Raising dumbbells through the sides. Standing dumbbell lateral raises

To develop medium bun deltoid shoulders, athletes include in their training program standing dumbbell swings performed from a standing position. This muscle group is the main one in this exercise. In addition, there is a load on both the trapezius and rear delts. The degree of difficulty of this exercise is average, but quite a lot of mistakes can be made in the technique of performing it.

Lifting dumbbells while standing sideways is considered one of the the best ways working out the middle part of the delta, but requires a clear understanding of the correct technique. The absence of mistakes when performing this exercise allows you to ensure that your shoulders become as wide as possible. The development of deltoid muscles is one of the highest priority areas in which athletes work when visiting Gym. Powerful shoulders make the athlete’s figure as wide as possible from the side, emphasizing top part arms, allow you to tell others how serious the attitude of a bodybuilder with such powerful and developed shoulders is.

Some athletes prefer this to swings basic exercise, like an overhead press. It certainly brings certain benefits, since it is intended for training shoulder girdle, but, being the main one, does not have the same effect on the middle delta bundles. The latter are worked out in the process of swinging dumbbells to the sides from a standing position, since this exercise works this part of the shoulders in isolation.

Knowing these important points will allow you to master the correct technique and work the middle deltoid muscles in isolation.

This is a fairly common mistake, which can be avoided if you create a small angle in the elbow joint in advance. It should be approximately 10-15 degrees. It must be saved until the end of the set being performed. At the point of maximum contraction, the angle is kept in the same way as at the very beginning.

Contraction and activation of the elbows balances the triceps. This deprives standing arm swings with dumbbells of their status. isolated exercise. It ceases to serve the purpose for which it was included in the training process.

The dumbbells should not move in a completely straight line, but go in an arc. If the exercise is not done in front of a mirror, you can ask a partner or gym mate to check the correct execution technique.

To develop the middle deltoid muscles to the maximum, tension must be maintained throughout the entire approach. When the dumbbell in its extreme position is lowered to its maximum, being in front of the hips, the tension exerted on the deltoids drops to zero. To solve this problem, the range of motion is reduced by keeping weights at a distance of 10-20 cm from the body.

ABOUT making the right choice“distance” is evidenced by a more difficult process of lifting dumbbells, when the load falls on the middle bundles. The main thing is to choose the right weight. If it is too heavy, the likelihood of injury increases many times over.

All attention should be focused on technique. When it is fully mastered, increasing the weight lifted will take place without any problems.

Disorderly and chaotic dumping is the most common mistake, which is allowed by novice athletes. The elbows in the swing are a kind of pointers, always located higher.

Missing the moment of correct movement of the deltas significantly slows down the process of development of the middle fascicles. To prevent this from happening, progress is rapid and of high quality, elbows should always play the role of pointers.

When performing swings, most athletes limit themselves to raising their arms to shoulder height. This position is not maximum, since the middle fascicles of the deltoid muscle can go higher. Increasing the height by another 45 degrees allows you to achieve maximum tension, which has a significant impact on the growth of the shoulder girdle. In addition, this movement gives impetus to the development of the upper trapezius.

There are some important points, which should be taken into account. Athletes experiencing painful sensations Those who have injuries or problems with the shoulder should first consult a doctor, and only then make a decision as to whether it is permissible to do this exercise with maximum load or not.

IN gym Quite often you can see how some athletes perform this exercise in such a way that in the upper position a semblance of the letter “T” is formed. This method results in maximum load on elbow joints because it negatively affects health.

This is a misconception that many bodybuilders hold. The smaller the bend, the higher the weight lifted. However, given the main goal that the athlete pursues when performing swings, one should think about what is more important - technique or an illusory sense of one’s own strength. As the angle decreases, it certainly becomes easier to lift weights, including maximum weights.

A bodybuilder may think that lifting heavy weights makes him stronger, but this is not entirely true. The more time you spend building muscle, the better the training. Therefore, you should always remember that technique is much more important than just a feeling of your own strength without a significant increase in the volume and width of the middle delta beam.

This exercise should not be called a dumbbell lift rather than a swing.

Some people call the swings “flying” or “lifting”, and the middle beams “external deltas,” which is absolutely incorrect. This, of course, does not have any effect on the performance technique, but it hurts the ears of experienced athletes and indicates ignorance or a frivolous attitude towards bodybuilding. You should not distort or call the exercise in your own way.

From: bodybuilding.com

Raising dumbbells through the sides is an exercise aimed at developing the deltoid muscles (shoulder muscles) and allows you to work their middle bundle in isolation. Let's take a closer look at the anatomy and technique of the exercise.

