Who doesn’t want to have well-defined and built shoulders? If you are working out it’s always nice to have your hard work rewarded by seeing the gains that you are making and front delt exercises for the shoulders can pay off the quickest in helping you see your efforts be rewarded. Bigger shoulders also mean stronger shoulders and stronger shoulders means healthier shoulder to prevent injuries that come along later in life.
So if you want to build those shoulders and start seeing your hard work pay off check out the exercises below and the sample workout to jump-start your workouts!
The Anatomy of Your Deltoids
The deltoid is a single muscle that caps both your shoulders. This is the main muscle that is referred to when people talk about “training their shoulders”.The deltoid is divided into three different parts, the anterior delt, the lateral delt, and the posterior delt.
The deltoid helps stabilize the shoulder and assists in arm movements. The anterior delt helps to lift the arm up towards the body and outward towards your side. Meanwhile, the posterior delt helps move your arm outwards and back.
Benefits of Strong Delts
Having shoulder shoulders is an important aspect of life in general and when it comes to working out. Here are some benefits of strong delts:
- Lifting groceries or dishes into upper cabinets
- Carrying heavy loads to and from a car
- Helping you get off the ground
Strong delts also help you in the gym. Here are some benefits they provide when you’re working out:
- Assisting to stabilize your shoulder during a lift or upper body exercise
- To protect your shoulder from injury when using heavyweight
- Improved aesthetics
- Allows you to do shoulder supersets without the risk of overworking a muscle group
How to Train Your Front Delts
When it comes to training your shoulder, delts primarily, form is the number one thing to keep in mind when performing exercises specifically for the delts. When you focus on the proper form, and move slowly and intentionally you will gain the benefits of training your delts.
There are many exercises that will use or recreate the delts in a movement but not many that isolate the delts specifically, so moving slowly to make sure you are engaging the correct muscles will be key. Choosing the right exercise with the appropriate weight and you will start to see the benefits of training your delts pay off quickly! If you rush the movement, choose an inappropriate weight, or have poor form you could quickly risk injury.
Be intentional about your training and be patient and take the proper rest and your gains will come before you know it! If you don't see results for the first couple weeks don’t get discouraged, stick with the program, and then switch it up only after a minimum of 4 weeks of the same workout.
The 10 Best Front Delt Exercises
Now that we’ve looked at why you should train your delts, it’s time to look at the best front delt exercises that you can do today. Pair this with our legs and shoulders workout if you want to really mix things up.
10. One-Arm Kettlebell Front Raise
Here’s a great exercise to isolate the anterior delt and burn those shoulders and help with muscle imbalances.
- Begin standing tall holding onto a kettlebell to your side with your arm straight
- Without letting your shoulder raise, lift the kettlebell straight up in front of your body just until the kettlebell raises slightly above your forehead
- Then slowly lower the kettlebell back towards your side and repeat on the other side
Start with a lighter weight to maintain proper form throughout this exercise.
9. Resistance Band Sliders
This exercise will put your delts under some serious time under tension! Time under tension is another great way to break down muscle fiber to build muscle.
- Start by standing on a resistance band and holding onto the handles
- Begin by lifting your arms up straight in front of you with your wrist and elbows straight
- Holding your arms parallel to the floor move your arms out towards the side till your arms become aligned with your shoulders
- Then return your arms back to the front without letting them drop and repeat
Using a light resistance band may be the best way to start since you’ll start to feel the burn pretty quickly.
8. Bench Press
The bench press is an oldie but a goodie and will target those front delts and pecs!
Begin by laying on your back underneath the bar with your back flat on the bench, core braced, and feet flat on the ground.
- Grab onto the bar so your hands are about shoulder-width apart.
- Then push the bar off of the rack and bring it centered over your chest.
- Then breathe in and lower the bar to your chest
- Then exhale as you press the bar away from your body returning the bar back to the rack.
Benching should be done with a spotter. If it's too heavy or you get tired, the spotter can help save you from serious injury.
7. Dumbbell Front Raise
This exercise may be the best to target the anterior delts! Be sure to choose the correct weight for this exercise.
- Start by standing tall with a soft bend in your knee, holding onto dumbbells by your side
- Begin to raise your arms up straight in front of you keeping your elbows and wrist straight and palms facing the ground
- At the top squeeze your chest and delts then lower the dumbbells back to your side
Choosing the correct weight is important here so you can maintain the correct movement without swinging your body into the movement and get the most out of this exercise.
