Front raise: the form, what it works, and whether your week needs it

A front raise lifts your arms straight out in front of you, from your thighs to shoulder height. It works the front of the shoulder and the upper chest, two strong muscles that raise the arm forward.¹ In practice it's done with a light weight.

This page covers the form, what the studies measured, which way to turn your palms, the faults and the sets. Whether you need it at all, given the presses already in your week, is answered on the shoulder workout and summed up below.

How to do a front raise

1. Stand or sit tall with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging in front of your thighs. The study below had its people seated, so the lower back couldn't help.¹
2. Keep the elbows almost straight and the wrists in line with the forearms. That is how the study set the arm.¹
3. Raise both arms in front of you to shoulder height. The study raised the upper arm to 90 degrees, level with the floor.¹
4. Lower slowly back to your thighs. The study used two seconds up and two seconds down, with a short pause at each end.¹

What the front raise works

In 10 male competitive bodybuilders, who had trained for about ten years, a muscle-activity study (EMG, sensors on the skin) compared the front raise with four versions of the lateral raise, seated, with the load each could lift eight times:¹

• Front of the shoulder: more active in the front raise than in any of the lateral raises on the way up. On the way down, the lateral raises with the thumbs up and with the thumbs forward drew more.
• Upper chest: more active in the front raise than in any of the others, on the way up and on the way down.
• Side of the shoulder: less active than in any of the four lateral raises, on the way up and on the way down.
• Back of the shoulder, upper traps and triceps: most active in a lateral raise with the arm turned in, not in the front raise.

The authors sum it up as an exercise that mainly works the front of the shoulder and the upper chest, and they note the result is specific to the people and the technique they tested.¹ It was a test-day measurement, not a training study, so it says nothing about what weeks of front raises build.

Palms down or palms up?

In 30 healthy men holding a 1-kilogram dumbbell still with the arm raised in front to 120 degrees, above shoulder height, turning the palm up drew more activity from the front of the shoulder and from the serratus anterior, the muscle along the side of the ribs. Palms down drew more from the back of the shoulder and the lower trapezius.² That was a light hold, not a set of raises, but it shows that the hand position changes which muscles do the work.

A practical choice, not a finding: palms down, or facing each other, is the usual way to start; turn the palms up if you want more of the front of the shoulder.

Dumbbell, cable, plate or barbell

No study comparing these versions was found for this page. As practical advice, not a finding: they're the same movement with a different handle: two dumbbells let each arm work on its own, while a plate or a barbell holds both hands together. Pick the one you can add weight to in small steps.

Does your week need front raises?

Often not, if you already press. In 13 men experienced in strength training, the front of the shoulder was about as active in the bench press (21.4% of its maximum) as in the lateral raise (21.2%), and most active in the shoulder press (33.3%).³ In a ten-week trial, 13 healthy men bench pressed three times a week while 11 others didn't train. The chest, the front of the shoulder and the triceps grew more than in the group that didn't train.⁴ In practice, the front raise earns a place in a week with little or no pressing, or when the front of the shoulder is the part you want more of. The shoulder workout has the full reasoning.

The common faults, and a fix for each

• Swinging the weight up. If your hips or your back rock to start the rep, the weight is too heavy. Sit down, or go lighter.
• Shrugging as you lift. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears.
• Bending the elbows more as you tire. A bent arm is a shorter, easier lever. Keep the same slight bend every rep.
• Dropping the weight. Lower it as slowly as you raised it.
• Raising through pain. If you have pain, an injury or a medical condition, stop and ask a doctor or a physical therapist.

Sets, reps and where it goes

• What the studies used: six reps with an eight-rep load in the bodybuilders;¹ and 3 sets of 15 at a 15-rep maximum in 12 healthy women aged 27 to 58 who were new to training. Across their four shoulder exercises (front raise, reverse fly, shrug and lateral raise), activity rose from the first to the last rep of each set but not from the first set to the third.⁵ The front of the shoulder wasn't one of the muscles that study measured.
• As a practical start: 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 with a light weight, two or three reps short of failure, after your presses. This is practical advice, not a finding.
• Balance it. Pair it with lateral raises for the side of the shoulder and a reverse fly for the back.

Common questions

Front raise vs lateral raise?

Different jobs. In the bodybuilders, the front raise drew more from the upper chest and, on the way up, from the front of the shoulder; every lateral raise version drew more from the side of the shoulder.¹ If you press often, the lateral raise covers the part the presses reach least.

How high should you raise?

To shoulder height. That's where the bodybuilders' study stopped the arm.¹ No study comparing heights was found for this page.

Can you do one arm at a time?

Yes; alternating arms is the same movement. No study comparing one arm with two was found for this page.

If you'd rather not plan it alone

The raise is easy to learn; deciding whether your week needs it, given your bench and your presses, is the part a page can't do. Coaching is the version where your workouts live in Trainerize, built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one. Coaching to build muscle explains how that works, and here's how to apply. Otherwise: count your hard sets of pressing this week before you add a single front raise.