Why side lateral raises generally suck
19 March 2008If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Most lateral raises are technically executed so poorly they are rendered worthless. The problem is poundage. Too much weight turns the lateral raise, purportedly a deltoid isolator, into a piss-poor trapezius exercise. The prime considerations in a lateral raise are: range-of-motion and rep speed the velocity of the repetition during the eccentric (loaded) phase of the rep. If the poundage is too heavy the rep stroke inevitably shortens. All deltoid fiber stimulation occurs during the last third of a fully realized eccentric rep stroke. Im writing this having recently witnessed yet another incident of lateral raise abusive behavior.
This guy was making a huge show out of lifting a pair of 60s in the lateral raise. Of course he used a huge heave to get the weights started and barely moved them a foot. His version would more aptly be named lateral heaves. He used momentum to get the weight moving and tossed them upward but when they wanted to come down, they came down, in actuality he was following the weight hed thrown. He wasnt powering or controlling the weight he simply had his hands attached to poundage with a mind of its own. He didnt own the weight, the weight owned him. A proper lateral raise is exactly like it sounds you dont jerk and heave and contort, you raise the arm slowly outward and upward in the most disadvantageous way.
When the arms are parallel to the floor, hold this completed position for a split-second before lowering weight. Now thats how you do a legitimate, result-producing lateral raise! Frank Zane had a subtle technical variation that deserves passing along. He called it pouring the tea and was done at the top of each lateral raise rep. At the absolute apogee of the rep height, Zane would halt the weight and while it was suspended airborne he would swivel his wrists back and up. He described the technique: Use the same hand motion you would to pour tea out of a hot kettle. Frank had been a science teacher and always put a lot of thought into his training, this being but one example. Dorian Yates was strong as hell. He was the only guy I ever saw really man-handle a pair of sixty-pound dumbbell correctly. Purposefully slow rise, hold the top position before lowering slow and under complete control.
Done properly, the lateral raise is an exercise in continual tension. The real pros will not lower the bells downward all the way to the sides completely as this hand position is devoid of tension. The optimal goal is to establish a mind/muscle connection on the 1st rep of the 1st set. With complete concentration you mentally insist that each rep be lifted upward using delt power and delt power alone. You can arm lift a light dumbbells but what we seek is far subtlertotal deltoid isolation. More specifically side deltoid muscle isolation. With complete concentration you simply will not allow any other muscles to assist the side delt in powering the poundage upward. The odd angle, the disadvantageous leverage, the difficulty in achieving precise isolation of the deltoid, all combine to make the lateral raise a difficult exercise. On the other hand if you made a commitment to do them properly and precisely, laterals have a place in the training regimen albeit a secondary role to the overhead shoulder pressing exercises: compound multi-joint exercises that simultaneously stimulate groups of muscles.
Lateral raises can be an excellent isolation exercise, perfect for zeroing in on a particular muscle but only after the deltoids have been blasted by a compound multi-joint exercise. If you perform lateral raises do them strictly and correctly and make sure to place them in a secondary position on shoulder day. First hit overhead presses of some type, hard and heavy, then follow up with 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps in the strict lateral raise. Keep me apprised of lateral progress.
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