Tip: A New Way to Widen Your Shoulders

Combine these two effective lateral raise variations and be ready to go up a T-shirt size.

The point of maximal mechanical tension when doing the leaning lateral raise is at the top of the range of motion when your arm is parallel to the floor.

It's the opposite when you set the handle at knee height. In that, the point of maximal tension is when your arm is at a 90-degree angle to the cable, which is when your arm is at the bottom of the range next to your torso.

Combine the two exercise variations like this for max results:

One-Arm Lateral Raise Drop Set

  1. Do the dumbbell raises with your torso held at roughly a 45-degree angle while holding onto a cable machine with your other arm. Use a weight you can lift for around 8-15 reps.
  2. Once you've done both arms, go back to the arm you started with and do cable lateral raises with a handle that's set at knee height, again for 8-15 reps.