Incline Dumbbell Rear Lateral Raise

Setup

1. 01Set an incline bench to roughly 30 to 45 degrees.
2. 02Lie chest-down on the pad with the head above the top edge.
3. 03Let the arms hang straight down holding light dumbbells, palms facing each other.
4. 04Plant the feet and settle the chest into the pad.

Execution

1. 01Raise both arms out to the sides in a wide arc with a soft elbow bend.
2. 02Lead with the elbows until the arms reach shoulder height.
3. 03Pause and squeeze the shoulder blades slightly at the top.
4. 04Lower slowly back to the hang.

Checkpoints

• -Chest stays on the pad from first rep to last.
• -Pinkies lead slightly upward at the top for a stronger rear delt bias.
• -Elbow angle stays fixed throughout the arc.
• -The bells travel out to the sides, not backward toward the hips.

Common mistakes

• -Bouncing the chest off the pad to swing the bells up.
• -Rowing with bent elbows instead of raising with long arms.
• -Going too heavy and cutting the range to a shrug-flap.
• -Letting the traps take over by over-squeezing the blades early.