If you want to build more power in your shoulders, the machine side lateral workout is a good option.
The significant advantage of this exercise is that it wholesomely targets the shoulder muscles, unlike other exercising routines.
In terms of muscle power, your shoulders are among the most significant, even though unstable joints can take a lot of stress if they are strong enough.
In terms of size and function, shoulder muscles are incredibly diverse. These muscles run downwards to the smallest stabilizers and make up a whole system.
Subsequently, you could be thinking deltoids are the only shoulder muscles, but there is also the rotator cuff.
It is made up of rhomboids, teres minor, infraspinatus, levator scapulae, supraspinatus, and subscapularis.
Thus, the machine side lateral is an effective shoulder workout because it works these muscles as a whole.
Follow these steps during the workout.
- Make sure your core is tight, and your back is flat while sitting on the lateral raise machine.
- Grab the machine’s handles and hold them tight.
- Raise your arms slowly above your head and to the side.
- Slowly return to the beginning posture while keeping tension in your shoulders.
- Ensure the stack of weights do not contact each other.
WHAT MUSCLES DO MACHINE SIDE LATERAL WORK?
The machine side lateral offers a great path to work the following muscles.
DELTOID
The side lateral raise machine mainly targets side deltoids during resistance training to build muscle and improve shoulder strength.
This joint connects your arm to your body’s torso. The deltoid muscles give your arm multidirectional functions.
Working them out makes them more robust and stable to take heavyweight without injuring the shoulder.
SUPER SUPRASPINATUS
The supraspinatus muscle, a minor rotator cuff muscle, triggers the shoulder abduction. It initiates the lateral raise, which the deltoids take over because they are larger and stronger.
UPPER TRAPEZIUS MUSCLES
The upper trapezius muscle is on your upper back and across the back of your shoulder blades. It helps you move your shoulders.
SYNERGISTS MUSCLES
The anterior deltoids, upper trapezius, and super supraspinatus are the most active muscles inside lateral raises. But, the little-known synergist muscles work equally hard.
Synergist muscles, often known as fixators, support the agonist muscle by acting around the joint. These muscles neutralize the agonist’s force in muscles.
MACHINE SIDE LATERAL BENEFITS
Admittedly, the machine side lateral is not an easy exercise path but has wide-ranging benefits. They are as follows:
IMPROVE POSTURE
Working your shoulders enhances posture and movement. You are likely to adopt a poor sitting posture over time which affects how you move.
The most likely result would be a hunched back or low back pain after years of poor posture. But you still can make clean by exercising your shoulders.
In addition, research shows that proper posture improves mood, confidence, and concentration.
BUILD SHOULDER STRENGTH
Training your shoulders boosts your upper body and core strength, but machine side lateral powers up your shoulders.
The massive resistance in the workout strengthens the rotator cuff and deltoids, which are the primary shoulder muscles.
CUSHIONS AGAINST INJURY
Working out your shoulders helps you avoid getting hurt. Essentially, the ball of your upper arm stays in your shoulder socket in a precarious position.
This makes it vulnerable to a variety of unpleasant occurrences, including dislodgement.
However, building up the muscles that support and hold this joint in place is an excellent step to avoiding injury.
If you’re looking for a way to get your shoulders and arms in peak physical condition, the side lateral raise is the real deal.
ALTERNATIVES TO MACHINE SIDE LATERAL
The most significant advantage of the machine side lateral is the isolation of the deltoids during the workout.
Nevertheless, many other alternatives work the shoulders by isolating the deltoids. They are:
DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE
The workout targets the side deltoids by doing the following:
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands, the arms bending slightly.
- Extend your arms out to the sides at the shoulder-muscle level.
- Repeat the process of lowering to a safe level.
BAND SIDE LATERAL RAISE
A fantastic shoulder exercise you can do at home is the resistance band side lateral lift. The rising strain provided by the bands’ distinctive resistance becomes more and more noticeable.
Here is how to do it.
- Stand in front of your groin with a resistance workout band looped under your right foot.
- Hold the loop in your left hand, and maintain a hip-width distance between your feet.
- Raise your left arm to shoulder height without bending your elbow.
- Lower the weight and do it again.
- Complete three sets of eight to twelve repetitions.
LATERAL RAISE HOLD
The lateral raise hold is an excellent pick because it channels isometric tension to the working muscle. Here is how you do it.
- Do a standard side lateral lift with both hands.
- Count to three while holding in the top position.
- Return to the starting position and repeat the process.
- Complete three sets of eight to twelve repetitions.
DEAD STOP LATERAL RAISE
The dead stop raise is a highly rigorous variant of the exercise. You come to a complete stop at the bottom of each rep, preventing momentum.
In turn, you build more muscle on the side deltoids. Here is how you do it.
- Perform a standard dumbbell side lateral lift.
- End the rep at the bottom, pausing for a 2-second count.
- Start working on your next rep.
- Complete three sets of 12 repetitions.
MACHINE SIDE LATERAL MISTAKES TO AVOID
As you get down to machine side lateral exercise, watch for the following mistakes.
Too much weight: You become prone to injury.
Not flexing your elbows: You make this mistake by keeping your hands straight, which is wrong.
Too fast: The correct thing to do is start with lightweight with slow movement to allow the muscle to hang the tension.
CONCLUSION
The machine side lateral workout gives you the desired shoulder strength result because it is more biomechanically sound. The machine’s resistance is more aligned with the shoulders than with any other shoulder-targeting exercise.
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