Sometimes we need to dive into anatomy books to figure out how to best isolate certain muscles. This case is no different. Many people have a hard time feeling their lateral delts during lateral raises and also feel like their traps are overpowering the movement. The traps don’t play a direct role in the lateral raise motion, but their actions at the scapula (shoulder blade) can give momentum to the movement which can take tension off of the lateral delts. To reduce this issue, think about keeping your collarbone down during a lateral raise. This will help minimize scapular elevation and should help you feel your lateral delts more. Now, it’s perfectly okay for your shoulder blades to upward rotate during a lateral raise, but we still want to focus on keeping your collarbones down as much as possible to better isolate the lateral delts.
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▪️ Based on: Schory, A., Bidinger, E., Wolf, J., & Murray, L. (2016). A systematic review of the exercises that produce optimal muscle ratios of the scapular stabilizers in normal shoulders. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 11(3), 32