@waratah I’ve seen these also called Lu Raises after Lu Xiaojun, a Chinese Olympic power lifter. I really like them if for no other reason than variety from DB lateral raises. They definitely involve traps a bit more for me, but they do give a great lateral delt workout. Give them a shot with plates instead of DBs like Lu does.
@waratah I’ve just started doing them for shoulder health reasons. My overhead stability is garbage and I know them as Lu raises who is a weightlifter that almost certainly does it for stability reasons.
I feel them right above my scapula, which is the supraspinatus, which is a common problem rotator cuff muscle, so I think I’m right to at least try them.
For their visual benefits, I don’t know, maybe it helps in creating that line in the traps that seems to create like a double trap look from the back, that you can sometimes see in really lean but not huge backs…?