Raising your arms to the sides with dumbbells. Dumbbell lateral raises are the best exercise for the deltoids. Lifting dumbbells with one hand while lying on your side. What, why and why

No matter how they call this movement. Standing flyes, standing dumbbell abductions, standing forearms flyes, forearm abductions, standing dumbbell swings. For simplicity, we will designate it as a “standing mid-delt raise,” but it is anatomically correct to call it a lateral abduction. The number of techniques performed by athletes is even more varied. Some argue that you need to contrive to raise your shoulders and move the dumbbells in an arc. Others - under no circumstances should you lift the dumbbell above your elbow. Still others allow cheating, while others are strictly against it. Still others generally believe that the movement causes nerves to be pinched by the shoulder joint, and therefore should not be practiced. There are a lot of options, in fact, in fitness we need to master the simplest one, and not try to include “extra” muscles like the trapezius during work.

In fact, dumbbell flyes are rarely a cause of injury unless the technique is truly horrendous. Some athletes may throw weights toward their heads, raise their arms too high, swing aggressively, and rotate their arms backward at the shoulders during the movement. They run a serious risk, but not of muscle tears, as is commonly believed, but of sprained ligaments and subsequent inflammatory processes.

The problem with shoulders is that they are loaded not only in sports, but also in everyday life. We sit a lot, raising our shoulders and overstraining our trapezius, we carry for a long time bags on one shoulder, stretching one half of the body and involuntarily contracting the other, and often doing sharp lifts of the arms without warming up. This leads to overload of the joints.

Let's say a person has never trained. He comes to the gym and starts doing bench presses, bench presses, sitting, standing, and a couple more presses, but this time with dumbbells. All of them work the deltoids and involve the joint. It is enough to overwork and make an awkward movement and you can get a tear or sprain. Ironically, injury occurs on the last exercise most often, and it's not just any heavy bench press, but a standing isolation dumbbell swing or a cable arm raise. The reason here is not the movement itself, but the overload of the joint.

For beginners, it is not recommended to do more than 2-3 bench press exercises in one workout. If there are too many exercises, it is better to leave abductions or swings for a light session, and not do them when the body has already received sufficient load. Ideally, the workout should include 1 heavy press, 1 assisted press, and 1 bench or standing abduction. Only then will the volume be adequate.

Anatomical features are also of great importance. If the trapezius is overdeveloped, the athlete will not be able to perform the movement using the shoulders alone. This must be taken into account when choosing weights and start literally with 2-3 kg.

Injuries are often accompanied by inflammation, which is not localized but spreads throughout the muscle bundle. They often affect the nerves, which increases the pain. Shoulder injuries should be diagnosed by a doctor. Home treatment based on guesswork will not lead to anything good.

Some of them have already been mentioned. Shoulders “suffer” usually due to excessive physical fitness athlete's diligence. Simply put, everyone wants to pump them up faster because they give the figure an athletic look and therefore turn training any part of the body into “shoulders.” This is not rational and leads to injury. A beginning athlete should not train his shoulders on the same day as his chest and back.

There are two basic rules for creating a split for beginners:

• If you are performing a standing or seated press on shoulder day, it does not need to be attached to your chest or back. Do shoulders with legs like the old school athletes and stay healthy;
• If there is no bench press in the workout, but only abductions and lifting, then perform shoulder training on the day of light bench press along with triceps work

Training shoulders with the back only makes sense if there is really nowhere else to put them, all the presses in the workout are heavy, the legs are also heavy, and the back is performed according to the “injury pumping” principle. But this is not typical in fitness. It's more of a powerlifter's approach.

Important: if a beginner is not yet doing splits, abductions can replace the bench press in some cases. For example, when during training the classic bench press with a barbell was taught, and the front deltoids were already overloaded.

This movement has only a few technical features. They are aimed at ensuring that the load does not shift to the anterior and posterior bundles of the deltoid muscles. The front bundles raise the arms, the rear bundles pull them back. It’s simple - you don’t need to allow a swing with a clear emphasis on bringing the shoulder blades together and swinging forward with the dumbbells swinging in front of the chest. Options with shifts in emphasis and cheating are loved by bodybuilding professionals for only one reason. These people train for years, sometimes decades. It is difficult to “pierce” their muscles with anything and surprise them. That’s why they use methods that are a bit strange for the average person.

Important: This exercise is rarely performed first in a workout. shoulder girdle, but almost always requires joint warm-up. If you have already done standing and bench presses, you just need to perform a few rotations in the shoulder joint, moving your arm back. Those who have not done this require a full warm-up, with light presses with a bodybar, abductions with rubber or without weights.

