Sit down, kill the momentum, isolate the delts.
Sitting removes leg drive, so resist the urge to swing, control every rep.
Lateral raises live or die on strictness, and the bench removes the subtle knee dip and torso rock that turn standing sets into momentum shows. Seated, your side delts have to lift the dumbbells through the entire arc themselves, which usually means lighter weights and far better reps. If your standing raises have crept up in load but your shoulders stopped growing, this is the reset.
Because you cannot cheat. Standing, almost everyone adds a small hip bounce to start each rep. Sitting kills that assist completely, so the same dumbbells suddenly feel heavier and the delts do all the lifting.
Lighter than your ego wants. If the dumbbells cannot reach shoulder height without your torso swinging or your traps shrugging up, drop down. Delts respond to clean reps and time under tension, not the number on the bell.
Shoulder height is the standard stopping point, with a slight elbow bend and a brief pause. Going much higher shifts work toward the traps, which is fine if intended, but not the point of a delt isolation.
