Shoulders
Scaption
The Scaption is a strength exercise with dumbbells for your shoulders. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: side delts 45%, front delts 13% and lower traps 11%.
Also known as: diagonal front raise
How to do it
- Stand with a light dumbbell in each hand, feet hip-width, arms at your sides.
- Turn the palms to face each other so the thumbs point forward.
- Raise the arms at an angle of about 30 degrees in front of the body, halfway between a front and a side raise.
- Stop when the arms reach shoulder height, thumbs pointing up.
- Lower slowly along the same diagonal line.
Tips
- Think of making a wide V with the arms, not a T.
- Let the shoulder blades glide up and around the ribs as the arms rise.
- Keep the neck long and the chin level.
Common mistakes
- Raising the arms straight forward or straight out to the side instead of on the diagonal.
- Shrugging hard at the top.
- Leaning back to help the weights up.
Muscles worked by the Scaption
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.
Raising in the scapular plane recruits more front delt and lower traps. 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.
Scaption alternatives
Same equipment
Different equipment
Make it harder
Similar exercises
Frequently asked questions
What muscles does the Scaption work?
Mainly the side delts. The front delts, lower traps and rear delts assist.
Is the Scaption good for beginners?
Yes. The Scaption is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.
What is a good alternative to the Scaption?
For example the Cable Y Raise, Cable Y Raise Single Arm and Dumbbell Y Raise. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.
How do you make the Scaption harder?
Add weight or reps, or move on to the Cable Y Raise and Cable Y Raise Single Arm.
Sources
- Coratella et al. 2020, IJERPH 17(17):6015 (lateral raise variations and front raise)
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