Front Raise

Grab your dumbbells like two jars of honey and lift them straight out in front with slow, steady paws. Keep your shoulders packed and your belly braced so the front delts do the work. No swinging like a playful cub, just smooth raises to shoulder height.

Instructions

1. Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight down, palms facing your thighs.
2. Brace your core, keep your ribs down, and set your shoulders back and down.
3. With a slight bend in your elbows, raise the dumbbells forward until they reach about shoulder height.
4. Pause briefly at the top without shrugging.
5. Lower the dumbbells under control back to the start position and repeat.

Benefits

• Builds strength and size in the anterior deltoids
• Improves shoulder flexion strength for pressing and overhead tasks
• Helps balance shoulder development when combined with lateral and rear-delt work
• Reinforces core and scapular control during upper-body movements

Key Points

• Lift to shoulder height; higher often shifts stress to the traps and joint.
• Keep a soft elbow bend and maintain the same elbow angle throughout.
• Move slowly and avoid momentum; control both the lift and the descent.
• Keep wrists neutral and knuckles pointed forward to reduce wrist strain.
• Maintain a stacked posture: glutes tight, core braced, ribs down.

Common Mistakes

• Swinging the weights using momentum from the hips or lower back
• Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears
• Raising too high or letting the weights drift far from the body
• Hyperextending the lower back instead of bracing the core
• Using weights that are too heavy and losing control on the descent