What muscles work when you raise your arms up from the sides?

The deltoid muscles of the shoulder consist of three small bundles: the anterior, middle and posterior deltoids. When performing side-to-side dumbbell lifts, the middle bundle is worked out as much as possible, and the front and rear bundles are included in the work to a slightly lesser extent.

The back muscles help to carry out the movement - trapezius, rhomboid and serratus superior posterior.

In this case, you need to achieve such a technique that the biceps do not “pull” the load on themselves, and all three delta bundles are included in the work.

This exercise improves the mobility of the shoulder blades and shoulder joint. The main thing is to do it correctly so as not to harm these joints.

In general, the anatomy of this exercise looks like this:

Benefits of exercise

There are not many exercises and actions in everyday life that allow you to work the middle bundle of the deltoid muscle. There are more exercises that involve the front and rear deltoids, and they also help with some exercises not directly related to pumping the shoulders. This is due to the peculiarity of the location of the middle delta, which allows this muscle to strain less often, and the load goes to the anterior or posterior bundles. And dumbbell lateral raises work great in this area if done slowly and deliberately.

By performing swings regularly, you can increase the strength and growth of shoulder muscles, improve flexibility and joint mobility.

Technique for performing dumbbell lateral raises

Before starting the exercise, it is important to choose the right weight with which you will work. For women who do not pursue the goal of increasing muscle mass, it is advisable to limit yourself to 3 kg dumbbells (1 kg is suitable for beginners). Men can start with 3 kg and gradually increase the weight of the projectile.

We take a comfortable, stable position: feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned to the sides.
It is best to hold dumbbells with a neutral grip, without turning the hand in any direction.
We keep our back straight and rigid, with the shoulder blades moving towards each other.
Bend your elbows slightly.
As you exhale, gently raise your arms with the dumbbells up.
At the top point, the elbows should be in line with the shoulders, and the hands should be slightly below this line.
As you inhale, lower your arms and repeat the exercise.
Another breathing option: inhale, hold the lift; At the top point we exhale and begin to lower our arms down. This type of breathing is usually used by male athletes when lifting heavy weights.

We perform 12–15 times. 4 approaches will be enough.

Video: swings, technique for performing dumbbell side raises while standing

During the exercise, you should not raise your arms above your head. The exercise can be performed either sitting or standing. Before training, try to remember a number of nuances that will make it even more effective and safe:

When lifting dumbbells through the sides, do not use too much heavy weight- plays the biggest role here correct technique. If you take dumbbells that are too large, the load will shift to your back, and the exercise will become ineffective for pumping up your deltoids.
Your arms should be raised until your shoulder is parallel to the floor, not higher. The deltoid muscles stop working when you raise your arms higher, since at this moment the load falls on the trapezius.
Don't help yourself with your body. If you feel yourself starting to sway, the weight is too heavy. The body must be firmly fixed, and movement must be carried out only by raising the arms.
Don't bend your elbows too much, this also takes a lot of pressure off your shoulder muscles.
The arms should rise through the sides, there is no need to bring them forward; Elbows should point back, not down.

Lateral dumbbell raises are one of the most effective exercises for pumping the deltoid muscles, especially the middle fascicle. To fully develop the shoulder muscles, you should alternate this exercise with others, for example, standing dumbbell press, Arnold press, overhead barbell press, and so on. This will allow you to achieve symmetry and an equal degree of elaboration of all delta beams.

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Of course, shoulder power is basically a feature of the body determined by genes. The strength of our shoulders is directly determined by the size of the collarbone. It is believed that the best stimulator of shoulder growth is swimming, however experienced trainers They assure that at the age when bones stop growing, swimming becomes ineffective, and in the future it is necessary to work directly with the muscles.

An excellent workout for developing these same muscles is the Dumbbell Side Raise. The main effect of the exercise is to develop the middle head of the deltoid muscle. The effect is such that over time this exercise is visible to the naked eye. So, how to make your figure athletic and courageous?!

The exercise is used for effective development lateral and posterior deltoid muscles and still develops trapezius muscles

Technique for performing dumbbell lateral raises while standing

We stand straight with our feet shoulder-width apart.
We take a dumbbell in each hand so that our palms face the floor.
We make a slight downward bend, without changing the arch of the back, so as not to deform the spine.
Tighten your abs and bend your elbows at a slight angle.
We fix the body in this position.
Slowly, while inhaling, raise your arms with dumbbells slightly above shoulder level. Palms may face the floor or sides, however thumb we direct to the floor.
We fix the maximum level of lifting for a while, and then also slowly, while exhaling, lower our arms back.

