Ask most old-school weightlifters, and they’ll back dumbbells. For them, dumbbells are simpler, more accessible, and proven—most of the best bodybuilders in history relied on the dumbbell lateral raise to build their delts.
New-fashioned gymgoers might disagree.
Many would argue cables have the edge because they keep your delts under constant tension—even when your arms are at your sides and your delts are most stretched. Cables may even let you stretch your side delts further by pulling your arm slightly across your body.
Dumbbells, in comparison, offer zero resistance in that bottom position.
Why does that matter?
Several recent studies suggest muscles grow best when stretched under tension. Dumbbell lateral raises don’t apply tension where your delts are most lengthened, but cable lateral raises do.
So, cables sound like the clear winner. But what happens in practice?
Researchers at Nord University recently pitted cable vs. dumbbell lateral raises to find out.
They had 24 experienced weightlifters do dumbbell lateral raises with one arm and cable lateral raises with the other for 8 weeks. The weightlifters did five sets to failure with each arm twice weekly, keeping all other variables like range of motion and effort the same.
The result?
Both exercises produced identical growth.
Cables did show a slight advantage in the lower region of the side delts—4.6% growth compared to 3.9% for dumbbells. But the difference wasn’t statistically significant, meaning it’s just as likely to be a coincidence as an indicator of the cable version’s superiority.
What does this mean for you?
Both exercises are equally effective for building your delts, so pick the one you prefer. If you like the simplicity of dumbbells, use them. If cables feel better, go for those.
What matters most is that you like the exercise and it allows you to train hard and consistently.
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