Side-Lying Dumbbell External Rotation

Trains the Shoulders, Infraspinatus and Teres Minor.

Equipment
Dumbbells
Mechanic
Isolation
Force
Pull
Level
Beginner
Side-Lying Dumbbell External Rotation: the muscles it trains, from behind. Primary — Anterior Deltoid, Lateral Deltoid, Posterior Deltoid, Infraspinatus and 1 more.Side-Lying Dumbbell External Rotation: the muscles it trains, from the front. Primary — Anterior Deltoid, Lateral Deltoid, Posterior Deltoid, Infraspinatus and 1 more.
The muscles this trains, front and back. Deeper red is primary.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side on a bench or the floor, with the arm you are training on top.
  2. Hold a light dumbbell in the top hand and tuck that elbow against your ribs, bent to ninety degrees, with your forearm resting across your stomach.
  3. Keeping the elbow pinned to your side, rotate your forearm upward and outward, as though opening a gate. Your upper arm should not move.
  4. Raise as far as the shoulder allows without the elbow lifting away from your ribs — usually somewhere near vertical.
  5. Lower back under control until your forearm is across your stomach again.

Common mistakes

Muscles worked

Primary