I fucking love how Dr. Mike introduces various versions of the same movement emphasizing different patterns might work better for different people, unlike most weight training channels out there imposing their single "best" way to do the moves. That is real wisdom, thanks Mike!!
exactly bro , specially when you spend years training you learn that some common ways of performing some exercises are simply not suitable for your body , there are few people like dr mike wise enough to admit that there is more than one way to do things
"Here's how you've been working out wrong all this time!" God I hate those videos. Don't patronise me. Give me Dr Mike with his perfectly shaped head and sage, grandmotherly advice.
What i like with Dr Mike’s vids is that he doesn’t say “do this” or “dont do that”. He always emphasizes each individual to find what their body can take and which variation suits them well. I think its great and practical coz all our bodies are built differently.
I’m 36, and have been lifting for almost 20 years, very consistently. Never did super ROM until I saw Mike do them in another video. Fantastic shoulder stimulus and much better results than ever before.
How can a workout video be simultaneously so detailed, so simple to grasp, so understanding of the differences between people, and not full of bullshit? There’s something about this guy that’s really different.
Dr. Mike put me through this exercise about eight months ago. I've done it exactly like this ever since and have seen excellent development in my medial delts as a natural lifter. Highly recommend taking this advice.
@@RenaissancePeriodization well, unfortunately, I am so wide I no longer fit in my Lamborghini Veneno and must now settle for an Aventador. So thanks I guess.
I was doing regular lateral raises with 16kg dumbells for quite some time. When I tried this variation, I was struggling to complete a 10 rep set with 10kg dumbells, it really max out the tension and it's harder to cheat. I've felt a pump on my shoulders that I haven't felt for a long time, just by doing those simple changes.
Keeping my elbows straight and pausing at the top really changed my lateral raises. I had to drop weights because the sensation is just brutal but the pump is just beautiful. Thank you Dr. Mike!!!!
@@danielmillward9947Legit. Its a bit hard to see the tiny 13 yr olds next to me swinging about the 12.5kgs, but i know deep down im doing it properly 😂.
Seems like one of those "try every variation and see what works for you" things though.. so used to being told to keep a bend in the elbows, not to go too high, etc. Not sure if I have the patience to try them all but we'll see how it goes..
I love how he mentioned that it's okay to lock out the elbows for this movement. Every other video that I've seen on this topic always says to have a slight bend in the elbows, but I've always had a better mind/muscle connection by keeping everything locked tight.
Hey Mike I know it's an old video but I appreciate the approachability you impart on weightlifting and fitness in general. I think you're probably helping a lot of people bud.
The super ROM variant feels way better than regular lateral raises for my delts, did them for the first time yesterday and the pump was absolutely amazing. Thanks Dr. Mike !!
I've been using muscle isolation last few years and it's been a game changer in results. I only use dumbbells to isolate contraction in every muscle group. This I've found increases muscle/mind connection in every muscle group. I still use bars but most have been dumbbells with extreme focus on feeling fibers working and contraction. You should do a video on this. My muscurlarity has been through the roof. I use one dumbbells for the targeted muscle only and focus on the squeeze flexing as hard as I can every rep. I'm an advanced lifter over 30yrs of training tho.
Nice. I’ve literally just watched two other guys videos on lateral raises. They contradicted each other, as well as saying absolutely don’t do this and absolutely you must do that. Your advice on finding what works best for the individual as well as changing it up occasionally seems much better.
Old guy here with shoulder issues - avoid pinkies up as it places shoulders in internal rotation, and don't go out completely to side. Bring your arms tin slightly to about 45 degrees. No more pain!
Yes! It's called Scaption, or the scapular plane-- Lateral raises but your arms aren't exactly "Lateral", so it's a misnomer really.. try this while balancing on one leg at times too.. I like "if you're joint cam handle it" in some cases, but that can also mean it can handle it now, but it might catch up to you later
Love his videos; the nuance he provides with the variations is soo refreshing- most trainers have this dogmatic approach to form etc “this is the only way to do x -exercise” (only to see a million other people say the same thing with different approaches) He provides a pretty solid explanation for the various ways a movement can be effectively & safely performed. Godsend
I'd be really interested in a breakdown of dumbbell pullovers. I'm a little over a year into lifting and added these a few weeks ago with the idea of hitting lats. However, I don't feel them in a particular muscle, but I do love the general feeling of opening up my chest from them. I also feel like my posture is better after doing them.
Aaron, Pullovers are probably the exercise that individuals "feel" in different places to the greatest degree. I feel them in my lats like flyes in my pecs. But...I know people who feel it mostly in the their chest (pec minor maybe?). Arnold wrote about this-some guys use them for lats, some guys use them for chest, and some guys (Zane I think was the example) use them for serratus. Here is a tip though. Pullovers for "opening up your chest" are different than heavy pullovers. The "rib cage expanding" pullovers were down with LIGHT weights, straight arms, and often paired with high rep breathing squats. Doing them heavy/lower reps is not wrong; but different. People will say "can't do it" regarding expanding your rib cage. It worked for me. But if you look at old school guys (Google Abe Goldberg), who trained their "rib box" as much as their pecs, it sure seemed to work for them. Oh..check our Dr. Ellington Darden's "rib cage" pose. You can judge for yourself. :)
Looking ripped Dr! Thanks for another great video. Love the custom training template I got from you guys. Makes sure I'm not being lazy and actually tracking progress
Ever since finding this channel, I feel like my workouts have become so much more productive. Just small things like controlling the eccentric, big stretch at the bottom, etc. have improved the quality of my time in the gym and produced great results. Fantastic dumbbell/home workout videos. And a beautiful man to gaze upon.
