Shoulders · Bodyweight
Lateral Raise with Towel
How to do the lateral raise with towel, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall holding a rolled towel taut between both hands, or one towel per side, and pull outward to create tension. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, raise your arms out to the sides to shoulder height against the towel tension, then lower under control.
- 1Side delts working as your arms rise to shoulder height
- 2Outward pull on the towel keeping constant tension
- 3Elbows leading the lift with a soft bend held
Common mistakes
- Swinging or using momentum to lift the arms
- Shrugging the shoulders toward your ears
- Going above shoulder height; stop when arms are parallel to the floor
Muscles worked
The lateral raise with towel mainly works the side delts, with the forearms and upper traps assisting.
- Side DeltsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Front DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the lateral raise with towel 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.