Shoulders · Cable
Cable Side Lying Single Arm Lateral Raise
How to do the cable side lying single arm lateral raise, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your side on the floor next to a low cable pulley with the handle in your top hand resting across your hip. Keeping a slight bend in your elbow, raise the handle in an arc up to shoulder height, then lower it under control back across your hip.
- 1Lead with your elbow and feel the side of your shoulder doing the lifting
- 2Keep tension on the cable through the full arc, especially at the bottom stretch
- 3Pause at shoulder height before lowering slowly
Common mistakes
- Do not swing your torso or roll backward to throw the weight up
- Avoid shrugging your upper trap to start the lift
- Do not let the handle slam back down at the bottom
Muscles worked
The cable side lying single arm lateral raise mainly works the side delts, with the upper traps assisting.
- Side DeltsPrimary
- Upper TrapsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- Rear DeltsMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the cable side lying single arm lateral raise for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.