Shoulder exercises

How to train your shoulders

The deltoid caps your shoulder in three parts. The front head lifts your arm forward, the side head lifts it out to the side, and the rear head pulls it back. Most of the round look of a shoulder comes from the side head, and most upper-body training hits the front head already.

That shapes how you pick exercises. An overhead press, with a barbell, dumbbells or a machine, is the heavy movement: it trains the front delts and the triceps and belongs early in the session. Bench presses already work the front delts, so you rarely need extra front raises.

The side delts need their own exercise. Lateral raises are the standard: light weight, a slow lift out to the side, no swinging. Upright rows train the side delts and the traps together. The rear delts get work from rows and pull-downs, and directly from rear delt rows or reverse flies.

Muscla treats the lateral raise and the rear delt as their own movement patterns, so your plan includes them whenever your equipment allows, and it counts a shoulder press as half a set for the shoulders and half for the triceps.