If you have ever been told to “pour the pitchers” when doing dumbbell lateral raises, then you are going to want to watch this video. Here I’m going to show you why you want to actually do the exact opposite when performing side laterals for your shoulders.
The db lateral raise is one of the best exercises for building the middle delt of the shoulders. This head of the delts responds best to abduction of the arm, or lifting the arm out away from the body. Some feel that the extra internal rotation of the shoulder at the top of the movement gives you better activation of this head. This is incorrect, and as a matter of fact, this invites some structural instability into the exercise that could get you injured in the long run.
The front delts or anterior head of the delt is positioned the best out of the three heads to assist in internal rotation of the shoulder. This is why exercises that stress this head of the shoulders tends to produce rounded shoulders and bad posture when overdeveloped.
In order to hit the middle head of the delts however, the arm must be lifted out to the side and ideally remain positioned directly opposed to the downward force of gravity.
When positioned with the pinky held higher than the thumb (as in pouring a pitcher of water at the top of the rep) you are causing internal rotation of the shoulder joint from an elevated position. This is a common position of impingement. The structures within the shoulders joint like the suprapsinatus tendon as well as the subacromial bursa are often times pinched from this position due to a lack of free joint space created at the top of the motion.
Over time, the constant irritation of these structures can lead to their inflammation which can cause not only pain but eventual fraying of the tendon of the rotator cuff. Again, this is not something that often happens on a single rep of a side lateral raise but accumulates over time. This is why some people will often argue that they never hurt themselves doing the exercise and therefore it is not dangerous for them to continue to do it.
I would caution someone from having this mindset. The goal of anyone embarking on a training program should be to perform one that is going to keep them in the gym for the longest period of time without injury. Maybe their shoulder anatomy is not such that the joint space is closed down as much to cause faster irritation of these structures, again this does not mean that it cannot occur. It just means that it may do so at a slower pace.
In order to perform this more safely and effectively, instead of pouring the pitchers at the top make sure you keep the water in the pitcher. This is accomplished by keeping the thumb higher than the pinky at the top of each rep. This small but important change creates external shoulder rotation rather than internal rotation which creates the all important joint space at the top and decreases the likelihood for impingement.
Accumulating reps over time from this position is far less likely to lead to injury while still not compromising shoulder muscle gains.
Make sure that when you make this move to rotate the shoulder backwards that you lean forward slightly at the same time. This ensures that the middle delt is positioned optimally again directly opposed to the downward force of gravity. This will ensure that the middle head of the delts is doing the bulk of the work and is positioned to make the best muscle gains.
If you’re looking for a complete program where you can build big shoulders as well as a powerful athletic physique, be sure to head to athleanx.com via the link below and remember to take a minute to use the program selector tool to find the program that best aligns with your current training goals. Start training like an athlete today and start looking like one within the next 90 days and beyond.
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*NOTIFICATION SQUAD GIVEAWAY* – It’s back!! Alright guys, I’m giving away a complete 30 Day Workout program to 100 lucky clickers within the first hour this video is published! Remember, this is NOT THE FIRST 100, but those randomly selected within the first hour the video is published. Click the link to see if you’ve won. No strings attached!
https://giveaway.athleanx.com/ytg/no-shoulder-raises
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@Alex Same here. I won but it wouldn’t accept my registration.
I literally woke up this morning with inflammation RIGHT THERE after working out my shoulders this exact way yesterday. This is super frickin weird…
het jeff what do you think of ‘lu raises’?
Even if I don’t win I am a winner for being a part of your community.
Finally someone mentions the problems with lateral raises. Something I learned too late from my ortho surgeons and PTherapists before I discovered I had a torn labrum.
The docs were like “stop that! … it’s like super terrible esp if weighted and done incorrectly, the rotator cuff muscles are really tiny and can be easily damaged”
forward raises thumbs up, slightly angled forward raises thumbs BUT primarily external rotations they said were the safest exercises for cuff and labral injury prevention.
FYI – if you get torn labrum, you are pretty much done with any heavy weighted exercises which involve your shoulders, besides the fact the pain can be incapacitating, it cannot heal on its own, but it can be stabilized if you do things correctly AND DO YOUR PT DA**IT!
After recently re-watching (for the nth time) your other video on this exercise, it’s nice to see it repeated again, thus emphasising its importance.
Straight forward with all the knowledge needed! Well done Jeff!
Shame he’s doesn’t do every video like that
Was that Jeff demonstrating internal rotation? Thought that was where he got Jesse to stand in normally.
That means Jessie finally leveled up :o
He needs to find a new ‘Jessie’ now :D
I’m not sure that I do rotate my hand when I do these, but I’ll be sure to now! Much appreciated!
It’s not about rotation it’s about proper form. Don’t need to rotate just keep those thumbs up
@kER vet I know this, I just worded my comment badly, cheers for the pointer
Do you have a pet duck?
Thanks so much! Now I can include this in my workouts.
Please do a video on separated ac joint in the shoulder! How heavy can I lift? I haven’t tested it hardly because I feel like it’ll just snap or something and make it worse. There’s a lot of us out here with this common injury and you’re the only one we really trust tbh.
Go to a physiotherapist? Jeff doesn’t respond
@James Quinn Jeff asks for requests all the time, bro. Thanks for the helpful comment tho
@mofosoto I never said this wasn’t a request? I just said Jeff doesn’t respond to comments he has done it once and when someone accused him of peds I literally just told you a fact and I realised how I worded it came across it is fact he doesn’t personally respond to peoples comments on his videos idk how that’s me taking anything you said in a “foolish” way do you usually get your panties in a twist over someone stating facts? And do you get this hostile when someone is trying to tell you to go speak to medically trained professional about your said pain? I also said I didn’t mean to come across as condescending but you literally just cane across as condesending what’s good for the goose is not good for the gander now I admitted I probably came across that way probably want to check yourself and do the same
It makes so much sense when you show it that way. The angle seems perfect for the lateral delt
I learned this the hard way, usually with a sharp pain followed by months of recovery, losing my gains. I’ve had a lot less problems since finding this channel.
did it hurt when you weren’t working out? my shoulder just hurts when doing presses but i can still do lateral raises without it hurting so not sure if this is the problem…
@Minindis02 Yeah, it was pretty sore. First time I was using a pec fly machine when starting out and actually heard something tear, sounded like paper ripping. After that it was slipping on the climbing wall that seemed to aggravate it randomly.
Focusing on strengthening my upper back and avoiding bad shoulder rotation has helped massively, and I no longer feel like I’m constantly on the cusp of injuring myself.
Fitness “influencers” on TikTok told me to do the exact opposite haha. Thanks!
When Jeff pours water from a pitcher, he pours half with one hand and half with the other to avoid muscle imbalance.
The weight on the other hand will be lighter in this case.. This is why he has TWO water jugs
Love this Jeff, would definitely like to see more similar bitesize pointers on form and technique!
At some point I need to organize all your vids into folders. These joint saving vids and proper technique are key with age
Gosh man, it’s stuff like this that makes Jeff the best. Great info and easy to remember
Yea baby yeah!
I’m glad to say I’ve never seen anyone do, or recommend, “pouring the pitchers”. Learned about it on this channel.
I’ve been doing this for quite a while now. Tnx for saving my shoulders, Jeff
Dumps water all over the floor.
Jeff: “Jesse come clean this mess so you don’t ruin your gains.”
Man I’m actually grateful for seeing this, literally thought I’d try the thumbs down style yesterday and it was so uncomfortable to pull off, crazy discomfort in the shoulders. I thought to myself “this can’t possibly be how it’s meant to be done”, then started thinking maybe I was the one with mobility issues, glad you’ve cleared it up