How to perform the movement:

1. Stand directly in front of the mirror so that you can see your movements;
2. Take dumbbells in your hands with minimal weight, but such that you can feel it;
3. Move your forearm to the side, along an arched path, raising your elbow to the side, but not higher than your shoulder;
4. Elbows slightly bent;
5. The dumbbells in the hands turn in the same direction as the movement;
6. When we extend our arms to the sides, the little finger is at the top, thumb– below, this causes the dumbbells to turn;
7. Lifting and lowering are performed smoothly and slowly, without cheating the body and additional unnecessary movements

In normal mode, the movement is performed for 10-12 repetitions. But there are also special cases. For example, a person has very responsive slow muscle fibers and he requires multiple repetitions or statics, that is, holding dumbbells at the top point. Or an option with a relatively low-repetition regime is possible, if the opposite is true. Here it is important to observe yourself and do what the body responds to.

Important: the exercise should not be performed using inertial force in any of the options. If you need to push with your legs, jump, or move your body, the weight is too heavy and needs to be reduced.

The one-arm abduction is an option for those who struggle with muscle imbalances or suffer from cheating. You need to grab a vertical support with your free hand and stand, transferring your weight to the center of the arch of both feet. Then the arm is moved to the side, completely repeating the technique of the main exercise.

Although the goal is to overcome imbalances, the movement is performed on both sides for the same number of repetitions.

It is necessary to avoid excessive bending to the side to avoid pinching the nerve and not to provoke an inflammatory process.

Features of movement

Below are the features of the exercise:

1. This is a muscle-isolating movement; you don’t need to take huge dumbbells and try to push them up as best you can;
2. The weight is selected individually, strictly so that it is possible to lift it by contracting the middle fascicle of the deltoid, and not by including the trapezius and muscles of the body and legs in the work;
3. If cheating cannot be eliminated at all, you need to do the movement in the “sitting on a bench” position with your back pressed against the back;
4. No opportunity to develop equipment? Try stretching the rubber shock absorber to the side along the trajectory of the dumbbell abduction. Take the lightest one. The tape will teach you to turn off the trapezius muscles.

The list of mistakes made by beginners and professionals is almost the same:

1. The desire to pump up muscles as quickly as possible, and the choice of dumbbells that are too heavy, which will certainly interfere with performing the exercise correctly;
2. Walking on your toes, rolling on your feet, changing the position of your legs;
3. Performing the movement by tilting the body;
4. Starting position with your back tilted back;
5. Changing the trajectory of movement, throwing dumbbells to the head;
6. Uneven rise on the right and left. If you have a curvature of the spine, perform the movement with one arm at a time;
7. Bending in hip joint leaning forward;
8. Changes in the angle of the hip joint as you get tired;
9. Turning on extra muscles as you get tired

Shoulder swings are often performed as a drop set to create an extensive pump. This is only permissible if the athlete is experienced and can maintain the starting position throughout the exercise.

For those who work with cheating, we can recommend smooth leads on the lower block of the crossover. This will help eliminate unnecessary pushing and other movements and allow you to improve your technique almost instantly. The exercise must be performed regularly, then mastering it will not be a big problem.

Swing dumbbells to the sides while standing - execution technique

Standing dumbbell swings are an exercise for the deltoid muscles, mainly for their middle bundle.

Technically the exercise is very difficult. It is important to feel the contraction of the target muscles and be able to turn off the auxiliary ones and coordinate the work of your body.

The arm should be fixed at the elbow joint throughout the entire set. Then the movement will be observed only in the shoulders, and the load will not go to the auxiliary muscles.

Do not use heavy weights, as this will lead to involuntary jerky movements, and the dumbbells will swing and throw.

The elbows should not rise above the level of the shoulders, otherwise the load from the middle bunch of deltas will go to the trapezius muscles. Therefore, the shoulders should be as low as possible in any amplitude.

Starting position

• • Place the dumbbells in front of you.
  • Turn your palms towards each other.
  • The body is slightly tilted forward.
  • Make a slight arch in your lower back.
  • Bend your knees slightly.
  • Bend your elbows and lock them until the entire set is completed.
  • Drop your shoulders.

Raising dumbbells through the sides while standing: performing the exercise

• • As you exhale, from the lowest point, raise the dumbbells.
  • The movement of the elbows is to the sides and up. At the point when your elbows reach your shoulder line, hold for a few seconds.
  • Then slowly lower the dumbbells down in front of you.
  • At the lowest point, without touching the dumbbells and without pausing, immediately begin lifting the apparatus. So target muscles will not lose load.

