Overhead Lateral Raise

How to do it

1. Pick up two light dumbbells and stand with feet hip-width, knees soft.
2. Let the dumbbells hang at your sides, palms facing your thighs, elbows slightly bent.
3. Raise both arms out to the sides until they reach shoulder height.
4. Keep going in the same wide arc until the dumbbells meet above your head.
5. Lower slowly along the same arc back to your sides.

Tips

• Turn the thumbs slightly up once the arms pass shoulder height so the shoulders have room to move.
• Brace the stomach so the lower back stays neutral when the arms go overhead.
• Use a much lighter weight than for a normal lateral raise: the long lever makes it hard.

Common mistakes

• Arching the lower back to get the weights overhead.
• Bending the elbows more and more to shorten the lever.
• Dropping the arms fast on the way down.

Muscles worked by the Overhead Lateral Raise

• Side delts Primary47%
• Upper traps Secondary13%
• Front delts Secondary11%
• Rear delts Secondary9%
• Rotator cuff Stabilizer8%
• Serratus anterior Minor6%
• Lower traps Minor6%

Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.

Above shoulder height the scapular rotators take a big share. Raising the arm out to the side is shoulder abduction, led by the lateral delt; front and rear heads assist, the upper traps help rotate the shoulder blade near the top, and the supraspinatus starts the movement from deep.

Overhead Lateral Raise alternatives

Same equipment

• Lu RaiseDumbbell
• Standing Y RaiseDumbbell

Different equipment

• Cable Y RaiseCable
• Cable Y Raise Single ArmCable

Easier

• Dumbbell Y RaiseDumbbell
• ScaptionDumbbell

Make it easier

• Dumbbell Y RaiseDumbbell
• ScaptionDumbbell
• Standing Y RaiseDumbbell
• Band Lateral RaiseResistance band

Similar exercises

• Landmine Lateral RaiseLandmine
• Kettlebell Lateral RaiseKettlebell

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the Overhead Lateral Raise work?

Mainly the side delts. The upper traps, front delts and rear delts assist.

Is the Overhead Lateral Raise good for beginners?

The Overhead Lateral Raise is rated intermediate. If you are new, learn the Dumbbell Y Raise first and build up from there.

What is a good alternative to the Overhead Lateral Raise?

For example the Lu Raise, Standing Y Raise and Cable Y Raise. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.

Sources

• Coratella et al. 2020, IJERPH 17(17):6015 (lateral raise variations and front raise)

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