Shoulders: exercises and how to train them
The delts have three heads and one press isn't enough: presses hit the front, lateral raises the side, rows and reverse flyes the rear. Wide shoulders take all three.
What these muscles do
The front delt raises your arm forward and works hard in every press, overhead and flat. The side delt lifts your arm out to the side and gives your shoulders width. The rear delt takes your arm back, stabilises the joint and often lags, because presses barely touch it. The diary counts sets for each head separately — more on the side delt and rear delt pages.
Exercises with technique breakdowns
28 more exercises in the catalog
- Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Cable Lateral Raise
- Barbell Front Raise
- Reverse Pec Deck Fly
- Seated Barbell Military Press
- One-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Smith Machine Overhead Press
- Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press
- Standing Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Press
- Seated Cable Shoulder Press
- Seated Side Lateral Raise
- One-Arm Side Lateral Raise
- Cable Rear Delt Fly
- Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise
- Front Cable Raise
- Standing Barbell Press Behind Neck
- Dumbbell Upright Row
- Cable Upright Row
- Standing Cable Shoulder Press
- Cable Seated Lateral Raise
- Bent-Over Low-Pulley Side Lateral
- Lying Rear Delt Raise
- Lying One-Arm Lateral Raise
- Barbell Rear Delt Row
- Cable Rope Rear-Delt Row
- Dumbbell External Rotation
- Cable External Rotation
- Dumbbell Scaption
They're all in the diary: find one by name in the bot or the app, and I'll remember the weight and reps.
How to train them
- If you bench a lot, your front delts are already busy — separate front raises are often overkill.
- Add lateral raises 2–3 times a week: side delts need volume and recover fast.
- Train rear delts as much as side delts — for the look and for healthy shoulders.
- In the standing press, squeeze your glutes and abs and don't arch your lower back.
Programs and sets for this group
| Program | Sets per cycle | Days per cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Full Body — 2 Days | 6 | 2 |
| Full Body — 3 Days | 6 | 3 |
| Push / Pull / Legs | 6 | 3 |
| 3-Day Split | 6 | 3 |
| Strength 5×5 — A/B | 5 | 2 |
| Upper / Lower | 3 | 2 |
| Glutes & Legs — 3 Days | 3 | 3 |
Sets for one pass through all of the program's days, by its own schemes. A deadlift set is split in half between back and hamstrings — the way the diary counts it.
Exercise comparisons
Log your workouts — I'll show how many sets a week you give this group.