9 July 2006 Side Lateral Raises

That is right, hold the dumbells up parallel to the ground and pretend to be pouring water from jugs, that was the advice from an early bodybuilding magazine on how to do side laterals correctly. Obviously the writer did not train or he trained like a girl with 5lb dumbells.

Still the theory is correct, your elbows should be the highest point throughout the movement, this keeps the stress on the side delts, if your hands are higher then you are (most likely) using your front delts, which don't need it.

Big Chest And Shoulders Blog