Egyptian Lateral Raise

The most intense side-delt stretch and contraction of any raise variation.

Complexity · Lowhypertrophyintermediate+Cable machine

Side delts

PrimarySecondary

What it hits

Parts of the target muscle.

Side delts
Hit
Lifts arm out to the side.

The movement

Get it right, not roughly right.

Optimal form

2:56· Colossus Fitness

How to PROPERLY Cable Lateral Raise (TRY THIS!)

Arms down

Parallel

Grip a post or rack with one hand. Cable handle in the other hand, cable running across the front of the body. Lean away, raise the arm out to the side until parallel. Hold the lean.

Common mistakes

Not actually leaning - without the lean, this is just a cable lateral.
Letting the cable pull your arm back fast at the bottom.

Where you should feel it

The most intense side-delt stretch and contraction of any raise variation.

Injury risk · 1/10

Variations

Same movement, moved emphasis.

Ranked by how directly each variation still trains side delts. 80%+ means the target barely changes. Below 60%, the emphasis has meaningfully shifted — useful for variety, but less precise for the specific part. The label calls it at a glance.

Egyptian dumbbell raise
Same lean, dumbbell instead.
85% on target
On target
Same target, minor adjustment.

Compare with another exercise

Cool-down

Worked it. Walk it back down.

A couple of minutes here pays back in soreness avoided tomorrow. Browse the full library.

Cross-body Shoulder Stretch
Pull one arm across the body with the opposite hand at the elbow. Shoulder stays down - don't let it shrug. 30s per side.
Rear deltsSide delts

Side delts