Lateral Barbell Raise

Unique Delt Exercise:

The first thing you get when you do lateral barbell raises is looks. Anyone doing them looks badass because the exercise looks so unnatural and difficult that only someone with ludicrous strength for his size could possibly do them, with even the most minimum weight. They’re definitely not for newbies—not only because of the advanced nature of the exercise but also because the lightest fixed bar is 20 pounds, and even that’s heavy, especially if you do them without holding onto an upright with the opposite hand. It’s not so much that the weight is heavy in terms of the downward gravitational force being exerted on the hand that’s holding it; it’s heavy because of the various yaw angles that have to be controlled due to the weights on the ends of the bar being so far away from the fulcrum point (your hand) of the lever they make. This lever magnifies the weight of those little plates out on the ends by several times before it hits your shoulder.

How it’s done:
Grab a fixed bar—as I said, 20 is a good start—and hold it in the center with one hand, down next to your leg. Now, this is key: Before you do anything, squeeze your hand and your wrist to lock the bar in its position. Then, flexing your delt and lifting with your elbow, lift the bar in an outward and upward arc away from your body.

Midpoint
Controlling the bar—keeping it parallel to the ground and perpendicular to your body during its entire range of motion—continue up until your arm is at a right angle to your body. Try to come to a complete stop before you lower the bar.

Finish:
You must control the bar’s position as you contract your delt to raise, and then lower it. While this exercise is designed to target your medial delt, due to having to stabilize the bar, you work almost every muscle from your shoulder to your hand.