius and the serratus anterior. The trapezius is a large, diamond-shaped muscle located in the middle of the upper back. It runs from the base of the neck out to both scapulae and then down to the last thoracic vertebrae. The serratus anterior is located on the outer surfaces of the upper eight or nine ribs at the sides of the chest.

muscle/joint actions

Shoulder-joint abduction occurs when the arms move in the lateral plane away from the body and upward. When the arms are raised past 90 degrees (the horizontal position), they begin to move back toward the body. In the shoulder girdle, there is upward rotation and elevation of the scapula. In upward, rotation, the scapula rotates around an axis in the center of the bone, while in elevation the scapula and clavicle bones move upward.

Shoulder-joint abduction and the muscles involved are crucial, in weightlifting and body-building for full development of the deltoid. It produces the contour of the outside of the shoulders, gives width to the shoulders and a V-shaped appearance to the body (as opposed to a pear shape when the shoulders are narrow and the pelvic girdle is wide). Since the supraspinatus is the main muscle that holds the humerus in the shoulder-joint socket, this exercise can help prevent shoulder-joint dislocations.

Shoulder-joint abduction is an important action in all sports that require you to raise your arms or reach up. Examples are blocking in basketball. and volleyball, gymnastics (free exercise, uneven bars) diving take-offs, catching overhead flies in softball, and the defensive stance and rebounding in basketball These movements, however, aren't done against a heavy resistance. This exercise also plays a vital role in swimming during stroke recovery in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke.

RELATED ARTICLE: The champ's training diary

Susie Curry, 2000-01 FITNESS OLYMPIA CHAMPION

tips from a pro

* I incorporate some type of lateral raise in every shoulder workout. I change the specific exercise quite often for variety, but I always choose one that works the muscle at that angle. One of my favorite moves is the cable lateral, though sometimes I'll do a dumbbell lateral raise or even work on the lateral flye machine.