6. Standing Overhead Press
This exercise will target the entire deltoid but primarily focus on the anterior delt and lateral delt. You can choose a variety of equipment to use for this exercise but for simplicity's sake, we will focus on the dumbbell.
- Start by standing tall holding dumbbells at your shoulders with your arms bent, palms facing away from your body, and a strong braced core
- Begin by pressing the dumbbells towards the ceiling maintaining your palms facing forward until your arms extend fully overhead
- Return the dumbbells back to your shoulders without arching into your low back or elevating your shoulders
This is a taxing exercise that should be done toward the beginning of your workout.
5. One-Arm Kneeling Landmine Press
Here's a great exercise to help really load up your delts! Be sure to securely set up your barbell before starting this exercise.
- Start in a half-kneeling position holding onto the end of the barbell with one hand
- Maintaining a strong core and shoulders down into your back pockets press the barbell up towards the ceiling until your arm extends fully squeezing your delt and chest
- Maintaining that tension in your body lowers the bar back toward your shoulder
4. Barbell Overhead Press
This is a great exercise to help target the entire shoulder but focuses mainly on the anterior delt at the same time
- Start by grabbing a barbell with a desired weight with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart at your chest
- Standing tall press the barbell towards the ceiling without arching your back until your arms straighten
- Then lower the bar back towards your chest remaining tension in your core without letting your elbow drop behind your back
You can start with no weight on the barbell at first to see how the movement feels then add weight as the exercise starts to feel easier.
3. Shoulder Press
Similar to the standing overhead press, the shoulder press can use a variety of equipment to target the shoulders in this exercise.
- Start by sitting on a bench with your back up against a back holding dumbbells at your shoulders with your arms bent, palms facing away from your body, and elbows parallel to your body.
- Begin by pressing the dumbbells towards the ceiling maintaining your palms facing forward until your arms extend fully overhead
- Return the dumbbells back to your shoulders without arching into your low back or elevating your shoulders
This again, is a taxing exercise that should be done towards the beginning of your workout.
2. Arnold Press
This is a great way to incorporate a wide range of motion into your shoulder workout that also targets your lower traps.
- Start standing tall, holding onto a pair of dumbbells with your arms bend like the top of a bicep curl
- Begin by pressing the dumbbells toward the ceiling and twisting your arms at the same time till your palms face away from you with your arms extended above your head
- Return the dumbbells slowly back to the shoulder, twisting so the palms face your body again and pulling your elbows into your body.
Be sure to keep your shoulder away from your ears during this movement and stay nice and tall.
1. Incline Bench Press
A great exercise to target your chest and anterior delts all at the same time. The lateral and posterior delt will also get used in this movement but more for stabilization.
- Start by laying on a bench at 30-45 degrees underneath a barbell
- Lift the barrel off the rack and bring the barbell above your chest with your arms extended
- Begin by lowering the bar towards your chest until the bar touches your chest
- Then press and return the bar back over your chest while squeezing your chest and shoulders.
You can use dumbbells in place of the barbell for this exercise if you desire or alternate between the two for variety and maximum benefit.
Sample Front Delt Workout
Here’s a sample workout that you can use today or to build your own workout. Adjust your weight accordingly or the reps and sets as needed.
- Shoulder Press: 10 reps x 3 sets
- Dumbbell Front Raise: 10 reps x 3 sets
- One arm kneeling landmine press: 10 reps x 3 sets per side
- Arnold Press: 10 reps x 3 sets
- Resistance band sliders: 15 reps x 3-5 sets
Again use this workout as a stand-alone workout or incorporate it into your upper body workouts. Due to the simplicity of these exercises, you can do this shoulder workout at home or pair it with our resistance band shoulder workout for a more effective session.
Build Your Shoulders Today
If you want to see the benefits of working out and have others notice too, your delts can be one of the most rewarding areas to training to see benefits quickly. Not only will you look stronger, you'll actually be stronger and feel stronger together. So take the time to focus on the things you want to train and stay consistent and dedicated to training and your results will pay off big time! If you still aren’t sure how to train and want to have some accountability check out the TRX Training Club to get you on the right track!
