Dumbbell front raises simultaneously or 1 arm at a time?

[backinthegymbro]

In Arnold's encyclopedia he recommends to do them together, with 1 arm up and the other arm down. And then have them pass each other in front of your face.
Personally, i've always done 1 full rep with the left hand and then 1 full rep with the right hand until the set was finished.
Is there any benefit to doing them simultaneously besides saving time?



In some pictures it looks like both his arms are indeed in motion



But then in Pumping Iron he simply does them 1 hand at a time. (But this could also be done to simply go heavier for the cameras)



Second question:

Do you simply raise the dumbbell high, or do you have to reach forward/up?
Scott herman on youtube recommends to ''reach for the wall'', kind of extending your arm forward like you're grabbing something across the room. Not sure if this is correct or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t7fuZ0KhDA

[Garage Rat]

I don't think there is any advantage to alternating compared to regular it's just what feels best to you.
I like doing them together and don't much higher than face level.
Doing them laying back on a high incline feels good also.

[Tommy W.]

I like the rhythm you get with 1 at a time. Front raises is a debatable exercise since front delta get hammered with presses. It never hurts though to hit a muscle from different angles IMO

[SuffolkPunch]

You can probably remain more stable doing 1 at a time. Having said that, I would not bother with front raises if you do a lot of benching and overhead pressing - anterior delt is already heavily trained by these.

[backinthegymbro]

I don't think there is any advantage to alternating compared to regular it's just what feels best to you.
I like doing them together and don't much higher than face level.
Doing them laying back on a high incline feels good also.

Doing them on the incline sounds good. Is it easier that way? I imagine there's no room for cheating or swinging, but you do have the extra back support.

When i do them 1 armed, i can do 35 lbs.
If i do them at the same time like Arnold (so that they cross each other when 1 goes down and the other goes up), i struggle with 15 lbs.
Ridiculous how difficult it becomes.

Ps: How come you don't like to go higher than face level? Won't going higher involve more muscle? Perhaps not the front delts, but the traps etc. I always feel like going higher if it activates more muscle.

[Heisman2]

Ps: How come you don't like to go higher than face level? Won't going higher involve more muscle? Perhaps not the front delts, but the traps etc. I always feel like going higher if it activates more muscle.

It won't hit the front delts. So it depends on your goal. If you want to keep the tension on the front delts then going higher won't help and will hinder that effort. If you want to hit the muscles from going higher then consider light face pulls where in the fully contracted position you do a Y raise so your arms end up over your head. By doing that your muscles will be actively working as the weight is pulled forward by the cable (weight vector is perpendicular to your arm). With a dumbbell front raise at the top the weight is parallel to your arm/body and thus your muscles won't be working to keep it there.

[jdesey]

In Arnold's encyclopedia he recommends to do them together, with 1 arm up and the other arm down. And then have them pass each other in front of your face.
Personally, i've always done 1 full rep with the left hand and then 1 full rep with the right hand until the set was finished.
Is there any benefit to doing them simultaneously besides saving time?



In some pictures it looks like both his arms are indeed in motion



But then in Pumping Iron he simply does them 1 hand at a time. (But this could also be done to simply go heavier for the cameras)



Second question:

Do you simply raise the dumbbell high, or do you have to reach forward/up?
Scott herman on youtube recommends to ''reach for the wall'', kind of extending your arm forward like you're grabbing something across the room. Not sure if this is correct or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t7fuZ0KhDA

I do them one at a time. I also either use an upright bench or lean against a pole. I think the bigger issue is to eliminate body swing/momentum cheating. to me when I keep my upper body quiet and do not allow anything other than the shoulders to lift the weight I am the most effective. It also means I’m utilizing wage that I can fully control.

[Montymaginn]

I like the rhythm you get with 1 at a time. Front raises is a debatable exercise since front delta get hammered with presses. It never hurts though to hit a muscle from different angles IMO

I agree, i prefer one at a time due to rythm as you say.