Machine Lateral Raise
The machine lateral raise is a seated raise where you push padded arms out to your sides. It isolates the side delts, the part of the shoulder that adds width. The machine keeps tension on the delt even at the bottom, where dumbbell raises go slack, so it suits higher reps well.
Muscles worked
The machine lateral 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 machine lateral raise
- 01Adjust the seat so your shoulder joints line up with the machine's pivot points.
- 02Sit tall with your chest against the pad or your back against the seat, depending on the machine.
- 03Place your forearms or elbows against the pads with a slight bend in the arms.
- 04Raise your arms out to the sides until they reach about shoulder height.
- 05Lower slowly until the pads nearly touch the start, keeping tension in the delts.
Coaching cues
- Lead with the elbows
- Push out, not up
- Shoulders stay away from the ears
Common mistakes
- Shrugging the weight up brings the traps in, so keep your shoulders down and stop around shoulder height.
- Misaligned pivots make the pads slide along your arms, so raise or lower the seat until your shoulders match the axis.
- Letting the stack rest between reps drops tension, so stop just before the plates touch.
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.
Machine Lateral 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 machine lateral raise free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.