ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1611468
Dumbbell versus cable lateral raises for lateral deltoid hypertrophy: an experimental study
Provisionally accepted
Stian Larsen1,2*
Milo Wolf3Brad J Schoenfeld3Nordis Ø. Sandberg2Andrea B. Fredriksen2Benjamin S. Kristiansen2
Roland van den Tillaar2
Paul Swinton4Hallvard N. Falch2- 1Nord University, Bodø, Norway
- 2Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, Faculty of Education and Arts, Nord University, Bodø, Nordland, Norway
- 3Department of Exercise Science and Recreation, Lehman College, New York, United States
- 4School of Health Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
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This study compared the effects of dumbbell versus cable lateral raises on lateral deltoid muscle thickness (MT) in resistance-trained men and women, with shoulder adduction/abduction range of motion standardised and matched between conditions. Twenty-four participants completed an eight-week intervention comprising two weekly resistance training sessions of five sets of lateral raises completed to momentary failure. The study employed a within-participant design with each participant’s arms randomly allocated to the cable or dumbbell lateral raise. MT of the proximal and distal lateral deltoid was assessed via B-mode ultrasound. Data were analysed in a Bayesian framework including both univariate and multivariate mixed effect models with random effects. Differences between conditions were estimated as average treatment effects, with inferences based on posterior distributions and Bayes Factors (BFs). Results showed that lateral deltoid muscle thickness increased by 3.3 - 4.6% during the intervention. Moreover, univariate analyses provided ‘moderate’ support for the null hypothesis for both the distal (BF=0.27) and proximal (BF=0.22) lateral deltoid. Multivariate analysis provided ‘extreme’ support for the null hypothesis (BF<0.01). Within-intervention results indicated that conditions produced small or small to medium improvements based on resistance training specific thresholds. In conclusion, our data suggest that both dumbbell and cable lateral raises are similarly effective for increasing lateral deltoid muscle hypertrophy in resistance-trained lifters.
Keywords: Resistance profile, Muscle thickness, Shoulder, Within-subject design, lengthtension relationship
Received: 14 Apr 2025; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Larsen, Wolf, Schoenfeld, Ø. Sandberg, B. Fredriksen, S. Kristiansen, van den Tillaar, Swinton and N. Falch. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Stian Larsen, Nord University, Bodø, Norway
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