Exercise:

Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Target Muscle:

Shoulders (Posterior Head)

Bench, Dumbbells

Sit down on a flat bench and hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Lean forward so that your torso is parallel to the floor or just slightly higher, and with a small bend in your elbows, raise the dumbbells directly out to your sides in a circular motion until your upper arms are parallel to the floor with your palms facing down.

Lower the dumbbells back down following the same path and repeat.

- In order to maximize the tension on the rear delt, allow your upper arms to hang forward throughout the exercise and do not retract your shoulder blades as you raise the dumbbells upward. When you retract your shoulder blades, the muscles of the mid-back begin to take over.

- Make sure to raise the dumbbells directly out to your side, perpendicular to your body. Doing so prevents involvement of the lats.

- Always favor moderate weights and strict form on this exercise. Trying to go too heavy and using a lot of momentum can make it increasingly difficult to effectively isolate the rear delts.

- Do not raise your upper arms any higher than parallel to the floor. Once you go past parallel, the tension is taken off of the posterior deltoid and the upper back begins performing the bulk of the work.