Dumbbell Side-Lying External Rotation
oec:dumbbell-side-lying-external-rotation
An isolated rotator cuff exercise performed lying on one side to strengthen the infraspinatus and teres minor against gravity.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: Side-Lying Dumbbell External Rotation, Side-Lying External Rotation, Lying Rotator Cuff Exercise
How to do it
Setup
- Lie on your side on a mat or flat bench with your working arm on top.
- Support your head with your bottom arm or a small pillow to keep the neck neutral.
- Bend the elbow of your working arm to 90 degrees and pin the upper arm against your flank.
- Grasp a light dumbbell with a neutral grip so your forearm rests across your abdomen.
Movement
- Keeping your elbow pinned firmly to your side at 90 degrees, rotate your forearm upward toward the ceiling.
- Pause briefly at the top of the movement without letting your torso roll backward.
- Slowly lower the dumbbell back across your abdomen under complete control.
- Complete all repetitions on one side before switching to the other.
Breathing
Exhale as you rotate the weight upward; inhale as you lower it back to your stomach.
Cues
- Keep the elbow pinned to your side.
- Rotate from the shoulder, not the wrist.
- Do not roll your chest open toward the ceiling.
Common faults
- Allowing the elbow to drift away from the torso during rotation.
- Place a rolled towel between your elbow and ribcage and keep it pressed in place throughout the set.
- Rolling the torso backward to cheat the weight up.
- Keep your hips and shoulders stacked vertically and only move through the shoulder joint.
- Extending or flexing the wrist to simulate more range of motion.
- Keep the wrist rigid in a neutral alignment throughout the repetition.
Safety
- Use very light resistance; the rotator cuff muscles are small and easily strained.
Muscles
Joints
- Shoulder: External rotation
- Elbow: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Rotation
- Modality
- Rehabilitation, Strength
- Mechanics
- isolation
- Force
- pull
- Laterality
- unilateral
- Kinetic chain
- open
- Level
- beginner
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Record
- Repetitions and Load
- Load
- external, total
Related
- variation of Dumbbell External Rotation
- substitute for Side-Lying Dumbbell External Rotation
- substitute for Dumbbell Seated External Rotation
- substitute for Cable External Rotation
- substitute for Cable Shoulder External Rotation
Sources
- wger: Lying Rotator Cuff Exercise, by Trix (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
- wger: Side-lying External Rotation, by apeschel (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.