Front Raises

M

midnight

Cathlete
Hi all,

Is anyone having as much trouble as I am with front raises? I can match Cathe's weight in all but a few exercises but I have to significantly lower the weight to do front raises. They are tough!! When we do them at the gym, we do sets of 18 and we call them the "mean 18s".
:)

"Don't forget to breathe!"
 
Front raises are tough for me too. My front delts are kind of underdeveloped compared to the medial and posterior areas. A good exercise to develop them is to hold two dumbbells in the halfway position for biceps curls. Then instead of of doing a curl, you keep your arms in that bent position and raise the weights until your elbows are level with your shoulders. Sort of a standing version of pullovers but don't raise your arms as far.) It doesn't take much weight at all to get fatigued and sore! :D
 
I quickly lower to 5 lb. dumbbells when doing these. Yes I am a weakling. I don't really come close to matching Cathe in any weight she uses.:eek:
 
yes.. front raises are tough!

i can match cathe on shoulder exercises.. but want to offer a "caution"... i've developed large "man" shoulders because of it.. i'm now reverting (just on shoulder exercises) back to lesser weight!

so i guess i'm just saying: be careful what you wish for!


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Remember that your front shoulders work enough with compound exercises such as push-ups, bench presses and overhead presses that going heavy on isolation exercises (front raises) can actually lead to injury over time. This is not a muscle that you want to load up with weight on the front raise.

-Roe
 
I agree with Roe. I often don't do front raises (if you're referring to anterior delt lifts, and not the barbell exercise in MM), but make sure to include rear delt work in all my shoulder workouts.
 
i've noticed that the last few times i've worked out! and all that "extra" work long with going as heavy as i could on shoulders (which ain't all that heavy! i.e. usually 8 or 10 pounds) is how i got my large shoulders! i've been noticing my shoulders get a LOT of work from the other exercises like you mentioned and someone else even told me they get worked from putting the barbell over your head!

i'll be watching very carefully if i stay the same or hopefully shrink my shoulders a bit by lessening the weights! (egads.. i can't believe i'm trying to get rid of that yummy fat burning muscle! i'll just have to build more elsewhere!)


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Ya know Roe, I wonder if that is why I am getting an incredibly painful, stiff neck lately. Yesterday I did ME Bonus Combo and I think those raises with a combination of pushups are doing me in.
 
I have broad shoulders by nature. I have found that in my case, exercising has not made them larger or smaller but has defined them.
So, if I am stuck with them, at least they're defined.

I was also wondering if those front raises could cause a rotator cuff injury given that due to the arm position, they are being isolated without the benefit of other supporting muscle groups as in other exercises plus the pressure that is being put on the forearm due to the long lever position.

"Don't forget to breathe!"
 
Hi Roe!

good to see you still lurking somewhere out in cyberspace. How's things for you?

Does this mean you are coming back to share more of your wisdom with us? I hope so!

Clare :) :)
 
>I was also wondering if those front raises could cause a
>rotator cuff injury given that due to the arm position, they
>are being isolated without the benefit of other supporting
>muscle groups as in other exercises plus the pressure that is
>being put on the forearm due to the long lever position.

Doing them with palms down (with dumbbells or a barbell) could definitely increase the risk of impingement because of the way the shoulder is rotated inward. To reduce this risk, you could do them with dumbbells, holding them so the palms face each other. (Though I still think they are not usually necessary.)
 
The ones in Muscle Max are downright crazy with a loaded barbell. I had to switch to very low hand weights because I fried in the first five reps. It will be a long time before I try that with a 20 lb barbell again.....yikes!
Melissa
 
Front raises are much easier for me than side raises and I can up my weight for fronts before lateral raises and am currently using higher weights for front raises with respect to lateral. I guess this just is a reflection of where are weak points are and what we need to work on. I need to work on those muscles involved in lateral raises.
 
>Front raises are much easier for me than side raises and I
>can up my weight for fronts before lateral raises and am
>currently using higher weights for front raises with respect
>to lateral. I guess this just is a reflection of where are
>weak points are and what we need to work on. I need to work on
>those muscles involved in lateral raises.


I'd be careful about getting the anterior delts too much stronger than the lateral delts, because overworking them (from chest work plus specific anterior delt work) can cause muscle imbalances in the shoulder area, and increase the tendency to round the shoulders forward.
 
I'm glad to hear other people feel front raises are tough...For a while I thought it was only me and I was weak. I only use 5lbs with them as well...
 
> The ones in Muscle Max are downright crazy with a loaded
>barbell. I had to switch to very low hand weights because I
>fried in the first five reps. It will be a long time before I
>try that with a 20 lb barbell again.....yikes!
>Melissa

OMG no kidding Melissa! I had a TOTAL of 20 pounds and it killed me! I get major DOMS in the posterior delts when I do MM. I mean I only loaded two 2.5 plates on my barbell which weighs 15 pounds. Good God almighty, Cathe puts 20 pounds of plates ON her bb. My DBF was very impressed also! There should be a bowing down icon on this site!
 
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