Errors, nuances and dangers of execution

It is a mistake to think that if you perform an exercise quickly, the muscles will work more actively and the effect will be stronger. This is main mistake when performing this exercise. The consequence may be injury to the shoulder joint. You should not set up a “mill” with dumbbells in your hands.

You should also not keep your back too straight, just like your arms. It's exerting too much high pressure on the shoulders and spine. Correct execution is considered to be when the body is at a slight angle and the elbows are in a slight bend. At the culmination of raising your arms, your elbows are slightly higher than your palms.

This workout is considered the most unsafe for the shoulder joints. Therefore, it should be noted that the main problem is incorrect execution and excessive loads (heavy weight). Technically, it would be correct to choose dumbbells that are less heavy, because... a massive device will not allow correct execution exercises. There is also a simple dependence: the greater the weight, the stronger the bend of the elbows, which leads to a decrease in amplitude and less load on the deltoids, and accordingly the exercise is done in vain.

It is necessary to clearly follow the instructions and listen to your feelings. If it is difficult to do the approach with the thumb down, you need to make the task easier and simply perform arm amplitudes with dumbbells.

Be sure to warm up your muscles before performing the workout. At a minimum, perform amplitude movements with your arms, but without dumbbells.

It is also necessary to remember about breathing. Your arms rise as you inhale due to the fact that when your chest is filled with air, your body is kept level and rib cage holds the middle section of the spine.

Additional Pro Tips:

When lifting dumbbells higher vertical position The trapezius muscles are being activated and the deltoids are practically not working. It is worth making amplitude movements only to the horizontal.
You can also stimulate muscle growth by performing additional standing and sitting presses.
If you feel a forward pull while performing a workout, this means that the mass is large or the bend of your elbows exceeds the norm. Fix the dumbbells at your sides, and reduce the bend of your elbows to 10-15 degrees.

Muscles involved

As already mentioned, the middle head of the deltoid muscle affects the width of the shoulders. This is what we develop during training.

The deltoid muscles get their name from the Greek “delta” (“triangle”), because. This muscle group is divided into three heads: anterior, middle and posterior. However, each of them is responsible for different type movements. In reality, there is no exercise that will help develop all three heads. Therefore, it is worth developing your shoulders with a whole set of exercises that will affect all bundles of the deltoid muscle. I also recommend reading it.

Conclusion

It is believed that this exercise must be used in every workout! It has a great effect on the development of shoulder muscles. Various variations of dumbbell lifts are needed, both standing, sitting, and.

Even in the case when professional athlete with mass and strength shoulder muscles everything is fine, you must not exclude this exercise from your daily routine. It also works great for visualizing the deltoid muscles, separating and outlining them.

No matter how they call this movement. Standing flyes, standing dumbbell abductions, standing forearms flyes, forearm abductions, standing dumbbell swings. For simplicity, we will designate it as a “standing mid-delt raise,” but it is anatomically correct to call it a lateral abduction. The number of techniques performed by athletes is even more varied. Some argue that you need to contrive to raise your shoulders and move the dumbbells in an arc. Others - under no circumstances should you lift the dumbbell above your elbow. Still others allow cheating, while others are strictly against it. Still others generally believe that the movement causes nerves to be pinched by the shoulder joint, and therefore should not be practiced. There are a lot of options, in fact, in fitness we need to master the simplest one, and not try to include “extra” muscles like trapezius during work.

In fact, dumbbell flyes are rarely a cause of injury unless the technique is truly horrendous. Some athletes may throw weights toward their heads, raise their arms too high, swing aggressively, and rotate their arms backward at the shoulders during the movement. They run a serious risk, but not of muscle tears, as is commonly believed, but of sprained ligaments and subsequent inflammatory processes.

The problem with shoulders is that they are loaded not only in sports, but also in everyday life. We sit a lot, raising our shoulders and overstraining our trapezius, we carry for a long time bags on one shoulder, stretching one half of the body and involuntarily contracting the other, and often doing sharp lifts of the arms without warming up. This leads to overload of the joints.

Let's say a person has never trained. He comes to the gym and starts doing bench presses, bench presses, sitting, standing, and a couple more presses, but this time with dumbbells. All of them work the deltoids and involve the joint. It is enough to overwork and make an awkward movement and you can get a tear or sprain. Ironically, injury occurs on the last exercise most often, and it's not just any heavy bench press, but a standing isolation dumbbell swing or a cable raise. The reason here is not the movement itself, but the overload of the joint.