Purchased a few of your programs…great layouts and I have really enjoyed them. Thanks for all of the beneficial tips on training. Keep up the great content. Thanks
Thank you for these tips! Took a lot of this advice in my workout today and haven’t felt sore like this in my delts in a long time. Your channel’s helped me a ton in my journey.
When I do it with straight arms, I feel it more in my upper taps for whatever anatomical reasons. Elbows bent in 90 degrees angle and upper-body slightly bent forward (with chest up and arched back) hits my side delts like there's no tomorrow.
@@kestivo I tried a combination of both today. That was the absolute best. Heavy sets with elbows bent, followed by a lighter high-reps with straight arms.
I really appreciate how you focus on 'feeling' the muscle over having some exact technique to follow. When i was getting started ao many of the videos I watched just focused on prescribing an exact technique, but who knows if youre actually matching that when you actually go to do the lift. The basic concepts of feeling the muscle under tension, and aiming for a deep stretch, opened up a tpn of new exercises for me that i just didnt feel were working when i was trying to match an exact technique I saw in other video. This kinda stuff if huge for new lifters. At this point i feel confodent trying new lifts because i know i cam adjust my form as needed and I know what a good lift feels like. That feeling is the same no matter what muscle you are targeting, ao i never have any doubt whether im doing it 'right.'
FINALLY! An intensive and unbiased video on the lateral raise exercise as a whole, there is so much crap being spread about this lately as if one size fits all
Some things that were missed/overlooked. For those that "still" feel they can't feel their lateral delts light-up/contract, try, "slightly leaning forward." A good way to do this is on a inclined bench, which gives you 2 benefits... 1) helps you find an angle that puts your LD's "on top" (Yes, not everyone's LD's will be in that position when standing/sitting "upright") (And no concerns for impingement trying "pinkies up" version) 2) It allows you to press your chest into the pad; giving you a better stimulus/contraction when lifting; not comprimising your form (swaying, jerking, etc) Going slightly lighter with these ques, have helped me tremendously, along with "stopping short" (not going all the way down on the eccentric) which Mike pointed out may be beneficial to some.
Best Advice Ever, for Side Delts. Put into action today, and was on 🔥 1/2 way through my second set. Reps 30, 25, 20 using ONLY 10 lb dumbbells with 1 minute rest between sets. Thanks Dr. Mike!
If anyone's confused about how to lift with the delts: lock down your scapula so your traps don't move and imagine your delt fibers shortening as they pull the arms upwards
Cheers for the tip mate, sometimes it's hard to remember - my traps are well developed and look out of proportion in relation to my delts so always concerned about it getting out of sync and want to just focus on the delts.
@@stephenmcconnell1000 I want to revise that by arms, I mean you should be focusing on raising the elbow, not the weight in your hands. Also, you can try thinking of pushing the arms up with the delts, if that works better for you
@@fsfs2778 Nah, lifting is actually a nuanced practice. Once you have more experience, you'll learn that the body has something called "pain" that lets you know when you're doing something dangerous, so you can experiment ROMs for yourself. And idk what you're getting at because you didn't explain yourself but the back is still stabilizing, just not moving dynamically
@@alexsoulblade exactly. Funny how u know its nuanced but fail to understand the implications of locking down your scapula when its anatomical function is to upwardly rotate when you abduct your arm. Broscience is your way of being nuanced i guess
It's ridiculous how much the feeling changes when I've started using the full/super ROM. Combined with not going down all the Way and holding /pulsing at the last reps. Really amazing tips, thank you for that
Thanks for the advice Dr. Mike! I totally took lateral raises out of my program because they were popping like bubble wrap when I'd go above parallel. It's good to know that I can still get a good stimulus within a comfortable range of motion.
i saw a short part of this video on your tik tok yesterday and it caught my attention instantly , i tried them right after watching and will definetly do my laterals this way from now on
I've seen more than one physio say that side laterals above horizontal can feel fine for a few years but then once the pain comes it's too late. Apparently there's a nerve/bone situation in the shoulder which means that side laterals higher than horizontal can pinch this nerve and over time you damage it irreparably. Now, like I said, I've heard this more than once. AthleanX made a video on this year's ago etc. The problem is that apparently some people can train like this for years until the pain starts to show up and by then it's too late. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this but it's hard. What I can say is that there are so many older people at the gyms who cannot lift their arms above or even close to horizontal anymore, why do you think that is!? I suspect that it is because of this bone/nerve thing.
I'm curious doc, I've heard something about leaning forward a little being ideal for lateral raise. Is that less optimal? Thanks again for all your content!
@@tonybernard4444 Important to note that AthleanX also recommends thumbs up because of shoulder mobility reasons. Thumbs up means more front delt but leaning forward can shift that emphasis back to the side delt. So it makes a lot of sense combined, but a little less sense on their own.
Short. Simple. Too the point. “Proper” form for one, may be different for each individual. Find what works for you is the main message I got from this.
Thanks for the helpful tips, Mike! Allow me to share a variation from my side. Part of my technique is: instead of just holding 1 second in the top position, I make a little extra 'jump' with the arms (lower a couple of centimeters and raise the same amount again to top position) and then lower my arms in a controlled way. I can really feel the strain in the muscles by doing it that way.
