Execution
- Assume a well-balanced position with the feet shoulder-width or slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and with the toes pointed slightly out to the sides.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with the grip of the dumbbell in a forward-backward line and the palms facing inward. Your arms should be straight and relaxed and your vision should be focused forward.
- Inhale slightly more than usual and hold your breath as you raise the arms sideward and upward.
- As you being raising the arms, bend the elbows slightly and hold this elbow angle as the arms are raised to the level or just above level position.
- Then exhale as you return the dumbbells to the initial position keeping them under control at all times.
- Maintain a stable stance throughout the execution and execute at a moderate rate of speed.
PERFORMANCE
- For maximum development of the deltoid it is important that you do not use extra heavy weights. Heavy weights will not allow you to raise the arms to or above the horizontal position. In addition, the heavy weights will force you to bend the elbows more, which cuts down on the amount of effective resistance that you are using. This decreases emphasis on the middle deltoid.
- When you raise the arms above the level position 30-45 degrees you get the strongest contraction of the deltoid and you also involve the upper pectoralis major.
- This exercise can also be done on a double-cable apparatus using the low pulleys. Grasp the pulley on your left with the right hand and the pulley on the right with your left hand and hold them in the middle of your body on extended arms. Execute in the same manner as with the dumbbell, but raise the arms only until they are level to the floor. Raising them above level is not effective since the resistance will be decreasing as you go higher. This is one reason why the dumbbell lateral raise is recommended for more effective full development of the deltoid.
- Be sure to inhale and hold your breath as you raise the dumbbells upward. Doing this helps to stabilize the chest cage allowing for safe and effective execution and the creation of greater power.
- Be sure to remain upright as you execute this exercise. Do not lean or crouch forward as you raise the arms upward. This sometimes occurs if you raise the arms more forward rather than directly out to the sides. This often occurs when you have severely bent elbows.
- To maintain a full range of motion in the shoulder joints, do a set with light dumbbells moving the arms completely overhead. Not only does this still tax the deltoid but it helps maintain shoulder joint flexibility.
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED
In the shoulder joint, the deltoid and the supraspinatus are involved. The deltoid is a 3-headed muscle that covers the front, side and back of the shoulder. Only the anterior and middle sections are involved in this exercise. The supraspinatus lies under the deltoid in the top posterior section of scapula. In the shoulder girdle the major muscles are the upper and lower trapezius and the serratus anterior. The trapezius is a large diamond-shaped muscle that is located in the middle of the upper back. It runs from the base of the neck out to both scapula and then down to the last thoracic vertebrae. The serratus anterior is located on the outer surfaces of the upper eight or nine ribs at the side of the chest.
MUSCLE ACTION
In the shoulder joint, there is abduction in which the arms move in the lateral plane away from the body and upward. When the arm is raised past 90º (the horizontal position) it then moves toward the body. In the shoulder girdle, there is upward rotation and elevation of the scapula. In upward rotation, the scapula rotates around an axis in the center of the bone, while in elevation the scapula and clavicle bones move upward.
SPORTS USES
Shoulder joint abduction and the muscles involved are most important in weightlifting and bodybuilding for full development of the deltoid. It produces the contour of the outside of the shoulders, gives width to the shoulders and a V-shaped appearance to the body (as opposed to a pear shape when the shoulders are narrow and the pelvic girdle is wide). Since the supraspinatus is the main muscle holding the humerus in the glenoid fossa (shoulder joint socket) this exercise can help prevent shoulder joint dislocations. Shoulder joint abduction is a very important action in all sports that require you to raise your arms or reach up. Examples are blocking in basketball and volleyball, gymnastics (free exercise, unevens) diving take-offs, catching overhead flies in softball and the guarding stance and rebounding in basketball. However, these movements are not done against a heavy resistance. This exercise also plays an important role in swimming during the stroke recovery in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke.