Front Dumbbell Raise — start position
Start
Front Dumbbell Raise — end position
End

Shoulders / Beginner / Isolation (single joint)

Front Dumbbell Raise

A dumbbell isolation exercise for the front delts.

At a glance

Primary
Front delts
Equipment
Dumbbells
Movement pattern
Front raise (shoulder flexion)
Level
Beginner
Type
Shoulders, Isolation (single joint)

How to do it

  1. Pick a couple of dumbbells and stand with a straight torso and the dumbbells on front of your thighs at arms length with the palms of the hand facing your thighs. This will be your starting position.
  2. While maintaining the torso stationary (no swinging), lift the left dumbbell to the front with a slight bend on the elbow and the palms of the hands always facing down. Continue to go up until you arm is slightly above parallel to the floor. Exhale as you execute this portion of the movement and pause for a second at the top. Inhale after the second pause.
  3. Now lower the dumbbell back down slowly to the starting position as you simultaneously lift the right dumbbell.
  4. Continue alternating in this fashion until all of the recommended amount of repetitions have been performed for each arm.

Common mistakes

  • ✗ Swinging the weight up with the lower back.

    Why it hurts: The lower back jerks and the shoulder takes a sudden load.

    ✓ Instead: Stand tall, use light weight and raise to shoulder height.

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Muscles worked

Neck (Front)Upper traps (Front)Front delts — primary (Front)Side delts (Front)Chest (Front)Serratus anterior (Front)Biceps (Front)Forearms & grip (Front)Abs (Front)Obliques (Front)Hip flexors (Front)Quads (Front)Adductors (Front)Shins (tibialis) (Front)Calves (Front)Outer shins (peroneals) (Front)Feet (arch & toes) (Front)Neck (Back)Upper traps (Back)Upper back (rhomboids, mid/lower traps) (Back)Rear delts (Back)Side delts (Back)Rotator cuff (Back)Lats (Back)Lower back (erectors) (Back)Triceps (Back)Forearms & grip (Back)Hip abductors (glute med) (Back)Glutes (Back)Hamstrings (Back)Adductors (Back)Calves (Back)
FrontBack
  • Primary: Front delts

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

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Photos and instructions: free-exercise-db (github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db), public domain.