Cable Leaning Lateral Raise

Description

The cable leaning lateral raise is a single-arm side-delt isolation exercise where you lean away from a low cable pulley and lift the cable handle out to your side. The leaning angle puts the lateral deltoid under load through a much longer range of motion than a standard dumbbell raise — including the bottom portion that dumbbells cannot effectively load. It is one of the most effective side-delt exercises in existence.

Muscle Group

Shoulders, Side Deltoid

Equipment Required

Cable

Cable Leaning Lateral Raise Instructions

Attach a single-handle (D-handle) to a low cable pulley.
Stand sideways to the cable machine. Grip the handle in your far hand (the hand away from the machine).
Grip the upright of the cable machine with your near hand and lean your body away from the pulley until your near arm is fully extended.
Your body should now be at a roughly 30-degree angle from vertical, leaning away from the cable.
Let the working arm hang across your body. Brace your core and keep a slight bend in the working elbow.
Lift the handle out to your side by raising your elbow up and out. Continue until your upper arm is roughly parallel to the floor.
Pause briefly at the top, then lower under control over two to three seconds back to the start position. Keep tension on the cable throughout.
Complete all reps on one side, then switch.

Cable Leaning Lateral Raise Form & Visual

Cable Leaning Lateral Raise Benefits

Loads the lateral deltoid through its longest possible range of motion
Constant cable tension throughout the entire rep
Heavily targets the bottom portion of the raise that dumbbells cannot effectively load
Excellent for breaking through side-delt size plateaus
Trains one side at a time, exposing imbalances
Easy to load progressively in small increments