Lateral Raise Machine
The lateral raise machine trains the side (lateral) deltoid by raising padded levers out to your sides from a seated, braced position along a fixed path. The cam spreads the resistance more evenly than a dumbbell and the seat removes any balance demand, which makes it easy to load in small steps.
Also called: Machine Lateral Raise, Side Lateral Machine, Cam Lateral Raise · Equipment: machine · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Adjust the seat so your shoulder joints line up with the machine's pivot points when you sit upright.
- Sit against the chest or back pad with your feet flat, and place the outside of your upper arms against the arm pads. Hold the handles lightly.
- Brace your trunk and keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
- Raise your arms out to the sides by driving your elbows into the pads until your upper arms are level with your shoulders.
- Pause briefly at the top.
- Bring the pads back down under control until your arms are close to your sides, keeping the weight stack off its rest between reps.
- After the last rep, return slowly until the stack rests.
- Shoulders in line with the pivots
- Drive your elbows into the pads
- Raise to shoulder height
- Shoulders down, away from your ears
- Torso still against the pad
- Control the way down
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Lateral deltoid | Prime mover | C |
| Anterior deltoid | Secondary | C |
| Trapezius: upper | Secondary | C |
| Rotator cuff | Stabiliser | C |
| Posterior deltoid | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Seat at the wrong height
Fix: Adjust the seat until your shoulder joints line up with the machine's pivots.
Shrugging the shoulders
Fix: Keep your shoulders down away from your ears and end the raise at shoulder height.
Heaving with the torso
Fix: Stay braced against the pad and choose a load you can raise with no body movement.
Pulling with the hands
Fix: Hold the handles lightly and push the pads up with your elbows.
Dropping the arms
Fix: Take about two seconds to bring the pads back down on every rep.
What the research says
Muscle growth · first choiceRehab & prehabGeneral fitnessEndurance
- Resistance curve — In an 8-week trial, cable and dumbbell lateral raises, which load different parts of the range, produced similar side-deltoid growth of about 3–5%. An evened-out resistance curve has not been shown to add growth.
- Machines and free weights — A meta-analysis found machine and free-weight training produce similar muscle growth, while strength gains are specific to the equipment trained on.
- Load and effort — Studies show muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, and sets that finish a rep or two short of failure capture most of that benefit.
- Set techniques — Research found drop sets and rest-pause sets produced similar growth to traditional sets when total volume was matched. Machines make these techniques quick to set up.
- Volume and sets — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. A common approach is 2–4 sets of 10–20 reps, often late in a session.
Swap it mid-workout
- Cable Lateral Raise
- Cable Y-Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Lu Raise
- Plate Lateral Raise
- Leaning Cable Lateral Raise
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the lateral raise machine in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.