Dumbbell Front Raises

Muscles worked

Shoulders

Primary muscle

Front delt

Equipment

Dumbbell

Movement pattern

Push

Difficulty

Intermediate

What it is for

Hypertrophy

Watch the full tutorial

• Rocking the torso back to lift. That push from the hips throws the dumbbells up and the deltoid only slows them down. Brace the abs, squeeze the glutes and, if it persists, alternate arms or rest the back against a wall.
• Raising above shoulder line. Past horizontal, the dumbbell loads the deltoid less and less and the extra travel comes from the traps and the shoulder blade. Stop with the arm parallel to the floor and lower from there.
• Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears. When the upper traps lift the shoulder, the deltoid loses its lead role and the neck ends up loaded. Keep the shoulders down and the neck long, and drop the weight if you cannot.
• Using too much weight and bending the elbows. With too much load, the elbow flexes to shorten the lever and the movement starts to look like a curl. Pick light dumbbells: here a clean range is worth more than the kilos.

Which muscles does the dumbbell front raise work?

The front deltoid is the main muscle: it flexes the shoulder and brings the arm from the thigh up to horizontal. The clavicular portion of the pec helps at the start and the side deltoid joins in the top part. For the arm to rise, the upper traps and serratus anterior rotate the shoulder blade, which is why the shoulders shrug when the weight is excessive. The abs and glutes keep the torso from leaning back to gain leverage.

Dumbbell, barbell or cable front raise: which one should you pick?

With dumbbells each arm works on its own, you can alternate them to swing less and choose your grip; in exchange, there is almost no tension at the bottom, because the dumbbell hangs vertically. The barbell fixes both hands and allows a bit more load, but forces a strict overhand grip. The low cable, with the cable between the legs, keeps tension from the first centimeter. Dumbbells by default and to correct asymmetries; cable when you want constant tension.

How many sets and reps of the front raise should you do?

A common starting point is 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, leaving 1 to 3 in reserve, with a controlled two-second lowering. The front deltoid already gets plenty of work from any chest or shoulder press, so this exercise is a low-priority accessory: it goes at the end of shoulder day and only adds something when that area lags or when the program has no presses.

How high should you raise and which way should the palms face in the front raise?

Raise until the arm is horizontal, at shoulder height. Above that line the front deltoid gains no more load and the extra range comes from the shoulder blade rotating, with the traps shrugging the shoulders. Palms down is the classic version; with the palms facing each other many shoulders feel more comfortable and the work is the same. Pick the one that does not bother you and keep the elbow slightly bent and fixed.