Exercise:

Lying Incline Lateral Raise

Target Muscle:

Shoulders (Lateral Head)

Incline Bench, Dumbbell

Adjust an incline bench at roughly a 45 degree angle and lie down sideways with your body pressed firmly against it. Grab onto a single dumbbell with your uppermost arm and press the opposite hand against your thigh for support.

Extend the dumbbell down directly at your side, and with a slight bend in your elbow, raise it up toward the ceiling until your upper arm is just short of perpendicular to the ground. The dumbbell should remain in line with the side of your body at all times.

Lower the dumbbell back down to your side and repeat.

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

- 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.

- Do not raise the dumbbell all the way up until your upper arm is perpendicular to the floor. In this position all of the tension will be taken off of the lateral delt, so make sure to stop a few inches short of perpendicular on each rep.