Bodybuilders have well-developed deltoid muscles. At the same time, many beginners cannot pump themselves up powerful deltas. This is due to some features of this muscle and its location.

What mistakes do beginners make when training deltoids? This question is complex. They don't always choose the most effective exercises on the shoulders. Presses - barbells or dumbbells - are considered a common and familiar exercise when training shoulders. There is also a special trainer for the deltoid muscle, but it is practically not found in training equipment.

Another opinion is that lateral raises of dumbbells seem more important for training the deltoids.

To find out what the best shoulder exercises are, you can compare the training programs of current athletes. But first you need to determine what is the difference between these exercises and what is common between them.

Presses

In this part of the article, not only options for performing bench presses while standing or sitting will be mentioned, but also about the bench press horizontal bench. Why? Because in bench presses on a horizontal bench - especially with a wide wide grip - a significant part of the load falls on the anterior deltoid muscle. And when pressing the barbell at incline bench the front deltoids bear the MAIN (!) load. A smaller, but also very significant load falls on the front deltoid and when doing presses - on a horizontal or inclined bench - dumbbells.

For example, Alexey Shabunya developed phenomenal anterior deltoid muscles thanks to heavy barbell bench presses on a horizontal and inclined bench and was able to create massive deltoids.

With the vertical press everything is a little more complicated. Here the effect largely depends on correct selection and doing exercises. In addition, they are more traumatic. This can be especially true for the overhead press.

When performing the exercise from the chest, only the anterior bundle works, and as we remember, it already receives sufficient load. That leaves only overhead presses, but they are not recommended for people who have problems with shoulder joints. It is simply prohibited for athletes who feel the slightest discomfort in the shoulder joint.

About the barbell overhead press Dmitry Kononov

Dumbbell presses

Using exercises with dumbbells, you can work out the middle part of the delta quite well. For example, the “Arnold press,” the invention of which is attributed to the actor playing the role of the Terminator. But there are also nuances here: a significant part of the load in the vertical press takes on the triceps. And you will hardly be able to achieve the feeling of “pumping up” your muscles if you perform bench presses.

Side Raises

This type of exercise is used specifically for working out the middle beam. When performing it in a tilted position, the main load falls on back deltas. Unfortunately, people often perform this exercise incorrectly and the bulk of the load goes to the trapezius.

It's all about setting up the correct hand movement during execution. Usually, when raising an arm over the side, a person instinctively raises his shoulder up, transferring part of the load from the small deltoids to the more powerful trapezius. Therefore, before starting to work with this exercise, you need to learn how to raise your arm without using your shoulder.

Also, doing lifts in the traditional way does not always give good results. Often, many people prefer options that involve raising the arms until they are vertical above the ground. This contributes to the development of just the middle part of the delta.

Another mistake that leads to more work of the triceps is heavy weight. The deltoid muscle is small and with serious weight, most of the load again falls on the more developed trapezius. To avoid this, you should not chase more weight.

You can also do arm raises alternately. Take a dumbbell in one hand, grab the support with the other, it will do wall bars. After which you deviate a little from the vertical and do the exercise.

This exercise can be done not only with dumbbells, but also with a lower block. In this case, you can do lifts from both the back and the front. At the same time, evenly developing all parts of the deltoid muscle.

Traction

There is another great exercise for developing the deltoids: rowing a dumbbell or barbell to the chin. With the right technique it can be achieved good results. But athletes most often use this exercise as an auxiliary exercise, without placing the main emphasis on it.

The main exercises used by professionals are still presses and raises. All shoulder training programs include them as the main ones.

Training programs

You can talk as much as you like about the advantages and disadvantages various exercises, but it is best to compare them in practice. To do this, you can turn to the training programs of famous bodybuilders.

He always uses the same exercises to train his deltoid muscles. Only sometimes changes the order of their execution, thus providing the necessary stress for muscle growth.

• Smith machine - front press, or behind the head, four sets (15,12,10,8)
• Lateral arm raises, performed while sitting, four sets (12,10,10,8)
• The same lifts, but incline, three sets (12,10,10)
• Reverse raises on the machine also three sets (12,10,10)

As already mentioned, the exercises are swapped periodically.

This athlete considers lateral dumbbell lifts to be the main ones, since only they make the deltoid muscles work as hard as possible and fill them with blood. In bench presses, there is no such “pumping”, and the triceps take on part of the load. Also, his trademark “trick” can be called work on the deltoid muscle in the super series. Having completed one exercise, he immediately moves on to another without rest. This helps her grow better.

This famous bodybuilder loads the deltoid muscles once a week along with the trapezius. According to him, this regime is most effective for increasing volume. The exercises are the same, they are designed for a medium bun. Sometimes he adds some more exercises, but the basis still remains three types of load.