Nah this video/platform is psychic. Literally JUST sat down after my first set of dumbbell lateral raises, opened UA-cam and this was the first recommendation
Really appreciate the variety of options available on such a seemingly simple exercise. Definitely putting more thought and intention into my training. Thanks!
Now this is what I'm talking about six or seven minute long videos not like 30 minutes but hey I understand sometimes we love to hear ourselves talk LOL
There's not really logical reason to not lock your elbows. Your elbows are designed to comfortably lock your elbows. Also, putting additional stress on your read delts and shoulder joins is no help when to get older. Using light weight and warming up properly will help you when you get old.
I would love to see one of these breakdowns on cable pec flys, the multitude of variations on how to do the exercise and target different parts of the muscle. Thanks for the top shelf content!
Hi Mike, I'm a 58 yo male and have finally been able to feel a pump and burn in my medial/front delts using the advice you provided here and in the video with Jeff Nippard. The amount of weight I had to use is a little embarrassing, but, as I type this, I can still feel the 'pump'! Eureka!! Thanks for taking the time to share such helpful guidance.
So stoked and grateful for this info! I immediately got slightly more jacked and slightly more tan just from the intro & 4k video, despite my monitor being 1080p.
See how Mike goes higher than parellel ! I’ve always thought we never go higher ! Woudjnt higher be better more muscle lengthening ! The only person who demonstrated this and it made more sence
I am in no way as qualified as Dr. Mike, but one thing that helped me was doing them unilaterally. It helps having just one side to focus on at a time. Once you've "found" the muscle, you can go back to doing them with both sides at the same time.
Well I did start doing the later part of the raises and took them completely over my head and after awhile it turned out to be a huge mistake!! I had 3 previous surgeries on my neck and lifting for the previous year I never had any problems. I lost 100lbs and was really cutting up my physic. Then one day after I did arms I noticed a good amount of pain in my neck and then started feeling a popping sensation like my neck was cracking and sure enough I ended up injuring my neck for the 4th time!! All the work I have put in the past little over a year has just come to a halt and now I am waiting to get an MRI to find out what I fucked up in my cervical region. I don't believe that any of the hardware that has been in there for over the past 10 years has come loose I just believe that I have ended up herniating the 2 final disc that I had no work on prior. I am 60 yrs old and exercising like this I know was a risk and it was a risk I was willing to take! I have absolute plans on picking up where I left off after I get my injury taken care of because I have never looked and felt as good as I have this past year in my whole life and that includes having a 6 pak for the first time ever. What a feeling!!! I'll be back!!!
Thank you for making videos that pertain to exercising with weights. The other videos about “drama” are less important. But yeah I get it videos on drama pertaining to other fitness influencers probably get more views.
Man you describe this really well and l been working on different tweaks the last year on lateral raises and you just went through every single tweak, from elbows , range , holds , fingers and hand placement, fantastic job. Also l have been doing start position from sides of my legs little elbow bend , pinky a little more dominant, also l have been fully locking glutes and hips forward l keep my feet touching side by side and keeping all my weight in my heels , locked knees all times like a concrete pillar at the same time relaxing upper body keeping chin down also this technique is always slight adjustments whilst I’m doing reps so l really must stay focused sometimes l find l might start lifting my chin or unlocking my left quad or my breathing might drop off, finally l use a weight that’s not too heavy so l do more reps and my range might start from bottom to top then l might start doing a really short range which you mentioned from top to 45 and back pumping it out then go back to full range and like you you perfectly described it will eventually catch up with you , thanks and l love zoning in and doing lateral raises ❤
Thanks, Dr. Mike. I'm pretty new to lifting and definitely feel like the delts were lagging. The variations are really helpful. Those pauses are a lot more fucking brutal than I expected. That one is absolutely in the mix now. Appreciate the content.
I go quite a way above the shoulders, but my last session I used the "just light of lock" to keep focus on my elbow bend and two days later i was putting on my shoes and just saw my delts fucking bulging. Also upped the weight from 8kg to 10kg and dropped the reps but improving technique and focusing on PO has given me a renewed success rate. This is not the only exercise that dr Mike's tips have helped me improve, I'm so glad I found this channel.
And a special section of folks with ac joint popped) So a little bit of background: I popped mine when I was a kid, don't ask me how, because I don't know and don't remember, when I got to my 30s a realized that my 'weird clavicle position' is not a bio feature but an acquired injury. A side note : thanks to parents for not noticing... Anyway, I have huge problems with side delts because for about yeah and half I am trying to find the painless way to hit them. Lateral raise causes pain with just about any weight, even like 5 lbs, while at one session I went through pain and lifter like 25s (10 kg) with full control. But after the workout, the pain was not in the muscle. The only painless way to make laterals for me is to raise the hands not in the frontal plane, but at the angle to the body which hits frontal delts as well. And my go-to option for side delts is upright face pull when you pull the cable, not vertically, then I feel delts and don't feel shoulder joint. Barbel rows work too, but only with light weight 40-60 lbs (20-30 kg), physically i can lift more but going over 90 lbs (40 kg) shoulders come to play. So maybe it will be helpful fore some: cable rows barbel rows rubber band burnouts and partials to finish MF off. P.S. To fix both shoulders I need a surgery and I neither have the money nor time to fix it now. On the bright side, it doesn't cause a lot of issues outside the gym. But in the gym, oh God, I don't know what side delts exercise I didn't try, raises, standing, leaning, laying, sitting, cables bands, dumbbells, barbell. So folks care bout your shoulders' health.
