If you're chasing strength and functional fitness, the Overhead Press is your go-to. For enhancing aesthetics and shoulder width, the Lateral Raise shines. Including both in your routine ensures a balanced approach to strength, mobility, and definition.
While pre-exhaustion lateral raises before overhead presses may be beneficial for some individuals, it's important to keep in mind that this technique can also increase fatigue and decrease your overall performance during the main exercise.
To keep it simple, the Lateral Raise is a good and safe exercise unless if you have any relevant Shoulder problems. However, it isn't exactly a need. The Lateral Raise emphasizes the midportion of your biggest Shoulder muscle known as the Deltoid.
The first exercise to avoid after rotator cuff repair is any exercise that requires you to make overhead motions of the arm. Avoid forward raises and lateral raises, as these motions place excessive stress on the shoulder joint and can disrupt the healing of the repaired tissue.
Muscles Worked by the Overhead Press
It also, of course, trains our side delts.
The overhead press and the lateral raise are vastly different. The OHP (aka strict press) is a compound movement that engages all three deltoid heads, while the lateral raise is an isolation movement that primarily targets the… wait for it… lateral deltoids.
The press isn't just for the shoulders and arms—the standing overhead press is also a great way to work the abdominals and hips, as well as helping to improve your leg strength. The overhead press may be the most effective exercise for developing bigger shoulders, upper back, and triceps.
Lateral Dumbbell Raises with palms down or thumbs down
This position may increase the compression of the rotator cuff muscles against the bony surface in the shoulder. Try to maintain a “thumbs up” position to decrease the risk of this compression in the shoulder.
Those with shoulder injuries should initially steer clear of exercises that involve pressing movements or overhead movements. Forget activities like throwing a ball, or specific weight training at the gym like overhead presses and pull downs.
Lift arms outward until elbows are at the same height as shoulders while keeping forearms in the same orientation. This is a definition exercise and lighter weights and more reps should be the goal. 10 lb dumbells are a good starting weight.
Yes, Shoulder Presses do work the side delts. However, Lateral Raises are a more direct way of targeting that specific muscle group.
Go light on these, particularly if you're a beginner! If you're a more experienced gym-goer, feel free to go slightly heavier, making sure to maintain proper form throughout your rep ranges. If your form starts to slip during the last few reps, consider reducing the weight you are using.
Without proper shoulder function, all of these movements can be painful or completely unavailable to someone. The shoulder press builds strength and maintains (or improves) overall range of motion, making regular daily living tasks doable, easy, and pain-free.
Lateral raises help you achieve defined shoulders and upper arms that have a rounded appearance. Other than benefits to your appearance, lateral raises will help increase your shoulder mobility, range of motion, and stability. This helps you become better at activities like lifts and presses.
SIDE DELTS (LATERAL DELTS)
The lateral deltoids, or side deltoids, are the muscle fibers you want to focus on if you want to have that 'broad shoulders' look. The primary function of the lateral delts is to perform shoulder abduction – that is, lifting your arms out to your sides.
Overhead Press: Boosts functional strength, benefiting daily activities. Lateral Raise: Primarily enhances aesthetics with less functional benefit.
Lateral raises are excellent for isolating the deltoid muscles but can be harmful to the rotator cuff when performed improperly.
It's an exercise which looks much easier than it is, and even using light weights for lateral raises can help to build strength and size. An added bonus is that lat raises can improve the range of motion in your shoulder, and help to stabilise the shoulders.
For those prioritizing strength and functional power, the shoulder press should be a cornerstone of your training regimen. Meanwhile, if your goal is to enhance aesthetic appeal by achieving well-defined shoulders, incorporating lateral raises into your routine will be more beneficial.
It doesn't take much weight to get an effective workout for front, side, or rear lateral raises, and too heavy of weights makes it far too easy to slip into bad form and possibly tweak or hurt your shoulders. Better to isolate your form and use a weight that challenges you to reach 12-15 reps.
You need a lot of force
That's how far away the joint is from the weight it's moving – in a lateral raise, the weight is far away from the shoulder. “That means the force going through the shoulder is at its greatest, so you need to exert much greater power to hold the weight up.”
The overhead press is the best overall shoulder exercise. It works your front delts, side delts, upper chest, and almost all your postural muscles, stimulating a tremendous amount of muscle growth. It's also great for training the muscles that keep your shoulders healthy, such as your serratus anterior.
Understanding the Causes of Overhead Press Shoulder Pain
Improper form during overhead presses is a primary culprit behind shoulder pain. Actions such as arching the back excessively, flaring the elbows out too much, or failing to stabilize the core can place undue stress on the shoulder joint and surrounding muscles.
The best shoulder workout should hit all three heads of the deltoid muscle: front delt, middle delt and rear deltoids, but even that's not enough to make the upper-body workout complete. The best shoulder workouts also have to ensure we properly activate the shoulders, create overload, and include explosive movement.