Incline One-Arm Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Setup

1. 01Set an incline bench to roughly 30 to 45 degrees.
2. 02Lie sideways against the pad with the lower arm braced on the bench for support.
3. 03Hold a light dumbbell in the top hand, hanging in front of the body.
4. 04Keep the body in a straight line from head to feet.

Execution

1. 01Raise the top arm out and up in a wide arc with a soft elbow bend.
2. 02Continue until the arm is roughly vertical or just past shoulder line.
3. 03Pause briefly at the top.
4. 04Lower slowly back down across the body.

Checkpoints

• -Tension starts from the very first degree of the raise.
• -The elbow keeps a fixed soft bend.
• -Hips and torso stay stacked against the pad without rolling back.
• -The lowering phase is slow and fought the whole way.

Common mistakes

• -Rolling the torso backward to make the raise easier.
• -Using standing-raise loads; the incline makes the bottom range far harder.
• -Bending and straightening the elbow to cheat the arc.
• -Dropping the bell instead of resisting the descent.