Dumbbell Front Raise
The dumbbell front raise is an isolation exercise where you lift a dumbbell straight out in front of you to shoulder height. It targets the front delts. Most lifters get plenty of front delt work from pressing, so use it as a targeted add-on when your front delts lag.
Muscles worked
The dumbbell front raise trains the shoulders.
Primary
Weekly sets for shoulders
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for shoulders, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the dumbbell front raise
- 01Stand tall with dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing your body or each other.
- 02Brace your core, set your shoulders down and keep a slight bend in your elbows.
- 03Raise one or both dumbbells straight forward until your arms reach shoulder height.
- 04Pause briefly, then lower slowly back to your thighs.
Coaching cues
- Lift to eye line, no higher
- Body stays still
- Slow on the way down
Common mistakes
- Leaning back and swinging the dumbbells uses momentum, so stand tall with braced abs and lighter weight.
- Lifting well above shoulder height brings in the traps, so stop when your arms are level with the floor.
- Locking the elbows fully adds strain at the joint, so keep a soft, fixed bend throughout.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Dumbbell Front Raise alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your dumbbell front raise free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.