Exercise:

Standing Cable Lateral Raise

Target Muscle:

Shoulders (Lateral Head)

Cable Machine, Single-Hand Attachment

Set the pulley at the very bottom of the cable machine and take one step to the side. Grab onto the attachment with the hand that is furthest away from the machine and hold it at around upper thigh height. Place your opposite hand on your hip for support.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and with a slight bend in your knees. Lean forward slightly, and with a small bend in your elbow, raise the cable out to your side in a circular motion until your upper arm is parallel to the floor with your palm facing down

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

- Always favor moderate weights and strict form on this exercise. Trying to heave around very heavy weight using a lot of body momentum places the shoulder joints under a lot of stress and can easily lead to injury.

- Make sure to lean your torso slightly forward rather than remaining completely upright. This shifts the line of pull onto the lateral head of the shoulder where you want it, as opposed to the anterior head.

- Flex your abs hard and lock down your ribcage throughout the exercise, as this will shift tension off of the upper traps and more onto the shoulders.

- Always keep your hands and elbows in line with eachother as you raise the weights up, as bringing the hands higher than the elbows causes the rotator cuff muscles to take over.

- 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 lateral deltoid and the upper traps begin performing the bulk of the work.