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The 7 Best Shoulder Exercises For Building Boulder Shoulders

Jeff Turbett
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A pair of built, sizeable shoulders sitting on top of a guy’s torso is a telltale sign of someone who is not only aesthetic but functional as well. Strong and healthy shoulders are incredibly crucial for all of life’s tasks, especially as we age and begin to lose muscle density. Shoulder injuries are disastrous, making even common daily tasks like carrying groceries, painful. So, one of the best things that you can do is to stop neglecting your shoulders and make sure you bulletproof them.

Luckily for you, we were able to sit down and get some advice and exercises from Row House Master Coach, Gretchen Raddatz. “When you build stability, mobility, and flexibility in the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint, it keeps you injury-free,” said Gretchen.

Shirless guy poses, showing off his deltoid muscles.

To help you get those large, rounded shoulders that will protect you from injury, we asked Raddatz to compile this step-by-step guide to the best shoulder exercises. These exercises can be incorporated into HIIT workouts for a full-body burn, or they can function as a stand-alone routine. To help you get the most out of your shoulder training, it’s important to understand some of the basic anatomy surrounding the shoulder joint, first.

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These muscles are divided into two groups: Extrinsic and intrinsic shoulder muscles. The extrinsic muscles include the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and levator scapulae. The intrinsic muscles are the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids, rotator cuff, and teres major. The exercises below are designed to hit all of these muscles for an intense yet well-rounded shoulder workout.

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Overhead Shoulder Press

Man performing an Overhead Shoulder Press with a dumbbell on each hand.

Muscles Targeted: Deltoid (anterior, medial, and posterior) and trapezius
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

This exercise can be done standing or seated. With a dumbbell in each hand and holding the weights at the shoulders with an overhand grip, start with your feet hip-distance apart, keeping the back straight. Press up and bring the dumbbells together over your head, then slowly lower back to starting position.

“Avoid arching your back by keeping the abdomen braced, glutes contracted during the press, and tipping the pelvis inward slightly,” says Gretchen. “Lower the weights only to your shoulders.”

Once your shoulders are fit and used to weight, you can add on the pounds and make this a low-rep, high-return muscle builder, but start lighter to stay safe.

Front Delt Raise

Man holding a dumbbell in each hand raising his arms out in front of him until they are parallel to the floor.

Muscles Targeted: Anterior deltoid, medial/middle deltoid, and trapezius
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

With light weights, begin this exercise by standing with your feet about hip-distance apart. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing back — horizontal to the thighs — slowly raise your arms out in front of you until they are parallel to the floor, maintaining a small bend in the elbow. Hold, then lower slowly with control. Repeat.

“Avoid using momentum, and take your time on the way up and down,” recommends Gretchen. ” [Your] wrists should remain neutral, not bent.”

Lateral Delt Raise

Guy in a gym performs a dumbbell lateral raise.

Muscles Targeted: Medial/middle deltoid, rotator cuff, and trapezius
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

Again, use light weights for this exercise. Begin standing with your feet about hip-distance apart and a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in toward the body alongside the thighs with a slight bend in the elbow. Begin lifting the weights up and out to your sides. Once the arms are parallel to the floor (about even with your shoulder), bring the weight back down slowly with control. Repeat.

A note on form: Remember to brace the core, keep feet hip-distance apart, and pull your shoulders back and down. “If you rotate your hands, raising your pinkies slightly higher than your thumbs, you’ll feel more activation in the lateral deltoid muscle,” says Gretchen.

Bent-Over Reverse Fly

Man trying out a Bent-Over Reverse Fly with a dumbbell in each hand.

Muscles Targeted: Posterior deltoid, trapezius, and rhomboids
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

The reverse fly is as much a back exercise as a shoulder exercise, but it can strengthen the lower muscles of the shoulder group and help support and protect your entire shoulder while also helping you build up that coveted V-shape. So bang ’em out.

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, hinge forward at the hips to a 45-degree angle, keeping a slight bend in the knees. Grab a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in. Lift the weights out to the sides of your body, squeezing the shoulder blades together and keeping a slight bend in the elbow. Bring the weights back down gently.

“Look down and maintain alignment through the neck and spine so you are not straining your neck,” says Gretchen. “Avoid swinging/jerking the weights to bring them up. Keep it slow, steady, and smooth.”

Arnold Press

Man holding a dumbbell while sitting on a bench press.

Muscles Targeted: Anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids, and rotator cuff
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

This exercise hits all three muscles in the deltoid and works on rotational movement through the press portion of the lift. It helps increase shoulder stability, hitting the inside shoulder muscles at the bottom of the lift. Feel free to pick up some of the heavier weights you have lying around your home gym for this one.

Start with a dumbbell in each hand, feet hip-distance apart, keeping your back straight and core activated. Hold the weights at the shoulders with your palms facing the body. Start by taking the elbows out wider, rotating the wrists so the palms face forward as you bring the weights straight up overhead, and then move back down through it.

Upright Row

Man holding the dumbbells on each hand in front of his thighs, with his palms facing his body.

Muscles Targeted: Anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids, and trapezius
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

This exercise can be done standing or seated and with heavier weights. Start by holding the weights in front of your thighs, palms facing the body. The feet should be hip- to shoulder-width apart, and you want to keep the weights close to your body as you pull them up toward your chest, letting the elbows flare out at about shoulder height. Bring the weights back down and repeat.

Circle Press

Man raising the dumbbells on each hand above his head.

Muscles Targeted: Trapezius, latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, levator scapulae, anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids, rotator cuff, and teres major
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 3

In a standing position with the feet hip- to shoulder-width apart, start with a pair of low-weight dumbbells. Hold them against the thighs with the palms facing forward, away from the body. Bring the dumbbells out to the side of the body and up overhead, and then reverse the movement back down. Repeat.

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Jeff Turbett
Jeff Turbett
Contributor
Jeff Turbett is a health and wellness coach with over three years of experience transforming clients lives and physical…
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