Hi Dr Mike, I'm Jon from Cambridge, Ma,, your channel is awesome,, I' look forward to implementing more of your principles and guidance in my training, thanks for all that you do!!
I have been told that the side raise should only go to 45° to avoid growing the traps'. I would prefer not to increase my traps so this seems to work for me. Front and rear raises don't engage them as much, so 90° seems fine.....
The two most important cues for side laterals are torso angle to target the right angle in the deltoid continuum and scapula position (protraction and depression to remove traps from the ecuation and target the medial headproperly).
@@MrAndersson579 Thats why most people's maintenance volume for traps can be 0 sets. You train them indirectly with many exercises. Doesn't mean that getting trap work with lateral raises takes away from deltoid development.
Oh hey! Mike & RP just put up a video detailing why trying to remove or minimize trap involvement during side lateral raises is probably a bad idea if you want maximum delt development. Ill put the link here: ua-cam.com/video/XPNx4DcG3lw/v-deo.html
@@hak116 Well for one traps get a ton of indirect work from DL and rows and OHP, etcetc. Second, Depending on your makeup some people might feel traps too much on laterals. And third I personally have neck issues and laterals with ''normal'' technique irritate my traps insertions into the neck and give me neckpain, and nowadays a lot of people with desk jobs have this problem as well. I can think of more reasons but will leave it there.
Stretch under tension for side delts is more apt to activate the supraspinatus, anyway... and you don't want a lot of hypertrophy for that small rotator cuff muscle, since it passes through the narrow and crowded subacromial space.
It’s INSANE how much you can learn from just a 6 min video from mike
Oh stop, thank you! - Dr. Mike
@@RenaissancePeriodization And I have a word document "Mikes tips for programming" . :D
Even crazier considering I played it at 2x the speed, same info, 3 minute video "5head"
You'd be floored by how much you learn from ONE video on my channel...
@@JayVincentFitness Yeah, somehow your methods has a 0% injury risk, wild how one could lose intelligence by watching ya video
I fucking love how Dr. Mike introduces various versions of the same movement emphasizing different patterns might work better for different people, unlike most weight training channels out there imposing their single "best" way to do the moves. That is real wisdom, thanks Mike!!
exactly bro , specially when you spend years training you learn that some common ways of performing some exercises are simply not suitable for your body , there are few people like dr mike wise enough to admit that there is more than one way to do things
💯🔥
"Here's how you've been working out wrong all this time!"
God I hate those videos. Don't patronise me. Give me Dr Mike with his perfectly shaped head and sage, grandmotherly advice.
I agree.
so true man.
What i like with Dr Mike’s vids is that he doesn’t say “do this” or “dont do that”. He always emphasizes each individual to find what their body can take and which variation suits them well. I think its great and practical coz all our bodies are built differently.
best part about him
This man right here explain things better than most of my professors at college. Simple but very clear it's so easy to understand.
He is a college professor
I searched proper technique for lateral raises. F that guy, f that guy, oh Dr Mike. Click. Always know I can trust Dr Mike.
I came for work out tips but I found I found my life's purpose, side delts so huge that doors break when I walk through them. Thank you Dr. Mike!
F’n HULK
I’m 36, and have been lifting for almost 20 years, very consistently. Never did super ROM until I saw Mike do them in another video. Fantastic shoulder stimulus and much better results than ever before.
what is super ROM ?
@@yassenredwan8297 super Range Of Motion. in this case, raising the arms all the way up. he explains here: 2:49
Basically a Lu raise, just with dumbbells instead of plates
@@greenhat7618except the Lu raises usually uses plates and is performed with your Palms facing forwards
How can a workout video be simultaneously so detailed, so simple to grasp, so understanding of the differences between people, and not full of bullshit?
There’s something about this guy that’s really different.
Dr. Mike put me through this exercise about eight months ago. I've done it exactly like this ever since and have seen excellent development in my medial delts as a natural lifter. Highly recommend taking this advice.
Thanks man! I hope you're enjoying your bigger delts! - Dr. Mike
*lateral delts
@@imbaguitar ah right, thank you
@@RenaissancePeriodization well, unfortunately, I am so wide I no longer fit in my Lamborghini Veneno and must now settle for an Aventador. So thanks I guess.
Who is this dr. Mike and how can I contact him? Does he give investment advice as well? (bot joke)
I was doing regular lateral raises with 16kg dumbells for quite some time. When I tried this variation, I was struggling to complete a 10 rep set with 10kg dumbells, it really max out the tension and it's harder to cheat. I've felt a pump on my shoulders that I haven't felt for a long time, just by doing those simple changes.
Just shows its not always about heavy weights and that takes maturity in the gym.
16kg and you can barely do a 10 rep set w 10kgs? What the fuck were you doing with those weights to get it pass 10 reps lmao
Keeping my elbows straight and pausing at the top really changed my lateral raises. I had to drop weights because the sensation is just brutal but the pump is just beautiful. Thank you Dr. Mike!!!!
Doing 10 + reps slow and controlled this way youll never need to do more than 6 or 8 kg
@@danielmillward9947Legit. Its a bit hard to see the tiny 13 yr olds next to me swinging about the 12.5kgs, but i know deep down im doing it properly 😂.
Perfect timing. I was just reevaluating my form and method for lateral raises.
Yeah man, it's definitely something that can get away from you over time, and you have to reign it back in on occasion. - Dr. Mike
Seems like one of those "try every variation and see what works for you" things though.. so used to being told to keep a bend in the elbows, not to go too high, etc. Not sure if I have the patience to try them all but we'll see how it goes..
