1. Focus on building shoulder strength

While including lateral raises in your workout routine on a regular basis is essential when you’re trying to improve, there are other upper body exercises you can do to build strength in the shoulder muscles. In turn, this should make lateral raises feel easier and help you increase the amount of weight you can lift.

“To enhance lateral raises, incorporating exercises that strengthen the shoulder muscles is crucial,” says Ali Malik, a personal trainer and founder of Fit Labs Kensington. “Some effective exercises include shoulder presses, upright rows, bent-over lateral raises and face pulls.”

2. Refine your technique

“To enhance performance in lateral raises, it’s crucial to both strengthen the muscles involved and refine technique,” Breckell says.

In particular, you want to make sure you’re not swinging the weights up and down – both the upward and downward motions should be slow and controlled.

How to make progress with your lateral raises, according to PTs