A shoulder isolation exercise where you lift weights out to your sides with slightly bent arms, raising them to shoulder height. It primarily targets the medial deltoid muscles.
From 'lateral' (to the side) + 'raise' (to lift up). The anatomical precision of the name reflects the influence of physical therapy and bodybuilding's scientific approach to muscle targeting in the mid-20th century.
Lateral raises are deceptively difficult - most people use too much weight and end up using momentum instead of isolating the delts! The shoulder joint is incredibly complex with over 20 muscles involved, making proper form crucial for both effectiveness and injury prevention.
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