Instructions

  1. Adjust the seat or arm pads so the pads rest just above your elbows when your arms are at your sides.
  2. If possible, scoot your butt backward on the seat so that your upper arms are about 10–15 degrees in front of your torso.
  3. Press your arms into the pads and push them out and up in an arc until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
  4. Pause for a brief moment, and lower your arms and return to the starting position.

Expert Tips

  • Think about lifting your elbows to the ceiling without shrugging your shoulders (this helps keep tension on your lateral deltoids rather than your traps).
  • Keep your torso as stable as possible. The more your upper body is moving during a rep, the less effective the exercise becomes for training your shoulders. If you find yourself heaving the weight up, you need to use less weight.
  • Try to relax your grip and think about lifting your arms only using your shoulders. This keeps your focus on contracting your lateral deltoids as hard as possible.
  • Don’t rest at the bottom of each rep (with your arms at your sides). Instead, immediately begin the next rep to keep tension on your lateral deltoids throughout the entire set.

Workout Programming

Program the machine lateral raise toward the end of your shoulder, push, or upper-body workouts to train your lateral deltoids directly. Or, if you’re specifically trying to build your lateral deltoids, you can do it as one of the first exercises in your workout.

A good default is 3 sets of 8–10 reps. Start by taking each set 1–2 reps shy of failure and resting 2–3 minutes between sets. Once you’re comfortable with the exercise, you can safely take your sets all of the way to failure (the point where you can’t move the weight with good form despite giving your maximum effort).

Mike’s Take

The machine lateral raise is one of the best exercises you can do for isolating, building, and strengthening your lateral deltoids (side delts).

Using a machine has several advantages over other lateral deltoid exercises like the EZ-bar upright row, cable side raise, and dumbbell side raise:

  1. You only have to control the weight in one direction (up and down), which allows you to focus entirely on contracting your lateral delts as hard as possible. With other exercises, you also have to spend some energy and focus keeping the weight moving in the right direction.
  2. You can take your sets all of the way to failure. You don’t need to worry about dropping the weight and it’s harder to cheat on your form as your reps get harder.
  3. It almost entirely isolates your lateral deltoids, so no other muscle can become a limiting factor and force you to end your sets prematurely. For example, your biceps and lower back can still get tired during EZ-bar upright rows, which can limit your sets (or at least be more fatiguing and distracting).

It’s also faster and more convenient to set up than either cables or dumbbells. Just set the seat height, adjust the weight, and you’re set. You can train both arms at once, too, whereas the standard cable lateral raise trains one arm at a time.

The main downside of the machine, though, is that it may not allow you to get into the position described above, where your elbows are slightly in front of your torso. Some machines also force you to add weight in large increments (such as 10 pounds), which is impractical for an isolation exercise like lateral raises.

Finally, not every gym has a lateral raise machine, either.

When it comes to the machine lateral raise versus the cable lateral raise or dumbbell lateral raise, these are all outstanding exercises and I train and recommend all of them. If I had to choose one lateral deltoid exercise above all others, though, it would be a well-designed machine lateral raise.

If your gym doesn’t have one of these, don’t worry. The most important thing is that you use proper technique, push each set close to failure, and are consistent over time. Do that, and your deltoids will get bigger and stronger with any of these exercises.

Machine Lateral Raise Alternatives

  • Cable Lateral Raise. The cable keeps tension on the side delt through the entire rep, including the stretched bottom position. It takes longer to finish your sets, because you can only train one arm at a time, and you have to work harder to control the weight.
  • Dumbbell Lateral Raise. The same movement as the machine lateral raise, but with dumbbells. You can use these interchangeably, though both have pros and cons.
  • EZ-Bar Upright Row. The upright row is essentially a lateral raise performed with bent arms—your upper arms perform the same movement during both exercises.
  • Cable Upright Row (with rope handle). This is the same movement as the EZ-bar upright row, but with a rope handle and cable, which allows your hands to move independently and is often more comfortable for your wrists.

3 Machine Lateral Raise Workouts

Here are three sample workouts that show how to program the machine lateral raise in a shoulder workout, a push workout, or an upper-body workout.

Shoulder Workout with the Machine Lateral Raise

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
EZ-Bar Upright Row: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Machine Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest

Push Workout with the Machine Lateral Raise

Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
EZ-Bar Upright Row: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Machine Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest

Upper-Body Workout with the Machine Lateral Raise

Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Chest-Supported Machine Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Lat Pulldown: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Machine Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest

Do two warm-up sets before your first exercise in each workout. On the first set, do 5 reps with about 50% of the weight you plan to use for your first hard set, and rest for 1–2 minutes. On the second, do 5 reps with about 80% of your target weight, and rest for 1–2 minutes.

To progress these workouts, use double progression: use a weight that allows you to work within the given rep range, take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure, and once you hit the top of the range for your first set, add weight.

Muscles Worked by the Machine Lateral Raise

Shoulder anatomy showing the anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoids

The machine lateral raise primarily trains your side delts (lateral deltoids), which raise your upper arms out to your sides (shoulder abduction).

Your rotator cuff helps hold your upper arms in place, while your traps help move and stabilize your shoulder blades. Your forearms also help you maintain a firm grip on the machine handles.

More Shoulder Exercises and Workouts