For beginners, it is not recommended to do more than 2-3 bench press exercises in one workout. If there are too many exercises, it is better to leave abductions or swings for a light session, and not do them when the body has already received sufficient load. Ideally, the workout should include 1 heavy press, 1 assisted press, and 1 bench or standing abduction. Only then will the volume be adequate.

Anatomical features are also of great importance. If the trapezius is overdeveloped, the athlete will not be able to perform the movement using the shoulders alone. This must be taken into account when choosing weights and start literally with 2-3 kg.

Injuries are often accompanied by inflammation, which is not localized, but spreads throughout the muscle bundle. They often affect the nerves, which increases the pain. Shoulder injuries should be diagnosed by a doctor. Home treatment based on guesswork will not lead to anything good.

Some of them have already been mentioned. Shoulders “suffer” usually due to excessive physical fitness athlete's diligence. Simply put, everyone wants to pump them up faster because they give the figure an athletic look and therefore turn training any part of the body into “shoulders.” This is not rational and leads to injury. A beginning athlete should not train his shoulders on the same day as his chest and back.

There are two basic rules for creating a split for beginners:

If you are performing a standing or seated press on shoulder training day, it does not need to be attached to your chest or back. Do shoulders with legs like athletes old school, and stay healthy;
If there is no bench press in the workout, but only abductions and lifting, then perform shoulder training on the day of light bench press along with triceps work

Training shoulders with the back only makes sense if there is really nowhere else to put them, all the presses in the workout are heavy, the legs are also heavy, and the back is performed according to the “injury pumping” principle. But this is not typical in fitness. It's more of a powerlifter's approach.

Important: if a beginner is not yet doing splits, abductions can replace the bench press in some cases. For example, when training was carried out in training classic bench press lying down with a barbell, and the front deltoids are already overloaded.

This movement has only a few technical features. They are aimed at ensuring that the load does not shift to the anterior and posterior bundles of the deltoid muscles. The front bundles raise the arms, the rear bundles pull them back. It’s simple - you don’t need to allow a swing with a clear emphasis on bringing the shoulder blades together and swinging forward with the dumbbells swinging in front of the chest. Options with shifting accents and cheating are loved by bodybuilding professionals for only one reason. These people train for years, sometimes decades. It is difficult to “pierce” their muscles with anything and surprise them. That’s why they use methods that are a bit strange for the average person.

Important: This exercise is rarely performed first in shoulder girdle training, but almost always requires a joint warm-up. If you have already done standing and bench presses, you just need to perform a few rotations in the shoulder joint, moving your arm back. Those who have not done this require a full warm-up, with light presses with a body bar, abductions with rubber or without weights.

How to perform the movement:

Stand directly in front of the mirror so that you can see your movements;
Take dumbbells in your hands with minimal weight, but such that you can feel it;
Move your forearm to the side, along an arched path, raising your elbow to the side, but not higher than your shoulder;
Elbows slightly bent;
The dumbbells in the hands turn in the same direction as the movement;
When we move our arms to the sides, the little finger is at the top, the thumb is at the bottom, this causes the dumbbells to turn;
Lifting and lowering are performed smoothly and slowly, without cheating the body and additional unnecessary movements

In normal mode, the movement is performed for 10-12 repetitions. But there are also special cases. For example, a person has very responsive slow muscle fibers and he requires multiple repetitions or statics, that is, holding the dumbbells at the top point. Or an option with a relatively low-repetition regime is possible, if the opposite is true. Here it is important to observe yourself and do what the body responds to.

Important: the exercise should not be performed using inertial force in any of the options. If you need to push with your legs, jump, or move your body, the weight is too heavy and needs to be reduced.

One arm abduction is an option for those who struggle with muscle imbalances or suffers from cheating. You need to grab a vertical support with your free hand and stand, transferring your weight to the center of the arch of both feet. Then the arm is moved to the side, completely repeating the technique of the main exercise.

Although the goal is to overcome imbalances, the movement is performed on both sides for the same number of repetitions.

It is necessary to avoid excessive bending to the side to avoid pinching the nerve and not to provoke an inflammatory process.

Features of movement

Below are the features of the exercise:

This is a muscle-isolating movement; you don’t need to take huge dumbbells and try to push them up as best you can;
The weight is selected individually, strictly so that it is possible to lift it by contracting the middle fascicle of the deltoid, and not by including the trapezius and muscles of the body and legs in the work;
If cheating cannot be eliminated at all, you need to do the movement in the “sitting on a bench” position with your back pressed against the back;
No opportunity to develop equipment? Try stretching the rubber shock absorber to the side along the trajectory of the dumbbell abduction. Take the lightest one. The tape will teach you to turn off the trapezius muscles.

