Is one better than the other? “A shoulder press and other compound exercises are arguably more transferable to sports and everyday life, but including lateral raises as an additional exercise to specifically target the deltoids can be useful for overall muscle building,” Chrismas says.

There’s no perfect set or rep range

“There is still the debate over what type of training is best to increase strength. Do you increase volume (the amount of times you lift) or intensity (the amount of weight you lift)? Do you go for mechanical or metabolic stress – meaning increasing the weight or decreasing the rest?” asks Chrismas.

For every study that suggests we should be lifting close to our max for as few reps as possible, there’s another that suggests lighter weights for close to 20 reps is best. “The variability between people – their diet, stress, hormones, genetics and biology makes it hard to come to any robust conclusions about progression and improvement within a specific type of exercise,” adds Chrismas.

To get really existential, asking how we ‘progress’ also means knowing what progress really looks like. “Is it the ability to increase the weight? Or are you trying to increase muscle size or strength? Or are you just wanting the exercise to feel ‘easier’?” Chrismas asks.

Lateral raises: why it’s so difficult to make progress with this shoulder exercise