Question About Side Raises

S

Shelbygirl

Cathlete
I know Cathe is not available this weekend, but I know that many of you will have an answer to my question.

My question is about side raises with dumbbells. Is there a reason to do side raises both with the arms extended and with the arms bent? Does each way work the shoulder muscles differently? I currently use 12 pound dumbbells for both of these exercises (when I'm lifting at the gym) and I'm ready to move up to 15 pounds. The only problem is that 15 pounds seems like it will be a strain on my elbows if I keep my arms long. It seems to me that I wouldn't have this strain problem with bent arms (I could be wrong; I haven't actually tried it yet). Is one way just as good as the other?

Thanks in advance for your responses.
Shelbygirl
 
If I understand this correctly, you shorten the lever when you bend your arms at the elbow, and this makes the exercise a bit easier to perform. If I got this wrong I'm sure someone will correct me - LOL!!

Carol
:)
 
Carol is correct; the longer the lever the harder the work, so the bent-elbow position is easier. There's a whole physics equation that tells you exactly how much more workload a given weight is considering the length of the lever arm, but I'm too bald to think of it right now.

IMHO, leaping straight from 12 to 15 lbs for long-lever lateral raises is a bit much. Perhaps even too much for the short-lever position. I would suggest adding no more than a pound for long-lever work (even if that means adding wrist weights) and getting comfortable with that new weight load, then adding another pound on top of that, until you get close to 15 lbs COMBINED weight load.

If your gym doesn't have dumbbells in 13- and 14-lb increments (usually they don't) AND if the gym has traditional hex metal dumbbells, you can buy some PlateMate magnetized attachments that add either a combined 1.25-lbs to each dumbbell (each PlateMate is 5/8 lbs.) or a combined 2.5-lbs to each dumbbell (each PlateMate is 1.25 lbs) and use those. I think you can get PlateMates at Power Systems and/or Perform Better websites.

HTH -

A-Jock
 
OMG ... you mean I was right about a fitness question??? LOL!! I'm so happy! Seriously ... but onto the other reason for this post ... thank you for posting about PlateMates!! I never knew about them before. What a great idea, and just what I needed for those jumps I don't always care to make between 5# dumbells!! I'm off to look for them right now!!

Carol
:)
 
I found them on Fitness Wholesale Online. Don't know if this is a good price or not ... but I love buying from them. They're very local to me so things get here quickly, and their customer service is outstanding.

http://www.fwonline.com/plate.htm

Carol
:)
 
I'll have to hunt me down some PlateMates! Thanks for the info; I never even heard of them (although, I've never heard of a lot of things!).

At my gym, I'm lucky if I can find a matching set of dumbbells, so finding them in smaller increments than 5 lbs. is a concept I can't even imagine (my gym is a little "rough around the edges", but it suits my lunch-break needs).

These PlateMates will come in very handy for a lot of other exercises too. I find that I am at a point in my heavy gym lifting where the next size up is just too big (for example, going from 20 lbs to 25 for biceps - just can't do it). The good news is that my husband just loves to buy me fitness equipment. When I mention these things to him, he'll have them reserched, ordered and delivered within minutes!

Thanks again.
Shelbygirl
 
One way to get around even having to move up the weight is to change the speed of the reps., which you really should be doing anyway in order to involve more muscle fibers.
Just a thought.
T.:)
 
Why bother doing the side raises both ways? They both involve the same muscle group. I do the extended arm version but with lighter weight to prevent killing the elbow joints. Then to go heavier, I superset that with barbell upright rows, which involve the same muscle group plus others.
Not sure what Cathe's weight vids are like because I only use her for cardio but really you should choose compound weight exercises whenever possible and use isolation moves for pre-exhaust, post-exhaust, or if you want to really isolate a particular group and "burn" it. Otherwise compound moves are preferred because you hit more muscles at once.
T. :)
 
Hi again, Shelbygirl! I like your husband! My DH doesn't know thing one about modern fitness equipment, but he always sighs with affectionate resignation (and barely concealed pride) when I tell him the next gizmo that I want to buy.

You'll like those Platemates. I'm a big believer in increasing weight load (strength being a function of how much weight you can lift), and I'm a big believer in lifting slowly. Not artificially slowly, but the weight load should be heavy enough that you cannot lift it quickly. Speeding up reps as a means in increasing strength can backfire on you, as the joint can get stressed AND the momentum you've created with a fast lift might be more than your muscles can handle to stop it.

Platemates are great; I've got sets of both weight loads listed earlier. I've been able to use these to work up, gradually and incrementally, to 22.5-lb dumbbell weight loads for long-arm lateral (aka side) raises as well as overhead presses for the shoulders.

Never underestimate the power of a bald woman to spend your money for you.

A-Jock
 
The platemates are great. But they make your gymbag kind of heavy LOL.

I would also recommend doing your side raises in a seated position. This will keep you from using your body as leverage when you lift & help isolate the muscle more. Also try some side raises either face forward on an incline bench or leaning over (chin to knees) for the rear delts. Personally I prefer the latter position b/c for some reason in the gym I feel very vulnerable lying forward on an incline bench.:+
 
Cathe does rear delt raises on the stability ball in a couple of her workouts.

Carol
:)
 
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. I appreciate all your suggestions. I am going to purchase some Platemates (I keep saying playmates in my head; I'd better be careful!). I am also going to try some of the different shoulder suggestions you all made.

Thanks again.
Shelbygirl
 
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