Lying One-Arm Lateral Raise
A floor side-lying raise that lifts one dumbbell from the outer thigh toward the ceiling, isolating the working deltoid.
How to do it
- Lie fully on your side with stacked legs and a dumbbell resting on your outer thigh.
- Keep the spine long and the neck in line with the torso, eyes facing forward.
- Set the shoulder blade slightly down and back, with a soft bend in the working elbow.
- Raise the dumbbell off the thigh on a slight scaption path, a little in front of the body.
- Stop just past about 45 degrees so the arm does not turn the lift into a press.
- Lower under control without parking the dumbbell on the thigh, then switch sides.
Key technique cue
Don't roll back; arc the dumbbell slightly in front of the body, to about 45°.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Rolling onto the back so the torso, not the deltoid, lifts the weight.
- ✕ Raising the arm to vertical, which turns the isolation into an overhead press.
- ✕ Resting the dumbbell on the thigh between reps and dumping tension.
- ✕ Letting the neck crane or the bottom shoulder shrug off the floor.
Benefits
- ✓ Loads the lateral deltoid through the lower range standing raises leave slack.
- ✓ The side-lying setup blocks torso swing so the raise stays strict.
- ✓ Unilateral work makes left-to-right shoulder differences easy to see.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Lying One-Arm Lateral Raise
- Band Lateral Raise
- Band Single Arm Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Seated Lateral Raises
- Machine Lateral Raise
- One-Arm Incline Lateral Raise
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Step 2 -
Step 3
About the exercise
The lying one-arm lateral raise is a side-lying isolation lift. You lie fully on one side with a dumbbell resting on the outer thigh of the top arm, then raise that arm in a slight scaption path so the load stays on the lateral deltoid through the lower range that standing raises leave slack. Stop the lift just past about 45 degrees so the joint does not dump the work into a vertical press. It fits strict shoulder isolation blocks and unilateral accessory work after a press.
Updated
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