Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Shoulders

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

DumbbellIsolationEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Delts

Also traps

You need

Dumbbells

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Top
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Lead with your elbows, not your hands
  2. 2Raise to shoulder height
  3. 3Slow on the way down

Most common mistake

Swinging with the hips and shrugging.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for shoulders
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Easy on the joints and recovery

Compare with

vs Machine Lateral Raisevs Lean-Away Lateral Raisevs Cable Lateral Raise
A
For shoulders
#9 of 27
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Research
71
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 71
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchFair
ProgressionGood
Low costExcellent

Works, but tension drops off near the bottom of each rep.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SCable Lateral RaiseCable
  • SMachine Lateral RaiseMachine
  • SReverse Pec DeckMachine
  • ALean-Away Lateral RaiseDumbbell

Takes

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