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Cable Lying Cross Lateral Raise

The Cable Lying Cross Lateral Raise targets the lateral deltoids for broader shoulders. Perform lying face down, pulling cables across your body.

Intermediate
Isolation
Pull
1 min per set2 min rest
Shoulders
Cable

Description

The Cable Lying Cross Lateral Raise is a shoulder exercise that primarily targets the lateral deltoids with a secondary focus on the upper back muscles. The exercise is performed lying face down on a bench with a cable in each hand.

How to Do Cable Lying Cross Lateral Raise

  1. 1
    Setup

    Position a flat bench perpendicular to a low cable pulley. Lie face down on the bench with your chest supported, ensuring your head extends slightly past the end.

  2. 2
    Setup

    Reach down with your left hand and grasp the handle from the right-side cable pulley, crossing it under your body. Repeat with your right hand, grasping the handle from the left-side pulley.

  3. 3
    Setup

    Your arms should be extended downward, crossed beneath your chest, with a slight bend in your elbows and palms facing each other.

  4. 4

    Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, exhale and raise both arms out to the sides in an arc, focusing on contracting your lateral deltoids.

  5. 5

    Continue raising the handles until your arms are roughly parallel to the floor, or slightly higher, with your elbows pointing towards the ceiling.

  6. 6

    Inhale and slowly lower the handles back to the starting crossed position, maintaining control throughout the movement to resist the cable's pull.

Tips

  • Focus on initiating the movement with your lateral deltoids, imagining your elbows leading the raise rather than simply lifting the handles.
  • Maintain a slight, consistent bend in your elbows throughout the entire movement to keep tension on the lateral deltoids and prevent triceps involvement.
  • Avoid shrugging your shoulders upwards; keep your traps relaxed and focus on isolating the abduction movement at the shoulder joint.
  • Control the eccentric (lowering) phase, allowing the cables to slowly pull your arms back down while resisting the movement, which enhances muscle growth.

Common Mistakes

  • ×Using momentum to swing the weight up rather than controlled muscle contraction reduces effectiveness; slow down the movement and focus on mind-muscle connection.
  • ×Shrugging the shoulders or using the upper traps to lift the weight shifts tension away from the lateral deltoids; keep your shoulders depressed and focus on pure abduction.
  • ×Lifting the weight too high, past parallel, can engage the upper traps and rotator cuff muscles excessively; stop the raise when your arms are roughly parallel to the floor to maintain deltoid isolation.

Variations

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Sculpt your deltoids with the Cable Side Lying Lateral Raise. This isolation exercise targets the lateral head, building wider, rounder shoulders

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