
Shoulders · Delt raise
Plate Raise
The plate raise is a plate delt raise movement for the shoulders. Here is the setup, the execution, the mistakes worth avoiding, and how to program it.
Equipment
Plate
Trains
Shoulders
Level
Intermediate
Muscles worked
Side and rear delts in isolation, the two heads that give shoulders width without more pressing volume.
Set up
- 1
Stand tall with a small forward lean and a soft bend in the elbow.
- 2
Set the shoulders down and away from the ears before the first rep.
- 3
Pick a weight you can raise without a leg drive. This is a small muscle doing a small job.
How to do it
- 1
Lead with the elbow and raise to about shoulder height, no higher.
- 2
Pause for a beat where the delt is loaded hardest.
- 3
Lower for three seconds. Most of the growth here is in the negative.
- 4
Keep the traps quiet by keeping the shoulders down.
Common mistakes
Using the whole body
Fix: Cut the weight in half and control it. Delts are small.
Raising too high
Fix: Stop around shoulder height where the delt still owns the load.
Shrugging into the traps
Fix: Keep the shoulders down and lead with the elbow.
How to program it
Sets
3 to 4
Reps
12 to 20
Rest
45 to 60 sec
High reps, strict form. Side delts respond to volume better than load.
No gym version
Band lateral raise, or water jug raises for high reps. Load is irrelevant here, control is not.
Questions
More shoulders work
Knowing the lift is the easy part.
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