Barbell Front Raise
Primary Muscle Group: Deltoids
Secondary Muscle Group: Traps
Equipment Needed: Barbell, Weighted Plates
The Benefits of Barbell Front Raise
The barbell front raise is a shoulder exercise used to target the front deltoids. The barbell allows you to overload the muscles to a greater degree than you can with a set of dumbbells. The front deltoids are involved in several pressing movements and working to increase the strength of this muscle group can have a positive carry over into your heavy pushing lifts.
From an aesthetics standpoint, bigger front deltoids can give you an appearance of a complete set of shoulders and wider framed upper body.
If you are looking for other exercises that are the best for building muscle or wanting to lose body fat then you should check our Free Workout Plan or our Workout Plans With Coaching for professionally designed workout plans that have been proven to get results.
The Risks of doing Barbell Front Raise
Raising the weights higher than your shoulders could result in pain, both during and post-exercise. You want a straight line from your shoulders to fingers to avoid injury and keep the tention safely on the front delts.
So before giving Barbell Front Raise a go, here's exactly how to do them without risking pain or injury.
How To Do Barbell Front Raise
1. Select the desired weight and load it onto a barbell.
2. Assume a shoulder width stance and grasp the bar at shoulder width with a pronated grip.
3. Inhale, brace your abs, and raise the arms vertically while keeping the elbows nearly locked out.
4. Once the arms are parallel with the floor, slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
For Perfect Technique
1. Don’t lean back as you raise the arms, keep the motion under control and don’t rely on momentum.
2. Try not to bounce at the top of the movement, allow the shoulders to flex and then lower slowly.
Variations
Once you have mastered the Barbell Front Raise exercise you can try alternative exercises that target similar muscle groups such as;
How To Do Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
1. The standing dumbbell press is one of the most popular mass builders for the shoulders! Set up for the exercise by grabbing a pair of dumbbells and standing straight up with your feet around shoulder width apart.
2. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height on each side, and twist so that your palms are facing forward.
3. Keep your head up and eyes facing forward. This is the starting position for the exercise.
4. Slowly raise the dumbbells above your head until your arms are almost fully extended.
5. Do not pause at the top of the movement, and immediately begin lowering the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
6. Repeat this movement for the desired amount of reps.
How To Do Smith Machine Shoulder Press
1. Set up for the smith machine shoulder press by setting a bench down in the smith machine and adjusting the back to a 90 degree angle.
2. Now sit down on the bench and adjust the position so that the bar comfortably comes down just in front of your face.
3. Next, add the weight you want to use and sit down on the bench.
4. Un-rack the weights and bend your elbows slightly. This is the starting position for the movement.
5. Slowly lower the weight down until the bar is just below chin height, pause, and then raise the bar back to the starting position without locking your elbows out at the top of the movement.