Front Two-Dumbbell Raise

How to do it

1. Stand with a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, palms facing your legs.
2. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your stomach braced.
3. Raise both arms straight out in front of you at the same time, with a small bend at the elbows.
4. Stop when the hands reach shoulder height.
5. Lower both under control to the thighs.
6. Start each repetition from a dead stop against the thighs.

Common mistakes

• Leaning back to get both up. Two dumbbells at once is roughly twice the forward load of the alternating version, and the lower back is what takes the difference.
• Swinging out of the bottom. Both arms rising together makes a swing easier to hide; a dead stop at the thigh is what stops it.
• Going above shoulder height. Above that the shoulder blade rotates and the traps finish the movement.
• Choosing the same dumbbells as the alternating version. Alternating lets the trunk brace against the resting arm; both at once removes that.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Anterior DeltoidShoulders