• Smith machine overhead press, four sets (12,10,8,6)
• Standing lateral raises for dumbbells, five sets (15,15,12,10,8)
• Barbell row to the chin wide grip, three sets, ten repetitions

He does not do exercises specifically for the anterior bundle. But if it is necessary to work on them, Remizov does presses with a narrow grip over his head. In this case, the bar only goes down to the top of the head. To work with back beam deltas, you can sit on a bench, lean forward until your chest touches your knees. In this position you need to perform lateral arm raises.

In his opinion, it is necessary to combine barbell presses and work with dumbbells. If you have to choose one of the exercises, the athlete recommends first deciding on the purpose of the training. Side raises with heavy dumbbells give a nice, round deltoids shape. At the same time, the barbell will help you gain weight quickly.

He believes that the training regimen and selection of exercises are always individual. And each person must choose his own set training exercises. Also, you shouldn't chase large scales, it will be much better and more efficient to choose the mass of the projectile based on its current state.

The renowned bodybuilder divides deltoid training into three parts. He pumps the front part along with the chest. The rear delta along with the back muscles. Alexey trains according to a three-day system and on the third day he has a rest, and on this day he pays attention to the middle beam.

When training the deltoid muscle, the athlete does not use barbell presses. After several attempts with the barbell, his collarbones began to hurt. He pumps up all the parts only by working with dumbbells.

In this case, he pays special attention to the middle part of the muscle. As already mentioned, Shabunya works on it only on a rest day, when there is no other load. The workout looks like this: Of the exercises designed to improve it, the athlete recognizes only lateral lifts; he calls other types of training insufficiently effective.

At the same time, he does a fairly large number of approaches (about fifteen). He starts with eight-kilogram dumbbells and does two sets. Then he moves on to ten kilos, and again does a couple of sets. Then, all the time, increasing the weight by two kilograms, the bodybuilder does a couple of approaches in each. With the maximum possible weight, he does four sets.

He also monitors the number of repetitions in the set. WITH light weight Alexey does fifteen repetitions per approach. With heavier, working dumbbells, he does tens in one go. At the same time, he claims that by training in this way you can pump up your delta quite well.

We draw conclusions: what are the best shoulder exercises to increase volume?

The opinions of only three athletes were given here. But no matter how much you interview bodybuilders, they will all come to more or less the same opinion about pumping up the deltoid muscle.

As a basis training process you need to take up work with dumbbells. According to everyone famous athletes these are the most effective exercises. You can work not only standing, but also sitting. Also in an inclined position. This will help pump up your muscles. Do not forget such an exercise as the “Arnold press”.

The next most effective are exercises with a lower block and a special simulator for the deltoid muscle. Despite the lower effectiveness of these exercises, they can take their rightful place among basic training.

Barbell presses are best used as additional exercises. With their help you can diversify your workout. Giving your muscles stress helps them grow. It is important to remember that presses are very dangerous. This especially applies to exercises performed from behind the head.

When selecting exercises, take into account the characteristics of your body. If you feel pain or discomfort after performing the exercise. And this feeling is observed after every workout, change the exercise and don’t use it anymore.

One of the mistakes common among novice amateurs is quickly gaining weight on the shells. As a result, the still fragile muscles, having received an exorbitant load, receive microtraumas. Such training ends very sadly.

Therefore, select the weight according to your strength. From working with prohibitive weights you faster mass you won't dial. At first, it is better to work with light weight, paying more attention correct execution exercises.

• Keep your body level and your back straight.
• Bend your arms slightly.
• Lifting is carried out strictly upward (not backward).
• Raise the dumbbells to shoulder level (or slightly higher).
• Lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
• All movements should be performed using the deltoid muscles; do not help yourself by rocking your body.

Lateral Dumbbell Raise: Muscles Worked

• Deltoid

Lifting dumbbells through the sides: description of the exercise

The exercise is isolated, as it selectively affects the middle delta bundles. It is these muscles that are responsible for the visual width of the shoulders, therefore, making the figure sporty and athletic.

Before starting the exercise, a short warm-up is advisable - just perform movements simulating raising your arms from the sides, and then start working with weights.

It is important to choose the right dumbbell weight: too heavy projectile will not allow you to perform the exercise technically competently. The amplitude of movements decreases, while the load on the deltas decreases. In addition, larger weights force the elbows to bend more, which again leads to a decrease in amplitude.

Dumbbells are held lightly bent arms, the hands are turned inward. Lifting dumbbells from the sides occurs while inhaling; while exhaling, the projectile returns to its original position.

