The exercise I get the most questions and hear the most frustration about is lateral raises! I think that most folks are frustrated by the seemingly small amount of weight that the medial delt can handle, compounded by the difficulty in easily targeting this particular delt head. This video is to illustrate the most effective way that I've found to execute lateral raises, and although I'm only using 12.8lbs I'll be feeling these later!
Perform this exercise sitting rather than standing to minimize body english, and although you can perform this with both arms at once I find I am able to target each shoulder *much* better if I perform only one arm at a time. Start by gripping the dumbbell in a "claw," or "thumbless grip," with your thumb alongside the rest of your fingers rather than hooking around the dumbbell handle. This will take stress off of the forearms and wrists and transfer it to the medial delts where you want it. Let your arms hang loose down to the floor, but be mindful of keeping the elbows straight. Slowly lift the weight out away from the body and up, focusing on using your medial delts to lift rather than employing momentum and switching focus to the rear delts. Your mind-muscle connection is your best friend in these types of "finishing" lifts, and you'll need to work it as hard as you can to keep that medial delt in control. When you hit parallel with the floor, finish the rep with a slight rotation at the wrist so that the thumb is lower than the pinky. This is generally referred to as "pouring out" the weight, and will just really tweak the engagement of your target muscles. Remain slow and controlled through the eccentric portion of the lift, and allow the dumbbell to come to full rest at the end of the rep. I hope these tips help you on your quest for those Boulder Shoulders! Stay strong, Amazons!
