Dumbbell Front Raise to Overhead

How to do it

1. Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of the thighs, palms facing the legs.
2. Set your feet about hip-width apart and brace your stomach.
3. With the arms nearly straight, raise both dumbbells out in front of you.
4. Continue past shoulder height until the arms are straight overhead.
5. Lower the dumbbells along the same arc under control back to the thighs.
6. Keep the ribs down and the lower back from arching as the arms pass overhead.

Common mistakes

• Arching the back to finish overhead. The last part of the arc is where the spine wants to help; the ribs stay down and the stomach braced.
• Swinging the dumbbells up. The arc is slow enough to control; momentum at the bottom means a heave at the top.
• Bending the elbows as the weight gets heavy. The arms stay nearly straight; a bent elbow shortens the lever and hides the work.
• Choosing a dumbbell for the front-raise half. The overhead part is the hardest position; the weight is set by what can be lifted all the way up.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Anterior DeltoidShoulders