The 10 Best Side Delt Exercises for Muscle & Strength

Ready to sculpt shoulders that would make Atlas jealous? Whether you’re gunning for 3D-like delts or want to look awesome without a shirt, you’re in the right place with this guide to the best side delt exercises.

In this article, we’ll uncover the shoulder exercises that will have your upper body popping like never before. It’s time to ditch the excuses and give those shoulders the upgrade they deserve. Let’s get to work, because the only thing better than strong shoulders is boulder shoulders.

Click here to jump directly to the list of the best side delt exercises!

Delt Muscle Anatomy and Function

The deltoid muscle is a large, triangular-shaped muscle that covers the shoulder joint, giving the shoulder its rounded appearance. It’s composed of three distinct parts, often referred to as “heads,” each with its own role in moving the arm.

Many people think of the delts as small muscles, when in reality they are significantly more sizeable than, for example, the lats or the pecs.

Each part of the deltoid plays a slightly different role:

1. Front (Anterior) Deltoid: The front deltoids start from the collarbone and helps move the arm forward and across the chest.
2. Middle (Lateral or Side) Deltoid: Originating from the acromion (the bony projection on the shoulder blade), it primarily assists in lifting the arm out to the side. You might also have heard this part called the medial deltoid, but that’s an incorrect term. There is no such thing as medial deltoids. “Medial” means “towards the midline of the body,” not middle. But that’s okay; even researchers make the mistake of calling the side deltoid the medial deltoid.
3. Rear (Posterior) Deltoid: The posterior deltoids start from the spine of the shoulder blades and help pull the arm backward. They partly cover your rotator cuff, a group of four muscles that help stabilize your shoulders and move your upper arms.

Function

The primary function of the deltoid muscle is to enable the shoulder to move the arm in various directions.

• Shoulder Abduction: Lifting the arm away from the body, like when you raise your hand to ask a question.
• Shoulder Flexion: Moving the arm forward, like reaching out to grab something in front of you or punch someone in the nose.
• Shoulder Extension: Moving the arm backward, like reaching behind to put something in your back pocket.
• Medial and lateral rotation: Turning the arm inward or outward, respectively.

Together, the three parts of the deltoid muscle help you move your arms. They provide stability and flexibility when lifting, pushing, pulling, and rotating the arm in different directions, making them crucial for everything from daily tasks like lifting groceries or throwing a ball to athletic activities or performing upper body exercises in the gym.

The 10 Best Side Delt Exercises

These are our 10 favorite exercises for building stronger and bigger side delts.

• We start with compound pressing movements, a great way to gain muscle mass and strength and build bigger shoulders.
• We then move to isolation shoulder exercises that specifically focus on your lateral deltoids.

It’s always a good idea to include both in your side delt training for best results if you want big, round, 3D-looking shoulders that are as strong as they look.

Overhead Press

The barbell overhead press is a fantastic compound exercise for the deltoid muscles, upper chest, and triceps. Its primary target is the anterior delts at the front of your shoulders, but the lateral delts assist in lifting the weight overhead.

Overhead presses allow you to use heavy weights for maximum muscle growth and strength gains. They also carry over to Olympic lifts and almost any other athletic activity involving upper body strength.

Avoid leaning backward overly, as it reduces the engagement of the side delts and puts stress on your lower back. Also, focus on slowly lowering the weight in the eccentric phase to increase muscle activation and growth.

How to Do the Overhead Press

1. Place a barbell in a rack at about chest height.
2. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and step close to it.
3. Inhale, lightly brace your core, and unrack the bar.
4. Let the bar rest against your front delts while you step back from the rack.
5. Press the bar up to straight arms while exhaling.
6. Inhale at the top or while lowering the bar with control back to your shoulders.
7. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

You can also do seated overhead presses. Sitting down removes much of the balance requirements and can allow you to focus more on your shoulder muscles.

Behind the Neck Press

The behind-the-neck press is one of those old-school compound exercises golden-age bodybuilders used in their deltoid workouts to build muscular shoulders. It targets all three heads of the deltoid muscle, along with your triceps.

Not everyone has the flexibility or mobility to perform behind-the-neck presses safely, and you might hear horror stories about getting shoulder impingement or hurting your shoulders in some other way doing them.

The behind-the-neck press might not be for you if you have pre-existing shoulder issues or limited shoulder mobility. However, if you don’t, you have one of the best exercises for your lateral deltoids, beating out the front overhead press when it comes to muscle activation.¹

How to Do Behind the Neck Presses

1. Grab a bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and duck under it so that it is resting against the base of your neck.
2. Take a breath, lightly brace your core, and unrack the bar. Take a step back.
3. Press the bar up until your arms are straight, while exhaling.
4. Inhale at the top, or while lowering the bar with control back to the base of your neck.
5. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The dumbbell shoulder press works the same muscles as the barbell overhead press. It allows for a more extended range of motion and a deeper stretch at the bottom of the movement, both beneficial for building muscle.

