Lateral Raise Variations: How I Train Shoulders

I’ve always had a bit of a thing about lateral raises.

Side raises, front raises, rear-delt raises — whatever variation you’re doing.

Because there are so many different ways of doing them.

And every time I go on Instagram, I’ll eventually see somebody saying:

“This is how you do a lateral raise.”

“This is the correct way.”

“You’re doing it wrong.”

And I do think there’s some logic behind that.

Small changes in the movement can change where you feel it and which part of the shoulder you’re putting more emphasis on.

But I don’t believe there is one single lateral raise that everybody has to do.

So I want to explain how I train my shoulders and how I look at these movements.

I Start With the Compound Movements

The first thing I do when I train shoulders is my compound work.

Pressing.

Military press.

Shoulder press.

Whatever heavy movement I’m doing that day.

That already gets the shoulders working before I even touch a lateral raise.

The front delts are doing a lot of work during pressing, the side delts are involved, and depending on the movement and how you perform it, the rear delts can contribute as well.

But I'm not pretending a shoulder press somehow trains every part of the shoulder equally.

It doesn't.

That's why after I've finished the compounds, I start isolating things.

And that's where the raises come in.

There Are Loads of Ways to Do a Lateral Raise

This is the bit that interests me.

Because take a simple dumbbell lateral raise.

Even that one exercise has loads of variations.

You can start with the dumbbells slightly in front of your body.

You can start with them around pocket level.

You can raise directly out to the side.

You can come slightly forwards.

You can change the angle of your elbow.

You can use dumbbells.

You can use cables.

You can use a machine.

If you're wondering whether one tool is automatically better, I've already broken down free weights vs machines for building muscle.

You can slightly change the rotation of the arm.

And every little adjustment can change how that movement feels.

One variation I've seen people use is starting with the weights slightly in front of the body and bringing the elbows upwards until they're roughly around shoulder or chin level.

Another way is the more traditional version.

Hands around pocket level.

Arms coming out to the side.

Keep the movement controlled and try not to turn it into a shrug.

That one, for me, absolutely smashes the side delts.

Then you've got your rear delts.

Bend yourself over, change the line you're pulling through and you're basically moving towards a rear-delt fly.

Again, you're still training the shoulder.

But you're changing which part of the shoulder you're trying to emphasise.

That's the important distinction.

Front Raises Are the Same

The front delt is another one.

You can take a bar, dumbbells, cables or even a plate.

Keep a slight bend in the arms and raise the weight forwards.

Nice controlled movement.

You don't need to launch it into the ceiling.

You're trying to make the shoulder move the weight, not see how much momentum you can generate from your entire body.

I've also got a movement I call Ws.

I don't even know whether that's the proper name for it.

That's just what I call it.

I hold the weights in front of me and move through a pattern that almost draws a W around my head.

One arm comes down towards the shoulder, then the movement comes upwards towards the head, back down and then up the other side.

It changes the angle through the shoulder as I'm moving.

Again, I wouldn't sit here and tell you:

“This scientifically isolates exactly this percentage of this deltoid.”

That's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying I can feel the line of tension changing as I move.

And that's what I'm looking for.

This Is Where Mind-Muscle Connection Comes Back In

I've spoken about mind-muscle connection before, and this is exactly where I use it.

If you're doing a movement and you're trying to train your side delt, think about your side delt.

Can you actually feel it working?

Do you understand what movement that part of the shoulder is producing?

Can you adjust the movement slightly and feel the tension move?

That's what I do.

Now, feeling a muscle doesn't automatically mean you've discovered the scientifically perfect exercise.

And just because something burns doesn't mean it's building more muscle.

If muscle growth is the goal, my complete beginner's guide to building muscle covers the bigger picture beyond one exercise.

But having some awareness of what you're actually trying to train is incredibly useful.

Rather than just picking up two dumbbells and waving them around because somebody on Instagram told you to.

One of My Favourite Shoulder Circuits

Sometimes I'll turn lateral raises into a little circuit.

I'll start with the dumbbells around pocket level.

Then I'll do about 10 reps coming more or less directly out to the side.

Then without putting the dumbbells down, I'll slightly change the angle.

I'll bring the movement a tiny bit further forwards.

Another 10 reps.

Then I'll move it forwards again.

Another 10.

Then eventually I'll be bringing the dumbbells much further in front of me.

Another 10.

So I've basically taken one movement and gradually changed the angle through the set.

By the end of it, my shoulders are absolutely on fire.

And as I move through those positions, I can feel the emphasis changing.

That's the whole point.

I'm experimenting with the angle rather than believing there is one magical position my arm has to stay in.

Instagram Loves the Phrase “You're Doing It Wrong”

I saw another one yesterday.

There's this absolutely massive bloke who appears on my Instagram reels.

He doesn't really say anything in the videos.

He'll show somebody doing an exercise.

Then he'll shake his finger at the camera as if to say:

“No.”

Then he'll point at whichever muscle he's talking about and show his version of the exercise.

And to be fair to him, most of the movements he demonstrates make sense.

I'm not saying he's wrong.

That's not my issue.

My issue is when something gets presented as:

“This is the way.”

Because it might be a good way.

It might even be a brilliant way.

But that doesn't necessarily make it the only way you can train that muscle.

Bodies Aren't All Built Exactly the Same

Different people move differently.

Different arm lengths.

Different shoulder structures.

Different levels of mobility.

Different training histories.

Different injuries.

Different goals.

Even two people performing what looks like exactly the same exercise might feel it completely differently.

That's why I think you need to learn your own body.

If you're doing a lateral raise and you're feeling everything through your traps and almost nothing through the side of your shoulder, change something.

Drop the weight.

Change the angle.

Move the arm slightly forwards.

Try a cable.

Try a machine.

Slow the rep down.

See what happens.

And if you find something that absolutely nails the muscle you're trying to work, don't immediately throw it away because somebody online tells you their variation is better.

Use it.

Train it for a few weeks.

Progress it.

And if nothing seems to be moving after a few weeks, I've also covered why gym progress can stall.

See what happens.

There Are Exceptions

Obviously there are exceptions to all of this.

If you're training for a competition and you've got a proper coach programming your movements, listen to your coach.

If you're working with a bodybuilding coach who has looked at your physique and decided one area needs more work, listen to them.

If you've got an injury and a physio has told you to perform a movement in a specific way, that's a completely different situation.

I'm talking about the normal person in the gym.

The person who's training because they want to get bigger, stronger and look better.

For that person, I think you need to use your brain.

Think about the muscle you're trying to train.

Think about the movement you're performing.

Feel what's happening.

If the movement isn't hitting where you want it to hit, alter it slightly.

Try again.

Move it forwards.

Move it backwards.

Change your grip.

Change the resistance.

Change the angle.

There's nothing wrong with experimenting.

That's one of the things I love about bodybuilding.

You're basically learning your own body over years of training.

You find movements that work brilliantly for you.

Other movements do absolutely nothing for you.

And eventually you build your own toolbox.

So the next time somebody appears on Instagram shaking their finger and telling you:

“You're doing lateral raises wrong.”

Maybe you are.

But maybe you've just found a variation that works better for you.