Arnold Schwarzenegger learned the nuances of bodybuilding from legendary bodybuilders. After all, one doesn’t become a bodybuilding legend without learning from the best. The 76-year-old Arnold Classic co-founder, recently took to social media to show a unique exercise he learned to grow his seven-time Mr. Olympia-winning shoulders.

The 32-year-old natural bodybuilder Jeff Nippard, who stays up-to-date on the most recent exercise science advancements, was thoroughly impressed. Arnold Schwarzenegger shared unseen footage from Pumping Iron, where he showed a lost variation of the standard dumbbell raise.

“Here is some unseen footage from Pumping Iron that was in my archive. I love to do side-lying dumbbell raises, I don’t see many people doing them anymore, but they are a fantastic deltoid pump!“ wrote Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Oh yeah! These are sweet,“ commented Jeff Nippard after watching Arnie engaging in the dumbbell raise.

Arnold Schwarzenegger trained under some of the most acclaimed bodybuilding personalities of the 70s. This included Joe Weider, Joe Gold, Reg Park, and Vince Gironda. Although the Austrian Oak didn’t reveal who taught him the exercise, trainers like Gironda are considered pioneers for devising unorthodox exercises.

The side-lying dumbbell raise is the superior version of the standard lateral raise. While the standing lateral targets the medial head of the deltoid, the muscle doesn’t experience any stress at the lowest point of the movement. However, the laying on the side provides focus through the range of motion.

Arnold Schwarzenegger also swung his arms in front of his body, amplifying the stimulus and stretching in the deltoids. That’s why Jeff Nippard found the variation so impressive. Coincidentally, the 32-year-old also discussed dumbbell lateral raises in a recent video.

Nippard discusses a similar exercise to the one Arnold Schwarzenegger showed

In the video, Jeff Nippard explained that there are several variations of the standing dumbbell raises. However, the standard version and the one where you lean outward suffer similar problems. None of these variations help a bodybuilder achieve stretch-mediated hypertrophy. Nippard, on the other hand, showed a variation that adds the missing piece.

Nippard’s variation was also quite similar to the one Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 32-year-old science-based bodybuilder told people to lean inward, providing the shoulder muscle with enough stimulus at a stretched position to activate growth.

So, Arnie’s version may even be considered a more exaggerated, albeit more difficult version of Nippard’s leaning dumbbell lateral raise. What did you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger recommending the side-lying dumbbell raises? Do you plan to try the exercise? Tell us in the comments.