Dumbbell Scaption
Trains the Lateral Deltoid, Anterior Deltoid and Supraspinatus.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand holding a light dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing forward or thumbs up.
- Set your feet hip-width apart and stand tall with your stomach braced.
- Raise both arms in the plane about thirty degrees forward of straight out to the sides — halfway between a lateral raise and a front raise. This plane matches the way the shoulder blade sits on the ribcage.
- Lead with your thumbs pointing upward, keeping a soft bend in the elbows.
- Raise to shoulder height, pause briefly, then lower under control.
Common mistakes
- Raising straight out to the sides, which makes it a lateral raise. The forward angle is the whole distinguishing feature — it is what puts the load along the supraspinatus rather than across it.
- Turning the thumbs down into an empty-can position. That version is widely taught and increases the muscle's share of the work by rotating the arm into a position many people find uncomfortable at the top. Thumbs up trains the same muscle and asks less of the joint.
- Going heavy. Scaption is one of the few common gym movements that loads the supraspinatus directly, and it only does so at a weight that muscle can move.
- Going above shoulder height. Past horizontal the shoulder blade has to rotate and the traps take over.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Lateral DeltoidShoulders
- Anterior DeltoidShoulders
- SupraspinatusRotator Cuff