Dumbbell · beginner · shoulders
Dumbbell lateral raise to front raise
Also called Lateral to front raise, Front and side raise combo, L raise, Side raise to front raise.
This alternates two raises inside one set: both arms out to the sides to shoulder height, down, then both arms forward to shoulder height, down. The middle head of your shoulder does the side half and the front head does the forward half, while your traps turn the shoulder blades so the arms can rise. It is sold as covering the whole shoulder. Measured, it loads the front head in both halves and never takes your arm behind you.
How to do it
- Step oneStand with feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
- Step twoRaise both arms out to the sides in a lateral raise until they are parallel to the ground.
- Step threeLower the dumbbells back down, then raise both arms straight in front of you in a front raise.
- Step fourLower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
- Step fiveContinue alternating between lateral and front raises.
What usually goes wrong
Each starts with what you would notice.
Both halves of the set are felt in the front of your shoulders.
WhyThat is closer to what the exercise is than to a mistake. When four shoulder exercises were measured in 13 men experienced in strength training, a side raise put about as much work through the front head as a bench press did, which is modest rather than large, and the forward half of this sequence then loads it directly.
FixNothing, if the front of your shoulder was the point. If you wanted the middle head worked on its own, the side raise by itself is the version that does that, and the forward half is the part you would drop.
The dumbbells swing round from out at your sides to out in front without ever coming down.
WhyThe two raises have run into each other. What should be two reps from a dead start has become one continuous sweep across the top, which is the easiest part of both.
FixBring the dumbbells all the way back to your thighs between the side raise and the front raise, as the steps here describe, and start each raise from still.
The second raise of every pair does not get as high as the first.
WhyYou are asking the shoulder for a second raise with no rest after the first, so the pair tires faster than either raise would on its own.
FixCount a pair as one rep and plan for fewer of them. Stopping at the height you can reach on both halves makes a better set than finishing the number you had in mind.
One dumbbell does not suit both halves.
WhyThese are two different raises with two different ceilings, and which of them you are stronger at varies. Whichever is weaker sets the weight, so the other half runs lighter than it needs to.
FixIf both halves matter, run them as two exercises with their own dumbbells. If the point is to get shoulder work done quickly, keep the pair and load for the weaker of the two.
What it is for
The dumbbell lateral raise to front raise is a shoulder exercise that targets all heads of the deltoid by combining lateral raises with front raises. Alternating between the two movements provides comprehensive shoulder development and improved muscular endurance.
Questions people ask
- Does this work all three heads of the shoulder?
- No. The side raise is where the middle head does its work and the forward raise is where the front head does. Neither takes your arm behind your body, which is the direction the rear head produces, and that part of the shoulder is trained by rowing and pulling instead.
- What muscles does the lateral raise to front raise work?
- The middle and front heads of the deltoid, with your traps turning the shoulder blades so the arms can rise. The front head is involved in both halves rather than only the forward one, which is why this sequence gives it more work than it looks like it does.
- Which raise should come first?
- The demonstration starts to the side and then goes forward. Nobody has tested the order and there is no reason to expect much from it. What does matter is that the second raise of each pair happens on a shoulder that has just done the first one.
- Is it better than doing the two raises separately?
- It saves time, and that is the whole argument in its favor. Nobody has compared the pair against the same two raises run as separate exercises, and the pair costs you the ability to load each one properly.
- Do you need the front raise at all?
- That argument is set out on the front raise entry, which weighs it against everything else you already press. It is worth reading before you commit to a sequence with one in every rep.