@@jason2014 how did it went?
I love how he mentioned that it's okay to lock out the elbows for this movement. Every other video that I've seen on this topic always says to have a slight bend in the elbows, but I've always had a better mind/muscle connection by keeping everything locked tight.
my rotator cuffs beg for 5lbs but my ego just coldly looks at them and says “no”
relatable but please be careful. Once you hurt yourself, takes months to get better, if at all
My left delt is messed up from throwing 14kgs lmao. Rather jus stick to a weight that's heavy but you can handle with controlled rom.
This guy is such a pro. Unreal education in a succinct easy to understand format.
Hey Mike I know it's an old video but I appreciate the approachability you impart on weightlifting and fitness in general. I think you're probably helping a lot of people bud.
1:15 i felt the burn just by watching him contoll it
The super ROM variant feels way better than regular lateral raises for my delts, did them for the first time yesterday and the pump was absolutely amazing. Thanks Dr. Mike !!
I've been using muscle isolation last few years and it's been a game changer in results. I only use dumbbells to isolate contraction in every muscle group. This I've found increases muscle/mind connection in every muscle group. I still use bars but most have been dumbbells with extreme focus on feeling fibers working and contraction. You should do a video on this. My muscurlarity has been through the roof. I use one dumbbells for the targeted muscle only and focus on the squeeze flexing as hard as I can every rep. I'm an advanced lifter over 30yrs of training tho.
Nice. I’ve literally just watched two other guys videos on lateral raises. They contradicted each other, as well as saying absolutely don’t do this and absolutely you must do that. Your advice on finding what works best for the individual as well as changing it up occasionally seems much better.
Old guy here with shoulder issues - avoid pinkies up as it places shoulders in internal rotation, and don't go out completely to side. Bring your arms tin slightly to about 45 degrees. No more pain!
Yes! Totally agree!
Pinkies high for impingement of supraspinatus. ‼️
Yes! It's called Scaption, or the scapular plane-- Lateral raises but your arms aren't exactly "Lateral", so it's a misnomer really.. try this while balancing on one leg at times too..
I like "if you're joint cam handle it" in some cases, but that can also mean it can handle it now, but it might catch up to you later
Love his videos; the nuance he provides with the variations is soo refreshing- most trainers have this dogmatic approach to form etc “this is the only way to do x -exercise” (only to see a million other people say the same thing with different approaches) He provides a pretty solid explanation for the various ways a movement can be effectively & safely performed. Godsend
I'd be really interested in a breakdown of dumbbell pullovers. I'm a little over a year into lifting and added these a few weeks ago with the idea of hitting lats. However, I don't feel them in a particular muscle, but I do love the general feeling of opening up my chest from them. I also feel like my posture is better after doing them.
Agreed - Pullover variations, please. (Dr. Mike will recommend “lat prayers” I’m guessing.)
@@jongrotrian5067 Yeah, they seem to do those a lot. They look harder to perform properly than a basic pullover, but I don't know.
Man, I think I'd have to get someone a bit less wide than me to model it. I can't actually get any ROM in that position! -Dr. Mike
@@RenaissancePeriodization Suffering from success
Aaron, Pullovers are probably the exercise that individuals "feel" in different places to the greatest degree. I feel them in my lats like flyes in my pecs. But...I know people who feel it mostly in the their chest (pec minor maybe?). Arnold wrote about this-some guys use them for lats, some guys use them for chest, and some guys (Zane I think was the example) use them for serratus. Here is a tip though. Pullovers for "opening up your chest" are different than heavy pullovers. The "rib cage expanding" pullovers were down with LIGHT weights, straight arms, and often paired with high rep breathing squats. Doing them heavy/lower reps is not wrong; but different. People will say "can't do it" regarding expanding your rib cage. It worked for me. But if you look at old school guys (Google Abe Goldberg), who trained their "rib box" as much as their pecs, it sure seemed to work for them. Oh..check our Dr. Ellington Darden's "rib cage" pose. You can judge for yourself. :)
A variation i do love is the unilateral with the hand taking a supinated grip. Insane mind muscle connection
Looking ripped Dr! Thanks for another great video. Love the custom training template I got from you guys. Makes sure I'm not being lazy and actually tracking progress
Awesome, I'm super glad you like it! - Dr. Mike
How did you get a custom template?
@@ams914 bought from website but at this point the app looks better
@@ams914I'm guessing he's got links set up in the descriptions of his videos, if not then he's not doing the marketing aspect well!
Ever since finding this channel, I feel like my workouts have become so much more productive. Just small things like controlling the eccentric, big stretch at the bottom, etc. have improved the quality of my time in the gym and produced great results. Fantastic dumbbell/home workout videos. And a beautiful man to gaze upon.
Clear, impartial, applicable content. Thanks Dr Mike!
THIS IS THE BEST SERIES ON RP!!! THANK U SO MUCH DR MIKE!!! U R MY HERO!!!
Purchased a few of your programs…great layouts and I have really enjoyed them. Thanks for all of the beneficial tips on training. Keep up the great content. Thanks
Very cool! Glad to hear it! - Dr. Mike
Thank you for these tips! Took a lot of this advice in my workout today and haven’t felt sore like this in my delts in a long time. Your channel’s helped me a ton in my journey.
