Muscles worked
The cable lateral raise isolates your side delts, the middle part of the deltoid, which lifts your arm out to the side and gives your shoulders their width. The front delts and the supraspinatus, one of the rotator cuff muscles, help lift the arm, while your upper traps hold the shoulder blade steady. The difference from dumbbells is the resistance. A dumbbell feels almost weightless while your arm hangs, whereas the cable pulls from the very start. Your side delts therefore work through the whole lift, including the lower part.
Common mistakes
- Bending your elbow more and more during the set. A more bent arm shortens the lever, so the same plate feels lighter than it is. Keep the same slight bend from the first rep to the last.
- Your upper body joining in. When it gets heavy, many people tilt or twist their upper body to help the arm up. Hold the machine with your free hand, stand firm and let only your arm move.
- A weight too heavy for one arm. The side delt is a small muscle, and the steps on the weight stack are often large. Start on the lightest weight and only go up once your form holds for the whole set.
Variations and alternatives
- Dumbbell lateral raises train both arms at once and need only a pair of dumbbells.
- Machine lateral raises have a fixed path, so good form is easier to keep when you tire.
- Lying lateral raises put the hardest point at the start of the lift, much like the cable, but with a dumbbell.
- Band lateral raises give a resistance much like the cable's when you train at home.
Sets and reps
Cable lateral raises work best with a light weight and plenty of reps. 10 to 20 reps is common, and for most people 12 to 15 works well, over three or four sets per arm. Heavy sets of few reps do nothing here: your upper body starts to sway long before your side delts are tired. The guide to sets and reps explains more.
Start with your weaker arm and match the reps with the other, so both sides develop evenly. Apply progressive overload with reps first. One step on the stack can be a big jump for such a small muscle, so stay on the same weight until you reach the top of your range in every set. If the station has a small add-on weight, use it to take a smaller step.