Why do bodybuilders do lateral raises at the beach?
To make waves with their shoulder gains.
I’m Steve Theunissen, and I’m better at lateral raises than dad jokes. In 35 years as a personal trainer, I’ve found the dumbbell lateral raise one of the hardest exercises to get right, and one of the easiest to abuse. I’ve watched plenty of clients hurt their rotator cuffs doing it badly.
The side delt is the head that makes your shoulders look wide. These seven alternatives work it just as well, with far less room to cheat.
The problem with the dumbbell lateral raise
Most people go too heavy. The side delt is a small muscle, so a heavy dumbbell gets swung up with the hips and dropped on the way down. Momentum does the work, and the delt barely notices.
Best case, you waste the set. Worst case, you tweak your lower back or shoulder and lose a few weeks.
Here’s how the standard version should look before we get to the alternatives:
Proper dumbbell lateral raise form:
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and a light dumbbell at each side, not in front of you. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and your shoulders down and relaxed.
- Pivot at the shoulder and raise your arms out to the side until they’re level with the floor.
- Lower slowly, fighting gravity all the way down.
- Pause at the bottom so momentum can’t carry you into the next rep.
How I picked these alternatives
A lot of lateral raise “alternatives” online mix in front and rear delt exercises. Some don’t work the shoulders at all.
Six of the seven exercises here do the same job as the lateral raise. They work the side delt, in the same plane, through the same range of motion. The seventh, the Y raise, bends that rule on purpose, and I’ll say why when we get there. To see why that matters, it helps to know how the side delt works.
How the side delt works
The deltoid is a complex muscle, surrounded by dozens of others:
What makes it different from the triceps or quads is that its three heads start in different places.
So each head needs its own exercises. Research shows that the exercise you pick changes which part of the shoulder does the work.
Think of a rope made of three strands. If all three are tied to one anchor, they pull together. Tie each strand to a different anchor, and only the one facing your direction of pull does the work.
The deltoid works the same way. The side delt runs from the outer edge of the shoulder blade (the acromion) down to the outside of the upper arm. When it contracts, it lifts your arm out to the side. That’s called shoulder abduction.
Raising your arm out to the side until it’s level with your shoulder is the side delt’s main job. Above that, the traps take over more of the lift and the joint gets crowded. There’s little to gain by going higher.
Equipment for the lateral raise alternatives
- Cable machine
- Resistance band
- Adjustable weight bench
- Side lateral machine
- Landmine and an Olympic barbell
- Dumbbells
7 lateral raise alternatives that stop you cheating
Unilateral cable lateral raise
I’ve had clients whose side delts only started growing once they moved this exercise to a cable. A dumbbell goes slack at the bottom of the rep. The cable keeps pulling.
Equipment needed for exercise
- Cable machine
How to do exercise
- Set the pulley at ankle height. Stand side-on to the machine and take the handle in your outside hand.
- Start with your hand by your thigh. Keep your arm straight and pivot at the shoulder to raise it until it’s level with your shoulder, no higher.
- Lower under control. Don’t let the handle drift across your body.
- Repeat for your reps, then switch sides.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side delt (main mover)
- Supraspinatus
- Upper traps
Band lateral raise
Bands get harder as they stretch, so the last few inches near shoulder height burn the most. That’s the point where the delt is fully shortened. It’s also the easiest version to pack for a holiday.
Equipment needed for exercise
How to do exercise
- Stand on the band with your left foot and hold the other end in your right hand by your thigh. Take up the slack before you start, so there’s light tension even at the bottom.
- Raise your arm out to the side until your hand reaches shoulder height.
- Let the band pull you back down slowly. If it snaps your arm down, use a lighter band.
- Do all your reps on one side, then switch.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side delt (main mover)
- Supraspinatus
- Upper traps
Machine side lateral raise
Nowhere to swing here. With the path fixed, it’s the safest way to take a set close to failure.
Equipment needed for exercise
- Side lateral machine
How to do exercise
- Sit facing forward. Set the seat so your shoulder lines up with the machine’s pivot point, and put your elbows under the pads.
- Keep your back against the pad and your spine neutral. Drive your elbows up until your upper arms are level with your shoulders.
- Lower under control and repeat.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side delt (main mover)
- Supraspinatus
- Upper traps
Thinking of swapping your gym membership for a home setup? See our guide to the best all-in-one home gyms.
Lateral raise hold
A three-second pause at the top kills the momentum on the way down. You’ll need a lighter dumbbell than you think.
Equipment needed for exercise
How to do exercise
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and a light dumbbell at each side. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and your shoulders down.
- Pivot at the shoulder and raise your arms until they’re level with the floor.
- Hold for three seconds at the top.
- Lower under control, and pause at the bottom before the next rep.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side delt (main mover)
- Supraspinatus
- Upper and middle traps (holding the shoulder blades steady)
Landmine lateral raise
The bar moves in an arc, so the load shifts as you lift. It feels nothing like a dumbbell, which makes it a good way to wake up a stale shoulder day. Because the bar starts in front of you, your front delt chips in more than on the other versions.
Equipment needed for exercise
- Landmine attachment (or wedge the bar end into a corner, padded with a towel)
- Olympic barbell
How to do exercise
- Set a barbell in the landmine. Start with the empty bar.
- Stand side-on to the anchor and take the end of the bar in your outside hand. In the start position your hand sits in front of your hips.
- Keep your elbow straight and pivot at the shoulder, bringing your arm out in an arc until your hand reaches shoulder height.
- Lower under control and repeat.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side delt (main mover)
- Front delt (more than in the other versions, because the bar starts in front of you)
- Upper traps
Wall press lateral raise
Pressing your free hand into the wall braces your body, so you can’t lean or swing. Your pressing side works hard too, holding the wall.
Equipment needed for exercise
- A single dumbbell
How to do exercise
- Stand side-on to a wall and press your inside hand into it. Hold a dumbbell in your other hand by your thigh.
- Pivot at the shoulder and raise the dumbbell out to the side until your arm is level with the floor, no higher.
- Take three seconds to lower it.
- Finish all your reps, then turn round and do the other arm.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side delt (main mover)
- Supraspinatus
- Opposite side delt (pressing into the wall)
Y raise
This one breaks my shoulder-height rule, and I include it anyway. Lying chest-down on an incline bench takes your legs and hips out of it completely, so cheating is impossible. The arms go overhead, which brings in the rear delts and lower traps, the muscles that keep your shoulders healthy. Think of it as a support exercise for the side delt rather than a straight swap.
Equipment needed for exercise
How to do exercise
- Set the bench to 45 degrees and lie face down on it, a light dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging down.
- Keep your arms straight and raise them at an angle until your body makes a Y shape.
- Lower under control and repeat.
Exercise muscles worked
- Side and rear delts
- Lower and middle traps
- Supraspinatus
Lateral raise alternatives: the bottom line
The side delt has one main job: raising your arm out to the side. So every real alternative does that same movement. The only real difference is how hard each one makes it to cheat.
If you have a cable machine, start with the cable lateral raise. At home with nothing but dumbbells, the wall press and the lateral raise hold clean up your form fastest. Bands are the cheapest and travel well.
Add one or two to your shoulder day. Work in the 10 to 30 rep range. Drop below 10 reps and the weight gets too heavy to control, which defeats the point.
For the rest of your shoulders, see our face pull alternatives and reverse fly alternatives for the rear delts, and our upright row alternatives.