Muscles Targeted: Seated dumbbell side lateral raises are great for developing the middle part of your deltoids. Since there are 3 main heads of the deltoids (front, middle and rear), it’s always important to work each area independently with different exercises in order to develop the entire shoulder region. A weak set of rear deltoids may cause injuries, so its crucial to include this work into your overall shoulder workout routine. Along with having proper overall shoulder development, it’s also important to have symmetry, which is the look of even definition in your entire body. In bodybuilding, symmetry is crucial since the last thing you want is to have a huge upper body and skinny, chicken legs. So, always think about overall development when training so your physique is properly proportioned.
Exercise Advice: When doing the seated dumbbell side lateral raises, you will be in a seated position holding a pair of dumbbells while raising both arms at the same time. Choose a seated bench with back support and grab a light pair of dumbbells. Safely position yourself into a seated bench and make sure your back is completely flat against the back support. Place your feet squarely on the floor and allow your arms to hang naturally at your sides. Begin the exercise by raising both arms at the same time up to the top position which will be at about chin level. Use a slow and controlled tempo and pause slightly at the top before lowering the weight back down to the starting position.
Things To Avoid: Posture and tempo are very important when doing the seated dumbbell side lateral raises. Avoid hunching your back and shoulders when lifting and lowering the dumbbells. Place your back flat against the back rest and keep it there throughout the entire range of the movement. The weight of the dumbbells is also important. This is not considered a mass building movement, so you don’t need to use a lot of weight. Choose a light pair of dumbbells and make sure your technique is spot on before increasing the weight. If your technique suffers, always decrease the weight and make sure your form is correct. Using a mirror is a great tool so you can monitor yourself to make sure you’re using proper technique.
Reps and Sets: Since this is an overall shaping movement, your overall repetitions will be in the higher range of around 12-15 reps per set. Your overall sets will depend on your level of fitness. If you are a beginner, shoot for 1 set and include two additional exercises to hit the front and rear heads of the deltoids. Your overall sets will be in the range of 3-4 for your entire shoulder workout. If you’re more advanced, you can shoot for 2-3 sets for this exercise and also include frontal and rear deltoid work. Your overall sets will be in the higher range of 8-9 sets for your overall deltoid workout.
Other Exercises To Use: Since the seated dumbbell side lateral raises work the middle head of the deltoids, you want to make sure you include front and rear deltoid exercises into your overall workout routine. A few great exercises to include are front barbell deltoid raises and seated bent over rear deltoid raises in order to target all 3 heads of your shoulder muscles and get a great deltoid workout.
