Shoulders · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Incline Powell Raise
How to do the dumbbell incline powell raise, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your side on an incline bench set to a low angle, with a light dumbbell in your top hand and that arm resting across your body. Keeping a slight bend in your elbow, raise the dumbbell up and slightly behind you in an arc until your arm is roughly in line with your shoulder, leading with the side of your wrist. Lower under control and finish all reps before switching sides.
- 1The side and rear delt lifting the dumbbell through the arc
- 2A controlled path with the elbow slightly bent and fixed
- 3The shoulder blade staying set, not shrugging up
Common mistakes
- Shrugging the upper trap to start the lift
- Swinging the dumbbell up with momentum
- Lifting the weight above shoulder height and straining the joint
Muscles worked
The dumbbell incline powell raise mainly works the side delts and rear delts, with the mid traps assisting.
- Side DeltsPrimary
- Rear DeltsPrimary
- Mid TrapsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell incline powell 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.