The seated overhead dumbbell raise strengthens the shoulder through its full forward lift (shoulder flexion). Sitting on a chair, you hold a light dumbbell in one hand, raise the straight arm forward and up until it points at the ceiling beside your ear, pause, and lower it slowly. The voice guide has you work your weaker arm, so it is a one-sided exercise, often used once a shoulder can already lift overhead without a weight.

How to do the seated overhead dumbbell raise

Sit tall on a firm chair without armrests, feet flat on the floor and your back upright. Let both arms hang relaxed by your sides.
Hold a light dumbbell in the hand of your weaker arm, palm facing in toward your body, so your thumb points forward.
Keeping the elbow straight, raise the arm forward and a little out from your side, thumb leading, up past shoulder height, until it points at the ceiling beside your ear or as high as it goes without pain.
Hold the arm up there for a second. Your neck and upper back stay relaxed and your trunk stays upright, with no lean backward.
Lower the arm slowly the same way back to your side, keeping the shoulder low rather than hunched as it comes down.

What you should feel

Work in the front and top of the shoulder that builds as the arm climbs past shoulder height, with some effort around the shoulder blade. Your neck should not tighten.

Common mistakes

Leaning back or arching your lower back to get the arm higher.
Letting the elbow bend as the weight gets harder to hold near the top.
Hitching the working shoulder up toward your ear as the arm rises.
Letting the arm drop quickly on the way down.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 slow lifts with a light weight, such as 0.5 to 2 kg (1 to 4 lb), a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp or catching pain in the shoulder partway up or near the top.
The shoulder feels unsteady, as though it is about to give way.
Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down your arm or into your hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
A sudden pop or tearing feeling in the shoulder that brings sharp pain, new weakness or trouble lifting the arm. Stop and contact your surgical team the same day, or get medical advice the same day if you have not had surgery.
The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.

From the clinic

Pick a weight you can lift the whole way up with a straight elbow and an upright back. Many people start with no weight at all, then move to a small water bottle. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath. When the arm cannot yet reach overhead on its own, shoulder flexion with a stick lets your other hand help. The dumbbell front raise is the standing version that stops at shoulder height.

After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed. A weight held on a straight arm is hard work for the shoulder, and this lift carries it right to the top of the range, so plans usually add it once the arm lifts overhead easily without one. If the top of the lift pinches, stop a little lower and tell your physio.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Seated overhead dumbbell raise