The Dumbbell Front Raise is a beginner-friendly dumbbell strength exercise that targets the shoulders. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentDumbbell
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Dumbbell Front Raise
Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand resting on the front of your thighs, palms facing back.
Set your feet shoulder-width apart, brace your core, and pull your shoulders down and back.
Lift one or both dumbbells straight forward with a slight bend held in the elbows.
Stop the lift when the dumbbells reach shoulder height and the arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
Pause for a beat at the top with the dumbbells level, holding tension in the front delts.
Lower the dumbbells slowly back to the thighs over 2 to 3 seconds, then repeat for reps.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Isolates the front shoulders for focused hypertrophy work.
Adds detail volume that pressing alone often misses.
Trains a clean shoulder-flexion pattern with no body english.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Swinging the torso back to throw the dumbbells up, which steals work from the front delts.
Lifting past shoulder height into the upper traps, which removes the front delt focus.
Bending the elbows heavily mid-rep, which turns the lift into a curl-and-press hybrid.
Going too heavy and shrugging the shoulders up at the top instead of keeping them pinned down.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Dumbbell Front Raise, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
