Lat raises (also known as lateral raises) are an upper body exercise that target the shoulders, and in particular, the deltoid muscles. They increase muscular definition and improve shoulder health. Working through different planes of movement allows you to take full advantage of the mobility of the shoulder joint.

How to Perform Lat Raises

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Begin with your arms down by the side of your body.

• Hold the dumbbells with a neutral grip (palms facing your body) and have a slight bend in your elbows.

• Inhale, lifting both arms laterally up to shoulder height and maintaining a small bend in your elbows.

• Once at the top of the movement, pause for a moment as you squeeze your deltoid muscles.

• In a controlled manner, lower the dumbbells back to the start position.

• You can also use a cable machine to perform lat raises by using a functional trainer or Cable Crossover Machine to maintain resistance throughout the whole movement.

Why Are Lat Raises So Hard?

If you commonly use 17.5kg Dumbbells for shoulder presses, you might feel discouraged that you need to lower the weight for lat raises. This is because lat raises primarily target the lateral deltoids which are small compared to other shoulder muscles, this means that you aren’t able to lift as much weight. Secondly, with your arms extended far from your body, this creates a long lever arm, making it more difficult to lift the weight against gravity.

Lat raises are a single-joint movement and focus on one muscle and joint in isolation, unlike compound movements that recruit several different muscles. Because of this, it’s not uncommon to programme lat raises after a compound exercise such as shoulder press to really fatigue the deltoid muscles.

Are Lat Raises Push or Pull?

Although lat raises don’t fit into the traditional definition of a push or pull exercise, they are generally included in a push workout. This is because most shoulder exercises are pushing movements and because lat raises are a shoulder exercise, you would group them into the same workout.

What is Good Form for Lat Raises?

It can be difficult to know if you’re performing an exercise correctly, here are some things you should look out for when you’re doing lat raises -

• Keep a slight bend in your elbows throughout the movement.

• Maintain a neutral spine.

• Raise your arms to shoulder height, ensuring a full range of motion.

• Refrain from shrugging your shoulders.

• Brace your core throughout the movement.

What Are Common Lat Raise Mistakes?

Using Excessive Weight - If you lift too much, this can lead to bad technique and recruiting other muscles to perform the exercise.

Swinging - Using momentum to get the weight to shoulder height reduces muscle recruitment in the deltoids.

Incomplete Range of Motion - If you can’t lift to shoulder height, you won’t reach full range in your deltoids and will be missing out on muscle growth. 

Overarching the Back - Excessively arching your lower back can cause injuries.

Shrugging Shoulders - Lifting up your shoulders during the movement reduces the effectiveness for your deltoids.

Neglecting Core Stability - If you don’t brace your core muscles throughout the movement this can cause your body to sway, making the exercise less effective.

Is It Better To Go Heavy on Lat Raises?

As lat raises are a single-joint movement, you’ll never be able to go as heavy as you would in a compound exercise such as shoulder press because less muscles are recruited during the lift. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work hard to complete the set - you should have a little bit left in the tank afterwards. If 10kg Dumbbell lateral raises are too much, lower the weight down to 8kg and work from there.

What Muscles Do Lat Raises Work?

The main muscles that lat raises target are the deltoid muscles in the shoulder, and specifically the lateral head. As well as this, the supraspinatus is engaged to help with shoulder abduction and the upper trapezius also aids in elevating the arms.

Do Lat Raises Work All Three Heads?

The deltoid muscles have three heads: anterior (front), lateral (middle), and posterior (rear). Lat raises primarily target the lateral or middle head of the deltoid muscles in the shoulders. If you’re looking to increase muscle growth in the shoulders, it’s important to incorporate other shoulder exercises into your programme such as shoulder presses and Arnold presses to boost muscle growth in all parts of the deltoids.

Lat raises might be tricky, and you’ll definitely feel the burn, but it’s all worth it when they lead the way to maximal deltoid muscle growth.

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Tags: Equipment > Dumbbells ; Exercise Type > Strength