# Cable Lateral Raise: how to do it

- Main muscles: side delts
- Equipment: cable
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/cable_lateral_raise/f6d3293ecc/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Set a low pulley with a single handle; stand side-on to it.
2. Hold the handle in your far hand, across the front of your body.
3. With a soft elbow, raise your arm out to the side.
4. Stop at shoulder height, pause, then lower slowly across your body.

## Cues

- Elbow leads, wrist follows
- Stand tall, no lean
- Stop at shoulder height

## Common mistakes

- Leaning away from the cable: stand tall and lighten the weight.
- Lifting above shoulder height: stop when your elbow reaches shoulder level.
- Bending the elbow to pull: keep the same slight bend throughout.

## Starting position

One cable column, pulley at the lowest setting (about 15–30 cm off the floor), a single D-handle (stirrup). Knees soft, torso upright and braced, shoulder blades down. The working hand is the one away from the column: it reaches across in front of the body to hold the handle with a neutral grip (palm facing the body), wrist straight. The cable runs from the low pulley across the front of the thighs.

## The movement

The arm sweeps up and out in an arc from across the body to out at the side. The cable stays in front of the body all the way, never behind it. Only the working shoulder moves: the elbow angle is fixed, the wrist straight, and the torso does not lean away from or towards the column. The shoulder does not shrug. The way down retraces the arc slowly back across the body. Sources differ on pulley height: ACE sets it at about waist height, ExRx uses a low pulley.

## End position

(turnaround point): elbow at shoulder height: shoulder abduction about 90° (accept 80–90°). Arm out to the side and slightly forward, about 15° in front of the frontal plane (accept 0–30°). Elbow bend unchanged. The hand at or a little below the elbow. A 1 s pause (ACE).

## Tempo

About 2 s up, a 1 s pause at the top, about 2.5 s down.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pulley height | 20 cm | lowest setting, 10–30 cm |  |
| Elbow flexion (held all rep) | 20° | 10–30° |  |
| Shoulder abduction at the top | 90° | 80–90°, never above |  |
| Arm forward of the frontal plane at the top | 15° | 0–30° |  |
| Torso lean sideways | 0° | under 5° |  |
| Pause at the top | 1 s | 0.5–1 s |  |

## Sources

1. [[ACE: Single-arm Lateral Raise (cable)](](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/354/single-arm-lateral-raise/)
2. [[ExRx.net: Cable One Arm Lateral Raise](](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidLateral/CBOneArmLateralRaise)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/cable-lateral-raise