Lying Lateral Raises for Advanced Shoulder Width and Mass

Lying lateral raises are an extremely effective exercise for producing hypertrophy and width in the shoulders. In a nutshell, they are the standard side-lateral performed while lying on the ground.

Why are they more effective than standard lateral raises?

Although the motion is exactly the same, the difference is found in the way the medial delts must produce force in the lifts.

In the standard lateral, the medial delts are working hardest at the top of the lift, when the arm is fully extended away from the body and parallel to the ground. As such the muscles only need to exert their peak contraction at the top of the lift.

In a lying lateral raise, the arm begins slightly below parallel to the floor. The force required to lift the weight is maximal when the arms are parallel to the floor, i.e. just after the lift has begun. As a result, the medial delts are working hardest at the start of the lift.

Many people find that by training their medial delts in this way, where they are working hardest near the bottom of the movement than at the top, they work the side shoulders much more thoroughly, and thus experience more growth.

Try it for yourself - you’ll feel the difference in one workout. You’ll be able to lift significantly less weight than you would lift for side laterals - and you’ll notice a much deeper, fuller burn in the sides of your shoulders with lying lateral raises.

In fact, many people also find the exercise just “feels” more effective – the muscles are taxed most at the bottom of the lift, like in a bench press or squat, and it feels entirely different from the “swing and squeeze” nature of side laterals.

Technique

Lying laterals require that you train one shoulder at a time. Lie on the floor on your side with a dumbbell next to you. Use your non-lifting arm to support your head, with your elbow on the floor.

Make sure your entire body is lying on it’s side – think “recovery position” here. Have the dumbbell on the floor in front of you, but as close to your body as possible. Grasp the dumbbell overhand tightly.

The Movement

Raise the dumbbell skyward, keeping your arm stiff but with a slight bend at the elbow.

To keep the stress on the medial delts, suppress any “shrugging” motion that involves the trapezius – the key is to isolate the side shoulders. Also make sure the dumbbell is raised directly over your body, not in front or behind.

Raise the dumbbell to about 60 degrees, then lower again slowly and under control. Touch the weight back to the floor. That’s one rep.

Variations

You can vary the lift slightly by placing the dumbbell behind your body and lifting from there. You’ll need an even lighter weight, but you may find you get a better stretch at the bottom of the lift.

You can also perform the lift lying on an incline bench. This variation means that the peak contraction occurs in the middle of the lift. This may be a good way of varying the lift to stimulate new growth.

How do I include them in my training?

In a classic weekly split, it makes sense to do lying lateral raises on shoulders day. However, many trainees find they can train the medial delts more often, and opt for two or three times per week.

Personally I’ve found them a convenient exercise to do at home, and I’ve experienced fantastic gains from doing lying lateral raises right after waking up in the morning, three times per week, separate from my regular shoulder training in the gym.

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