The Leaning Cable Lateral Raise is a intermediate-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the shoulders, with the traps and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary musclesTraps, Abs
EquipmentCable
LevelIntermediate
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Leaning Cable Lateral Raise
Set a cable pulley to its lowest position and attach a single handle.
Stand side-on to the stack and grip the machine upright with your near hand.
Take the handle in your outside hand with a neutral grip across your body.
Straighten the supporting arm and lean away from the stack until your torso is angled out.
Raise the working arm out to the side with a slight elbow bend until it reaches shoulder height.
Lower slowly back across your body, then finish the set and switch sides.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Leaning away increases the loaded range at the bottom compared with a standing raise.
Working one arm at a time makes left-right differences visible.
Constant cable tension holds the side of the deltoid under load through the whole arc.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Leaning so far that the supporting arm hauls you upright, which turns the raise into a row.
Shrugging at the top, which passes the load from the side of the deltoid to the upper traps.
Bending and straightening the elbow through the rep, which quietly shortens the working lever.
Dropping the handle back fast, which skips the lengthened position the lean was set up to create.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Leaning Cable Lateral Raise, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
