Lateral Raises are a great accessory exercise for humeral abduction, which tends develop the medial deltoid primarily, anterior deltoid, and upper trapezius. As mentioned in the video, the handstand pushup pattern tends to tax the anterior head of the deltoid more than the medial. This is true especially if you’re doing it with the technique I teach: shoulders moving significantly forward of the wrists, and applying eternal torque to the humerus. So adding lateral raises as an accessory exercise after working sets of HSPU or overhead press can help maintain good shoulder health and avoid overdevelopment/underdevelopment of particular muscle groups in the shoulder.
Here’s a recap of the technical cues:
Anchor the band on the foot opposite your pulling arm; take a wide stance
Lean slightly forward and set your torso angle in on position
Elbow stays slightly bent
The hand follows a path slightly forward of the torso; if you did this with both hands, your arms would form a wide “Y” shape
Pull the hand to the level of the top of your head (if using dumbbells or plates, you can stand up and finish overhead (as demonstrated by Lu Xiaojun, the legendary Chinese weightlifter).
Compensation patterns to avoid:
Anchoring the band on the same-side foot as the pulling arm or taking a narrow stance
Standing up during the movement / changing the torso angle. This will utilize the spinal extensors and hip extensors and take work away from the deltoids
Rotating or twisting the torso
Pulling the hand straight out to the side
Forcing the little/pinky finger to lead the movement (instead just let it feel natural and don’t overthink hand/forearm rotation)
The band I used in the video is convenient because it had 4 detachable cords. I stumbled on it accidentally at Miniso. But this exercise can just as easily be done without a band. You’ll just have to choose the appropriate resistance/thickness, which might mean you’ll have to have a selection bands on hand. That might be the only disadvantage here, as only a slight change in resistance here can change the intensity of the movement a lot. So it’s important to choose a level of resistance that allows you to execute good technique and hit your target rep ranges. I recommend starting with a band that will allow you to hit 10 reps comfortably without compromising technique or losing mind-muscle connection.
Devin