Iron Cross — start position
Start
Iron Cross — end position
End

Shoulders / Intermediate / Compound (multi-joint)

Iron Cross

A dumbbell exercise for the side delts, with the chest, glutes and hamstrings assisting.

At a glance

Primary
Side delts
Secondary
Chest, Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower back (erectors), Quads, Upper traps
Equipment
Dumbbells
Movement pattern
Lateral raise (abduction)
Level
Intermediate
Type
Shoulders, Compound (multi-joint)

How to do it

  1. See the images for the movement.

Open in the appGet started

Muscles worked

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

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

Similar exercises

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