I was actually shocked at how well this one worked the first time I tried it...I actually got soreness in my lateral delts a few days after and I NEVER get soreness in my delts at all.
Developing the lateral delts is one of the big "impact zones" of your body, in terms of changing appearance and shape.
And to do it, all you need is a barbell and a few small plates.
I recommend starting with either just the bar, or with 5's or 10's on the bar...(very light). If that's still too heavy, you could potentially use an EZ bar or smaller straight bar.
Take a moderately-wide grip on the bar. I've got my index fingers on the smooth rings of the bar.
Now you're going to raise ONE side of the bar up, like you would if you were doing a dumbbell or cable lateral raise.
Imagine drawing the bar up with your elbow (which mimics the upright row exercise).
The key difference between this and an upright row is that you're actually trying to EXTERNALLY rotate the shoulder as you come up, whereas the upright row is done with an internally rotated shoulder (which is also what makes it potentially damaging to the joint).
Bring your arm up until your upper arm is horizontal, focusing on using your lateral delts to bring the bar up. The traps will get involved to some degree, just fyi. It's hard to avoid, but the brunt of the load should be taken up by the lateral delts.
One of the big benefits of this exercise is that you can use your OTHER arm to "spot" yourself. As you raise the bar, shift the bar over towards that side (almost like a battering ram). Spotting yourself like this will allow you to achieve the peak contraction at the top and hold it there.
Just remember it's the "raising" arm that's the focus of the exercise, not the "bottom" arm.
Lower the bar down to the start position, then raise it up towards the other side.
Now, I can promise you'll get strange looks when you do this one. Also, you want to make sure nobody is walking beside or behind you when you do it...they won't be expecting the bar to travel in this path.
Here's a side view of the movement. Knees should be slightly bent, core tight, upper body leanin slightly forward.
Now raise up to the side.
You'll notice the bar coming away from my body a bit. This is completely fine and part of the exercise. It's a relatively light weight, so it's not an issue.
Then come up to the other side.
Key thing to remember...this is a CONTROLLED movement. Don't use momentum to swing the bar up, or this will completely change the focus of the exercise and nullify the benefits.
Performed correctly, this exercise will give you a fantastic pump directly in the lateral delts, which is often an extremely tough area to really dig into.
I HIGHLY recommend watching the video for this one to get the best idea of how the movement is done. Still pictures are good but it's much better to SEE it in action.
Hit All Three Deltoid Heads With Barbell Lateral Raises
Now, if you want to hit all three heads of the delts in one continuous set, I've got something cool for you...a barbell front raise, straight into this exercise, then into a bent-over row with a focus on the rear delts.
You keep the same grip on the bar and just perform one rep of each exercise, running through the sequence until fatigue stops you.
When performing the bent-over row, to focus on the rear delts, you want to keep your elbows flared as you row up (keeping them forward). Imagine keeping your elbows wide as you come up. This will shift focus to the rear delts over the larger muscles of the upper back.
Then straighten up and go right back to the front raise, and cycle through the exercises continuously.
This combination is a great way to hit your entire shoulder complex, either as a finisher as a pre-exhaust for pressing right after.
Another excellent direct lateral delt exercise is the Band-Dumbbell-Plate Lateral Raise.
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Want more unique and challenging exercises to work your entire body with simple equipment? All you need is just a barbell, dumbbells and a bench. Check out The Best Home Gym Exercises You've Never Heard Of!
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