The list of mistakes made by beginners and professionals is almost the same:

The desire to pump up muscles as quickly as possible, and the choice of dumbbells that are too heavy, which will certainly interfere with performing the exercise correctly;
Walking on your toes, rolling on your feet, changing the position of your legs;
Performing the movement by tilting the body;
Starting position with your back tilted back;
Changing the trajectory of movement, throwing dumbbells to the head;
Uneven rise on the right and left. If you have a curvature of the spine, perform the movement with one arm at a time;
Bending in hip joint leaning forward;
Changes in the angle of the hip joint as you get tired;
Turning on extra muscles as you get tired

Shoulder swings are often performed as a drop set to create an extensive pump. This is only permissible if the athlete is experienced and can hold initial position throughout the exercise.

For those who work with cheating, we can recommend smooth leads on the lower block of the crossover. This will help eliminate unnecessary pushing and other movements and allow you to improve your technique almost instantly. The exercise must be performed regularly, then mastering it will not be a big problem.

Swing dumbbells to the sides while standing - execution technique

We strengthen the deltoid muscles, which are responsible for the beauty of the shoulders, and at the same time work the muscles of the arms, back and abs.

How to practice

1. You will need 3-5 kg dumbbells, 4-6 kg kettlebell and elastic band.

2. You can do all the exercises in a row: do each exercise 1 time, 12 repetitions.

2. Or choose 3-5 exercises and integrate them into your training program: Perform each 3 times, 12-15 reps on each circuit.

3. In exercises that are performed while standing, watch the position of the body and legs: feet hip-width apart, do not bend too much in the lower back and tense your abs to relieve tension from your back.

1. Swimmer Superman

Lie on your stomach, lift your straight arms with dumbbells off the floor and place them at your sides, near your hips. Bring your hands forward to your head, then, without lowering them to the floor, place them behind your back. This is one repetition.

Option: the exercise can be performed without additional equipment.

2. Broach

Keep your arms straight with the weight in front of you, below. Gently lift the barbell up to about your chin, then slowly lower your arms down. This is one repetition.

Follow deltoid muscles, which cover shoulder joints, – they are the ones who should work in this exercise.

3. Arnold Press

Hold bent arms with dumbbells in front of you at shoulder level, palms facing you. Raise your arms up, turning your palms away from you. Then lower them down. This is one repetition.

4. Lateral Dumbbell Raises

Place your arms slightly bent at the elbows with dumbbells near your hips. Extend your arms to the sides until they are parallel to the floor, keeping your shoulders down. This is one repetition.

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Only arms and back.

5. Lifting dumbbells in front of you

Keep your arms straight with dumbbells below, near your hips. Raise them in front of you to shoulder level and then slowly lower them down. This is one repetition.

Easy version: raise your arms one at a time.

6. Dumbbell Press Up

Place your arms bent at the elbows in front of you at shoulder level. Raise both arms up, hold at the top for a couple of seconds and lower them down. This is one repetition.

7. One-arm dumbbell press up while kneeling

Get down on your right knee left leg put it forward. Bend your right arm with a dumbbell at the elbow and hold it in front of you at shoulder level. Raise your arm up and then lower it down, keeping your body level. This is one repetition.

8. Bent-over side dumbbell raises

Lean forward to an angle of 45 degrees: move your pelvis back, without bending your knees too much. Place your straight arms with dumbbells in front of you. By tensing the muscles in the area of your shoulder blades (imagine holding a pencil between them), spread your arms out to the sides and up. And then lower them down. This is one repetition.

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9. Ribbon raises

Hold your hands with the band in front of you, parallel to the floor. Then tighten them and spread them in different directions, pulling the tape. Then bring your hands back. This is one repetition.

10. Dumbbell Overhead Press

Bend your arms with dumbbells at your elbows at shoulder level and spread them to the sides. Keep them parallel to the floor. Press up and come back down. This is one repetition.

11. Rotation of the forearm to the side

Take the dumbbell in right hand and bend it at the elbow at a right angle. Press your elbow to your torso, move your forearm to the side and return it back. This is one repetition.

Work one arm first and then switch sides.

12. Circular movements

Extend your straight arms with dumbbells to the sides. Do small ones circular movements forward. One rotation - one repetition.

13. Dumbbell twists

Raise your straight arms with a dumbbell in front of you until they are parallel to the floor. Rotate the dumbbell left and right as if you were turning the steering wheel of a car.