Lateral raise
Isolates the side of the shoulder. In experienced lifters, dumbbells and cables grew it by the same small amount over eight weeks.
Why it's here
The lateral raise lifts the arm out to the side, the side deltoid's main job, with little help from other muscles. In an eight-week trial in experienced lifters, each person trained one arm with a dumbbell and the other with a cable; the side deltoid thickened by about 3–5% with either, and the two tools did equally well [1]. Use whichever you have.
The evidence
- Training study Twenty-four adults (16 men, 8 women) with at least three years of resistance training raised one arm with a dumbbell and the other on a cable, twice a week for eight weeks, five sets of 12–16 per arm taken to failure. Side-deltoid thickness rose by about 3–5% at both measured sites for both tools, with the analysis favouring no difference between them. There was no group that did not train, and the authors note the changes were small relative to the measurement's error. The trial was funded by Jaquish Biomedical, and one author formerly sat on the scientific advisory board of Tonal [1].
How to do it
- Stand holding a dumbbell at your side, or a cable handle with the pulley set level with your hand, as in the trial above [1].
- With your elbow straight, raise your arm out to the side until it is level with your shoulder, at about 90° [1].
- Lower it back to your side under control and repeat. The trial used about one second up and one second down [1].
Stop an exercise that causes significant or unusual pain and have it assessed. This page describes the movement; it is not rehabilitation advice.
Making it harder over time
This is a small isolation exercise in the Progressive Overload Calculator, which adds weight in steps of 1%–2.5% once every set reaches the top of your rep range, and adds reps until then.
References
- Larsen S, Wolf M, Schoenfeld BJ, Sandberg NØ, Fredriksen AB, Kristiansen BS, van den Tillaar R, Swinton PA, Falch HN. Dumbbell versus cable lateral raises for lateral deltoid hypertrophy: an experimental study. Front Physiol, 2025;16:1611468. doi.org
How we reviewed this page
Every claim is cited to research we opened and read, and labelled with the kind of evidence behind it. Training studies, which measure muscle or strength over weeks, carry the most weight; an exercise is listed only if at least one training study or review supports it. Studies of muscle activation (EMG) can add detail but are never the reason an exercise is here. Sources were last checked on October 16, 2026.
This is the one well-supported choice we list for this muscle group, not a ranked "top five" — the research rarely supports one. We list up to five, and fewer where only fewer meet the rule above: an exercise is never added to fill a group.
Drafted with AI assistance, then edited and fact-checked by a human.
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General information only. This is not medical advice.