Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise

Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise Basics

Primary muscles worked: Medial Deltoid

Synergist Muscles: Anterior Deltoid, Posterior Deltoid

Mechanics: Isolation

Equipment: Cable Tower with hand attachment at lower setting

How To Perform The Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise

• First, grab a hand attachment from a low setting cable tower. If you grab the hand attachment with your left hand, turn 90-degrees to the left, and if you grab with your right hand, turn 90-degrees to the right. You should be standing perpendicular to the tower.
• Now standing tall, with a slight bend in your knees and your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Your arms should be at your sides. This means the line from the pulley should cross right in front of your legs or midsection. The back of the hand that is gripping the hand attachment should be facing directly away from the cable tower.
• Now, raise your arm laterally, (to the side) in an arc like path, until your lifting arm is parallel to the floor.
• Once your lifting arm is parallel to the floor, slowly lower your arm until it is beside your leg and then repeat until you have completed your desired number of reps.
• After you have completed your desired number of cable raises on one side, face the other direction and switch what hand the hand attachment is in, and repeat.

Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise Tips

• Make sure you breath out as you lifting your arm to the parallel point and breathe in as you lower the weight back to the starting position.
• Do not dip or lean your body in the direction of the arm your lifting as this will cause other muscles to assist with the exercise. This will reduce the workload on the shoulder which is not the purpose of this lift.

Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise and Sports Application

The single arm cable lateral raise can improve shoulder function and strength in athletes. The shoulder is an inherently less stable joint and this exercise improves the medial deltoid significantly. Since the cable variation of the lateral raise places constant tension on the shoulder, athletes that require significant shoulder endurance stand to benefit from this exercise as well.