When I do it with straight arms, I feel it more in my upper taps for whatever anatomical reasons. Elbows bent in 90 degrees angle and upper-body slightly bent forward (with chest up and arched back) hits my side delts like there's no tomorrow.
same
@@kestivo I tried a combination of both today. That was the absolute best. Heavy sets with elbows bent, followed by a lighter high-reps with straight arms.
@@Peter_Parker69 im gonna try it
@@Peter_Parker69 Drop sets for shoulders have shown better results than I expected. It's really motivating to actually see it.
@@sonnyv.3947 I'm got sore after last training, which is a good sign for advanced
I really appreciate how you focus on 'feeling' the muscle over having some exact technique to follow. When i was getting started ao many of the videos I watched just focused on prescribing an exact technique, but who knows if youre actually matching that when you actually go to do the lift.
The basic concepts of feeling the muscle under tension, and aiming for a deep stretch, opened up a tpn of new exercises for me that i just didnt feel were working when i was trying to match an exact technique I saw in other video.
This kinda stuff if huge for new lifters. At this point i feel confodent trying new lifts because i know i cam adjust my form as needed and I know what a good lift feels like. That feeling is the same no matter what muscle you are targeting, ao i never have any doubt whether im doing it 'right.'
This was an awesome explanation. Thanks doc.. just recently subscribed. Love the no nonsense videos. Straight to the point. No bs. 💪
Just started training again and this channel is answering so many questions that I have and motivates me to play around with different variations.
FINALLY! An intensive and unbiased video on the lateral raise exercise as a whole, there is so much crap being spread about this lately as if one size fits all
Some things that were missed/overlooked.
For those that "still" feel they can't feel their lateral delts light-up/contract,
try, "slightly leaning forward."
A good way to do this is on a inclined bench, which gives you 2 benefits...
1) helps you find an angle that puts your LD's "on top"
(Yes, not everyone's LD's will be in that position when standing/sitting "upright")
(And no concerns for impingement trying "pinkies up" version)
2) It allows you to press your chest into the pad; giving you a better stimulus/contraction when lifting;
not comprimising your form (swaying, jerking, etc)
Going slightly lighter with these ques, have helped me tremendously,
along with "stopping short" (not going all the way down on the eccentric)
which Mike pointed out may be beneficial to some.
"Gravity doesn't fuckin point sideways."
Fucking gold 💯
I've struggled with laterals for a while, but watching this at the gym today made me feel my side delts burn like never before. Much apreciated doc 🥳
Mom : whatcha watching son?
Me : Doctor Mike flapping like a bird for 6 minutes straight
It's been INSANE how much your can learn from anyone at the knowledge peak of their pursuit for all of human experience
Hell yeah my goal in life is to be as wide as a door frame💪🏻💪🏻
just order smaller door frame..
454am from Latam tuning in religiously with RP and H.Eminence Doctor Mike ❤️🙏🥂⭐🇮🇱🇺🇸
3:55 DID DR MIKE JUST RECOMMEND LIMITING THE ROM?!?!?! I hope he’s ok!!!!
Best Advice Ever, for Side Delts. Put into action today, and was on 🔥 1/2 way through my second set. Reps 30, 25, 20 using ONLY 10 lb dumbbells with 1 minute rest between sets. Thanks Dr. Mike!
If anyone's confused about how to lift with the delts: lock down your scapula so your traps don't move and imagine your delt fibers shortening as they pull the arms upwards
Cheers for the tip mate, sometimes it's hard to remember - my traps are well developed and look out of proportion in relation to my delts so always concerned about it getting out of sync and want to just focus on the delts.
@@stephenmcconnell1000 I want to revise that by arms, I mean you should be focusing on raising the elbow, not the weight in your hands. Also, you can try thinking of pushing the arms up with the delts, if that works better for you
This is the most dangerous and most retarded comment on lateral raises. Youre gonna fuck up your shoulders.
@@fsfs2778 Nah, lifting is actually a nuanced practice. Once you have more experience, you'll learn that the body has something called "pain" that lets you know when you're doing something dangerous, so you can experiment ROMs for yourself. And idk what you're getting at because you didn't explain yourself but the back is still stabilizing, just not moving dynamically
@@alexsoulblade exactly. Funny how u know its nuanced but fail to understand the implications of locking down your scapula when its anatomical function is to upwardly rotate when you abduct your arm. Broscience is your way of being nuanced i guess
I've seen improvements in my gains since following your channel about 4 to 6 months ago
would also love to know your thoughts on side-lying lateral raises!
Basic approach is best, just do them normal..
They can work very well if you can get them to feel not so awkward, which can be tough! - Dr. Mike
It's ridiculous how much the feeling changes when I've started using the full/super ROM. Combined with not going down all the Way and holding /pulsing at the last reps. Really amazing tips, thank you for that
Thanks for the advice Dr. Mike! I totally took lateral raises out of my program because they were popping like bubble wrap when I'd go above parallel. It's good to know that I can still get a good stimulus within a comfortable range of motion.
So how far do you go? Parallel already hurts my bitch shoulders
i saw a short part of this video on your tik tok yesterday and it caught my attention instantly , i tried them right after watching and will definetly do my laterals this way from now on
I've seen more than one physio say that side laterals above horizontal can feel fine for a few years but then once the pain comes it's too late. Apparently there's a nerve/bone situation in the shoulder which means that side laterals higher than horizontal can pinch this nerve and over time you damage it irreparably.
Now, like I said, I've heard this more than once. AthleanX made a video on this year's ago etc. The problem is that apparently some people can train like this for years until the pain starts to show up and by then it's too late.