The dumbbells are lifted upward solely by the force of the deltoid muscles. The highest point of lifting is at shoulder level, or slightly higher. This is where the peak is muscle contraction. After a short pause, the hands smoothly return to their original position. The next repetition is performed without stopping.

The number of repetitions is from 10 to 12 times for 3 to 4 sets.

Comments:

To develop the middle deltoids, athletes include standing dumbbell swings performed from a standing position in their training program. This muscle group is the main one in this exercise. In addition, there is a load on both the trapezius and rear delts. The degree of difficulty of this exercise is average, but quite a lot of mistakes can be made in the technique of performing it.

Lifting dumbbells while standing sideways is considered one of the the best ways working out the middle part of the delta, but requires a clear understanding of the correct technique. The absence of mistakes when performing this exercise allows you to ensure that your shoulders become as wide as possible. The development of deltoid muscles is one of the highest priority areas in which athletes work when visiting gym. Powerful shoulders make the athlete’s figure as wide as possible from the side, emphasizing top part arms, allow you to tell others how serious the attitude of a bodybuilder with such powerful and developed shoulders is.

Some athletes prefer this to swings basic exercise, like an overhead press. It certainly brings certain benefits, since it is intended for training the shoulder girdle, but, being the main one, it does not have the same effect on the middle deltoids. The latter are worked out in the process of swinging dumbbells to the sides from a standing position, since this exercise works this part of the shoulders in isolation.

Knowing these important points will allow you to master correct technique execution and work out the middle deltoid muscles in isolation.

This is a fairly common mistake, which can be avoided if you create a small angle in the elbow joint in advance. It should be approximately 10-15 degrees. It must be saved until the end of the set being performed. At the point of maximum contraction, the angle is kept in the same way as at the very beginning.

Contraction and activation of the elbows balances the triceps. This deprives standing arm swings with dumbbells of their status. isolated exercise. It ceases to serve the purpose for which it was included in the training process.

The dumbbells should not move in a completely straight line, but go in an arc. If the exercise is not done in front of a mirror, you can ask a partner or gym mate to check the correct execution technique.

To develop the middle deltoid muscles to the maximum, tension must be maintained throughout the entire approach. When the dumbbell in its extreme position is lowered to its maximum, being in front of the hips, the tension exerted on the deltoids drops to zero. To solve this problem, the range of motion is reduced by keeping weights at a distance of 10-20 cm from the body.

ABOUT making the right choice“distance” is evidenced by a more difficult process of lifting dumbbells, when the load falls on the middle bundles. The main thing is to choose the right weight. If it is too heavy, the likelihood of injury increases many times over.

All attention should be focused on technique. When it is fully mastered, increasing the weight lifted will take place without any problems.

Disorderly and chaotic dumping is the most common mistake, which is allowed by novice athletes. The elbows in the swing are a kind of pointers, always located higher.

Missing the moment of correct movement of the deltas significantly slows down the process of development of the middle fascicles. To prevent this from happening, progress is rapid and of high quality, elbows should always play the role of pointers.

Most athletes limit themselves to raising their arms to shoulder height when performing swings. This position is not maximum, since the middle fascicles of the deltoid muscle can go higher. Increasing the height by another 45 degrees allows you to achieve maximum tension, which has a significant impact on the growth of the shoulder girdle. In addition, this movement gives impetus to the development of the upper trapezius.

There are some important points, which should be taken into account. Athletes who are experiencing pain, injury or shoulder problems should first consult a doctor before making a decision as to whether it is acceptable to perform this exercise at maximum load or not.

IN gym Quite often you can see how some athletes perform this exercise in such a way that in the upper position a semblance of the letter “T” is formed. This method results in maximum load on elbow joints because it negatively affects health.

This is a misconception that many bodybuilders hold. The smaller the bend, the higher the weight lifted. However, given the main goal that the athlete pursues when performing swings, one should think about what is more important - technique or an illusory sense of one’s own strength. As the angle decreases, it certainly becomes easier to lift weights, including maximum weights.

To a bodybuilder it may seem like lifting heavy weight makes him stronger, but this is not entirely true. The more time you spend building muscle, the better the training. Therefore, you should always remember that technique is much more important than just a feeling of your own strength without a significant increase in the volume and width of the middle delta beam.

This exercise should not be called a dumbbell lift rather than a swing.

Some call swings “flying” or “lifting”, and the middle beams “outer deltas,” which is absolutely incorrect. This, of course, does not have any effect on the performance technique, but it hurts the ears of experienced athletes and indicates ignorance or a frivolous attitude towards bodybuilding. You should not distort or call the exercise in your own way.

From: bodybuilding.com