Seated Dumbbell Front Raise (Alternating)

The seated dumbbell front raise is a shoulder isolation exercise performed on a bench, lifting the weights forward to shoulder height one arm at a time. Sitting is what makes it work: with your back upright and your feet planted, you cannot generate momentum from the hips or the knees, so the anterior deltoid has to raise the load on its own. Alternating arms also lets you watch one side at a time, which exposes the strength gap most lifters carry between their dominant and non-dominant shoulder. Since the front delt already takes heavy work from every pressing movement, treat this as an accessory rather than a main lift. Use a weight you can control for 10 to 15 reps per arm across 3 sets, pause briefly at shoulder height, and lower over roughly two seconds. If the dumbbell drifts above shoulder level or your torso starts leaning back, the load is too heavy for the job.