I'm trying to get to the bottom of this but it's hard. What I can say is that there are so many older people at the gyms who cannot lift their arms above or even close to horizontal anymore, why do you think that is!? I suspect that it is because of this bone/nerve thing.
im sure you are talking about the - shoulder rotator cuff - its not a nerve, its rubbing tendons
I started doing this and I can absolutely feel the side delts engaging. RP is all day legit.
I'm curious doc, I've heard something about leaning forward a little being ideal for lateral raise. Is that less optimal? Thanks again for all your content!
I would think leaning forward would cause more rear delt activation
I think AthleanX suggested leaning forward to shift the stimulus from the front delts to the side. I like doing it thumbs up and leaning forward.
@@tonybernard4444 Important to note that AthleanX also recommends thumbs up because of shoulder mobility reasons. Thumbs up means more front delt but leaning forward can shift that emphasis back to the side delt. So it makes a lot of sense combined, but a little less sense on their own.
@@tonybernard4444 AthleanX does not know about getting jacked and strong
Short. Simple. Too the point. “Proper” form for one, may be different for each individual. Find what works for you is the main message I got from this.
loving this series so much
I like that you covered all of it. I thought you'd leave out the hand position rotation, but you didn't. Great advice!
I know you’ve said that you have about two women watching your channel. Count me as a third, because I LOVE your videos.
Thanks for the helpful tips, Mike! Allow me to share a variation from my side. Part of my technique is: instead of just holding 1 second in the top position, I make a little extra 'jump' with the arms (lower a couple of centimeters and raise the same amount again to top position) and then lower my arms in a controlled way. I can really feel the strain in the muscles by doing it that way.
I just finished shoulders- wtf
Same budd
Same
there’s always next time
Nah this video/platform is psychic. Literally JUST sat down after my first set of dumbbell lateral raises, opened UA-cam and this was the first recommendation
Really appreciate the variety of options available on such a seemingly simple exercise. Definitely putting more thought and intention into my training. Thanks!
Now this is what I'm talking about six or seven minute long videos not like 30 minutes but hey I understand sometimes we love to hear ourselves talk LOL
This tips are like reading my mind. This is what I do for years.
Don't lock your elbows people. It is good to have a healthy pair of elbows when you are 60+ years old.
There's not really logical reason to not lock your elbows. Your elbows are designed to comfortably lock your elbows. Also, putting additional stress on your read delts and shoulder joins is no help when to get older. Using light weight and warming up properly will help you when you get old.
I would love to see one of these breakdowns on cable pec flys, the multitude of variations on how to do the exercise and target different parts of the muscle. Thanks for the top shelf content!
Thank you Dr. Mike! Incredible amount of knowledge in a short 6 min video
Hi Mike, I'm a 58 yo male and have finally been able to feel a pump and burn in my medial/front delts using the advice you provided here and in the video with Jeff Nippard. The amount of weight I had to use is a little embarrassing, but, as I type this, I can still feel the 'pump'! Eureka!!
Thanks for taking the time to share such helpful guidance.
So stoked and grateful for this info! I immediately got slightly more jacked and slightly more tan just from the intro & 4k video, despite my monitor being 1080p.
See how Mike goes higher than parellel ! I’ve always thought we never go higher ! Woudjnt higher be better more muscle lengthening ! The only person who demonstrated this and it made more sence
I avoided using momentum and I started feeling the burn from the first rep. I'll keep doing lateral raises like this and see how it goes👍🏻👍🏻
Doc!!! Loving the fact that you’re doing exercise videos now. UA-cam needed you!!
Thanks for clarifying that pinkies up works well too that's how my shoulders respoond. Great videos.
Wow Flea gotten huge! Not only a great musician but a great fitness coach. Thank you for the tips.
“…because gravity doesn’t patient sideways.” Just a brilliant way to phrase the idea in understandable terms. Great teaching.
one of the best videos on shoulders ever.. 10/10
Thank you so much you solved my six months struggling in six minutes 🙏🏻
Dr. Mike always with the simple tips that work!
Great vid. Love Dr. Mike when he is straight to the point
I am in no way as qualified as Dr. Mike, but one thing that helped me was doing them unilaterally. It helps having just one side to focus on at a time. Once you've "found" the muscle, you can go back to doing them with both sides at the same time.
Just what I needed to get over the hump on mind/muscle connection with delts. Thanks for another great video
This was very clean, clear, and to the point. I also love how you explain things. Subscribed.
This is the best training tips I have seen in a long time.
Well I did start doing the later part of the raises and took them completely over my head and after awhile it turned out to be a huge mistake!! I had 3 previous surgeries on my neck and lifting for the previous year I never had any problems. I lost 100lbs and was really cutting up my physic. Then one day after I did arms I noticed a good amount of pain in my neck and then started feeling a popping sensation like my neck was cracking and sure enough I ended up injuring my neck for the 4th time!! All the work I have put in the past little over a year has just come to a halt and now I am waiting to get an MRI to find out what I fucked up in my cervical region. I don't believe that any of the hardware that has been in there for over the past 10 years has come loose I just believe that I have ended up herniating the 2 final disc that I had no work on prior. I am 60 yrs old and exercising like this I know was a risk and it was a risk I was willing to take! I have absolute plans on picking up where I left off after I get my injury taken care of because I have never looked and felt as good as I have this past year in my whole life and that includes having a 6 pak for the first time ever. What a feeling!!! I'll be back!!!
