Happy Fitness Wednesday y’all!
Today we are discussing side laterals. Oh man I gotta tell you I hate these in the beginning.
A.) Because I had to start with 5lbs! (what a wimp huh?!)
B.) Because the 5lb’s kicked my butt!
I hate struggling, and “working up to things”, but to each his own, you gotta start somewhere. Now I do warm-up with 10 lbs and go up from there for the remaining sets! Whoop!
As always images are shot inside World Gym Express Beaumont, taken by the oh-so-talented Allen Ayres of BellaFotografica, and the guy in the pictures is Marshall, my trainer for almost a year.
Image by BellaFotografica
What?
“Side Laterals are a great shoulder exercise to add into any routine.” – Marshall
Why?
“Side laterals are a single joint exercise which work the deltoid muscle. They are a less powerful movement than overhead press, but still help build great shoulders. Shoulder raises can be used with several variations to work the shoulders in a variety of ways that can build better aesthetics or function/motion.” – Marshall
How?
“Side Laterals begin by holding a weight at arm length down in front of your legs, elbows only slightly bent. Raise the weight to your sides until your arms are parallel with the ground and then slowly lower it back down in front of you. At the top of the movement, your upper arms should be in line with your upper body. Be sure not to jerk or bounce the weights up.” – Marshall
Image by BellaFotografica
This is also a great exercise to do at home, you certainly don’t need a gym membership to create pretty shoulders. Just head to your local sports and outdoor center and buy a couple sets of dumbbells!
xoxo, Tamara