In honor of Sara Sampaio’s birthday, NYC gym Dogpound raised a glass—er, dumbbell—to toast the Victoria’s Secret model’s 27th year.
The celeb-favorite fitness spot posted an Instagram video on Saturday of Sampaio doing a two-part weighted shoulder raise with the caption “HAPPY BDAY @sarasampaio 🎉 crushing shoulders.”
You can check out the post, via @Dogpound, here:
This move, which combines dumbbell lateral raises and front raises, isn’t just for birthday kicks, though—it’s a great upper-body exercise with serious strengthening and stabilizing benefits.
Raises primarily strengthen the shoulders, the most mobile and easily injured joint in the body.
“This is an isolation exercise,” Mike Clancy, NYC-based certified strength and conditioning specialist, tells SELF. This means it concentrates on one muscle group (versus multiple)—in this case, the shoulders. For that reason, “it has a lot of value for developing the different heads [the points of origin, or where each muscle connects to the main joint] of the shoulder,” says Clancy, including the anterior (front) and medial (side) deltoid muscles.
“You’ll develop well-rounded shoulder strength with this move,” Stephanie Mansour, Chicago-based certified personal trainer, tells SELF, which is important for a variety of reasons.
The main one: The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body and because of that, it’s also the most easily injured, explains Clancy. “In modern day-to-day life, you are not utilizing many of the motions [that the joint is capable of] so when you do attempt those motions, like pulling a heavy suitcase out of the overhead compartment, you can hurt yourself.” Doing shoulder-specific exercises like Sampaio’s that work the shoulders from multiple angles can “prevent injury and prepare you for all of the function and purpose of that joint and the surrounding tendons and muscles,” says Clancy.
All that said, though the shoulder is the main player in this move, you’ll use several other surrounding upper-body muscles as well, including the supraspinatus (a small muscle in the upper back), trapezius (one of the major muscles of the back that moves, rotates, and stabilizes the shoulder blades), pectoralis majors (a thin, fan-shaped muscle in the chest), biceps, and the muscles surrounding the rotator cuff (a group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint), adds Mansour.
On top of these strengthening benefits, this move is also beginner-friendly. Unlike other shoulder exercises like barbell moves that involve difficult and/or nuanced movements, “this isn’t overly complicated,” says Mansour. "It's good for beginners."
The two-part move also helps loosen the shoulders and promotes better posture.
Because this exercise involves moving the shoulder joint through two different planes of motion, it can loosen the overall shoulder area and relieve stiffness, says Mansour.
What's more, it can help promote quality posture, thanks to the lateral component. “That works the shoulder blades and upper-back region, which are two important parts of good posture,” says Mansour.
Both Clancy and Mansour recommend focusing on lateral raises and front raises separately to increase the effectiveness of each. Here’s how to do them (the Instagram above will give you a good visual, too):
Lateral Raises
- Grab a set of light weights (3 to 5 pounds is a good place to start) and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold one weight in each hand. Bend your knees slightly (don’t lock them).
- Keeping your spine straight, squeezing your core, and bending your elbows slightly, slowly raise the weights straight up and out to the side until your arms are parallel to the ground.
- Pause for a moment at the top of the movement and then slowly lower the weights back down.
- This is 1 rep. Do 10 reps, suggests Mansour. Rest for a minute.
- Repeat for 2 more sets of 10 reps each.
Front Raises
- Grabbing your light weights again, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold one weight in each hand. Bend your knees slightly (don’t lock them).
- Keeping your spine straight, squeezing your core, and bending your elbows slightly, hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs (palms facing in toward you) and then slowly raise the weights straight out in front of your body until they reach shoulder level.
- Pause for a moment at the top of the movement and then slowly lower the weights back down.
- This is 1 rep. Do 10 reps, suggests Mansour. Rest for a minute.
- Repeat for 2 more sets of 10 reps each.
With both moves, if you feel any neck pain as you do the reps, you are using your trapezoids (or traps) too much, warns Mansour. That's the muscle that runs from your neck to your shoulder, and down to your scapula (shoulder blade), on each side. “Your shoulders should be the main movers,” she says. “If you look in a mirror as you do this, you should see them contracting.” To ensure the correct form, avoid shrugging up your shoulders and your neck, as this over-engages the traps. Instead, think about keeping your shoulders relaxed and down as you lift the weights.
Also, be sure to firmly grip the dumbbells throughout the sets. “If you have a loose grip and your wrist is floppy, you will likely overuse your back,” says Mansour. A tight grip will ensure you are using your shoulders for every lift. Another note on the weight: Keep it light, says Mansour, who recommends starting with 5 pounds, and keeping a lighter set on hand in case that becomes too heavy. “Once you are starting to feel fatigued, make sure you are not hunching up your shoulders [as mentioned above],” she says. At this point, switch to a lighter weight, and if you still have trouble maintaining correct form, stop all together.
You can also switch to alternating repetitions of the lateral and front raises, like Sampaio demos, suggests Clancy. If you ever feel a sharp or sudden pain, stop doing the exercise immediately and consult with your doctor before trying it again. (And on that same note, it's always a good idea to speak with a doctor before starting a new exercise routine in general, to make sure it's safe for you to do.)
Once you've nailed proper form and the weight begins to feel too easy—you aren't tired at all by the end of a 10-rep set—try increasing your weight a bit, or swap your dumbbells for resistance bands looped around each foot, suggests Clancy. Whether you do them separately or alternating, with dumbbells or resistance bands, lateral and front raises can be easily worked into your routine and are definitely worth doing to keep your shoulders strong and supported.