Wonderful video focused on one muscle and one type of exercise for it. Thank you, Dr. Mike and RP.
Thank you for making videos that pertain to exercising with weights. The other videos about “drama” are less important. But yeah I get it videos on drama pertaining to other fitness influencers probably get more views.
Great timing! I was just looking for different methods to build rounded delts better, and got this! Thanks
Man you describe this really well and l been working on different tweaks the last year on lateral raises and you just went through every single tweak, from elbows , range , holds , fingers and hand placement, fantastic job. Also l have been doing start position from sides of my legs little elbow bend , pinky a little more dominant, also l have been fully locking glutes and hips forward l keep my feet touching side by side and keeping all my weight in my heels , locked knees all times like a concrete pillar at the same time relaxing upper body keeping chin down also this technique is always slight adjustments whilst I’m doing reps so l really must stay focused sometimes l find l might start lifting my chin or unlocking my left quad or my breathing might drop off, finally l use a weight that’s not too heavy so l do more reps and my range might start from bottom to top then l might start doing a really short range which you mentioned from top to 45 and back pumping it out then go back to full range and like you you perfectly described it will eventually catch up with you , thanks and l love zoning in and doing lateral raises ❤
Thanks, Dr. Mike. I'm pretty new to lifting and definitely feel like the delts were lagging. The variations are really helpful. Those pauses are a lot more fucking brutal than I expected. That one is absolutely in the mix now. Appreciate the content.
New fan here and I am an experienced bodybuilder. I love your technical deep dives with a hint of humour. Thanks doc! 💪
Dr. Mike always keeps it simple but useful. Thank you Doc!
I go quite a way above the shoulders, but my last session I used the "just light of lock" to keep focus on my elbow bend and two days later i was putting on my shoes and just saw my delts fucking bulging. Also upped the weight from 8kg to 10kg and dropped the reps but improving technique and focusing on PO has given me a renewed success rate. This is not the only exercise that dr Mike's tips have helped me improve, I'm so glad I found this channel.
So thankful my buddy put me on to Mike this early on for me. (6 months into lifting)
Best video on Lateral Raises I've ever seen. Thanks.
1000% fixed my mind muscle connection for side delts much appreciated dr.mike 🤙🙏
And a special section of folks with ac joint popped)
So a little bit of background: I popped mine when I was a kid, don't ask me how, because I don't know and don't remember, when I got to my 30s a realized that my 'weird clavicle position' is not a bio feature but an acquired injury. A side note : thanks to parents for not noticing...
Anyway, I have huge problems with side delts because for about yeah and half I am trying to find the painless way to hit them.
Lateral raise causes pain with just about any weight, even like 5 lbs, while at one session I went through pain and lifter like 25s (10 kg) with full control. But after the workout, the pain was not in the muscle.
The only painless way to make laterals for me is to raise the hands not in the frontal plane, but at the angle to the body which hits frontal delts as well.
And my go-to option for side delts is upright face pull when you pull the cable, not vertically, then I feel delts and don't feel shoulder joint. Barbel rows work too, but only with light weight 40-60 lbs (20-30 kg), physically i can lift more but going over 90 lbs (40 kg) shoulders come to play.
So maybe it will be helpful fore some:
cable rows
barbel rows
rubber band burnouts and partials to finish MF off.
P.S. To fix both shoulders I need a surgery and I neither have the money nor time to fix it now. On the bright side, it doesn't cause a lot of issues outside the gym. But in the gym, oh God, I don't know what side delts exercise I didn't try, raises, standing, leaning, laying, sitting, cables bands, dumbbells, barbell. So folks care bout your shoulders' health.
Hi Dr Mike, I'm Jon from Cambridge, Ma,, your channel is awesome,, I' look forward to implementing more of your principles and guidance in my training, thanks for all that you do!!
I've been using a hook grip on the dumbells recently for side laterals and, for whatever reason, it feels much better!
even i could check with hook grips, the delts do get pumped even with light weight
I have been told that the side raise should only go to 45° to avoid growing the traps'.
I would prefer not to increase my traps so this seems to work for me.
Front and rear raises don't engage them as much, so 90° seems fine.....
The two most important cues for side laterals are torso angle to target the right angle in the deltoid continuum and scapula position (protraction and depression to remove traps from the ecuation and target the medial headproperly).
Why would you want to remove the traps from the equation? Are your traps too big?
@@hak116 traps are worked in plenty of exercises. How often are side delts worked in comparison?
@@MrAndersson579 Thats why most people's maintenance volume for traps can be 0 sets. You train them indirectly with many exercises. Doesn't mean that getting trap work with lateral raises takes away from deltoid development.
Oh hey! Mike & RP just put up a video detailing why trying to remove or minimize trap involvement during side lateral raises is probably a bad idea if you want maximum delt development. Ill put the link here:
ua-cam.com/video/XPNx4DcG3lw/v-deo.html
@@hak116 Well for one traps get a ton of indirect work from DL and rows and OHP, etcetc. Second, Depending on your makeup some people might feel traps too much on laterals. And third I personally have neck issues and laterals with ''normal'' technique irritate my traps insertions into the neck and give me neckpain, and nowadays a lot of people with desk jobs have this problem as well. I can think of more reasons but will leave it there.
Stretch under tension for side delts is more apt to activate the supraspinatus, anyway... and you don't want a lot of hypertrophy for that small rotator cuff muscle, since it passes through the narrow and crowded subacromial space.
Bro is built like a fire hydrant.