Adjusting your wrist position and the path of the weights allows you to target your shoulder muscles, including the side deltoids, slightly differently. In addition, you work each arm independently, preventing and correcting imbalances between the left and right sides of your body.

How to Dumbbell Shoulder Press

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells, and lift them up to the starting position at your shoulders.
2. Inhale and lightly brace your core.
3. Press the dumbbells up to straight arms, while exhaling.
4. Inhale at the top, or while lowering the dumbbells with control back to your shoulders.
5. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

You can also do seated dumbbell shoulder presses, which makes the exercise less dependent on core strength and more on shoulder strength.

Arnold Press

The Arnold press is a variation of the traditional dumbbell shoulder press named after the legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. This exercise offers a unique twist (ha!) that differentiates it from regular presses.

Arnold presses introduce a dynamic, rotational movement that engages more of the deltoid muscles, while the regular dumbbell shoulder press focuses primarily on pressing directly overhead with minimal wrist movement.

Research shows that the Arnold press mainly targets the anterior deltoids, but the lateral deltoids are also heavily involved, more so than in regular overhead dumbbell presses.²

How to Do Arnold Presses

1. Sit or stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing you, and the weights at shoulder height (similar to the top position of a bicep curl).
2. Press the dumbbells upward while rotating your wrists so that your palms face forward by the time you reach full extension.
3. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position, rotating your wrists again so that your palms face you at the bottom.
4. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Upright Row

The upright row is one of the best side delt exercises you can do with a barbell. It’s a compound movement that primarily hits your middle deltoids, although it’s also an effective trapezius exercise.

The upright row is something of a controversial exercise. The movement involves internal rotation of the shoulder joint while the arms are elevated. That position can lead to impingement, where soft tissues become entrapped in the area of the shoulder joint. Over time, this can cause pain and injury.

However, most people can safely do upright rows by avoiding lifting the bar too high.³ Raise it only to chest height or just below your shoulders to prevent excessive internal rotation.

Also, if you are new to upright rows, start with a lighter weight and only a few sets per shoulder workout to ease into the movement.

How to Do Upright Rows

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grip a barbell with both hands using an overhand grip with your palms facing towards you and your hands positioned slightly closer than shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold the barbell at waist height with your arms extended and elbows straight.
3. Pull the barbell in a straight line up towards your chin, keeping it close to your body as you lift it. Your elbows should be pointing outwards to the sides.  Focus on lifting the barbell with your shoulders, not your biceps.
4. When your upper arms are parallel to the floor, focus on contracting your shoulder muscles as much as possible, then slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position.
5. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Monkey Row

The monkey row, also called the armpit row, is a sadly forgotten exercise that is an excellent alternative to the upright row if the latter gives your shoulder joint a hard time.

Monkey rows work your lateral and rear delts, along with a side dish of traps. Avoid shrugging your shoulders too much, or your traps will try to steal some of the work from your side delts.

How to Do Monkey Rows

1. With your arms by your sides, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Pull the dumbbells straight up as far as you can.
3. With control, lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
4. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

The dumbbell lateral raise is one of the best side delt exercises and an integral part of any workout routine for building broader shoulders.

The best of the lateral raise variations for activating your side delts is the internally rotated one, where your thumb is pointing down as if you are pouring a protein drink out of a shaker.⁴

It is also the potentially most risky position, as it places your shoulder joint in an internally rotated position. If you feel any discomfort, switch to neutral-grip laterals.

For optimal side delt development, lift the dumbbells directly out to your sides, not in front of your body. Use relatively light weights and focus on proper form, avoiding using momentum to get the dumbbells up.

How to Do Dumbbell Lateral Raises

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the dumbbells in your hands with your palms facing your thighs.
2. Begin the movement by lifting both arms to the sides, keeping a slight bend in your elbows, and raising the dumbbells until they reach shoulder height.
3. Lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position while maintaining control.
4. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Cable Lateral Raise

The cable lateral raise is a fantastic exercise for isolating the middle part of the deltoid muscle. In some instances, it may beat out the dumbbell variant of the exercise.

The main difference is the resistance curve. With dumbbells, the resistance is primarily determined by gravity. The resistance increases as you raise your arms, peaking at the top of the movement when the arms are parallel to the floor.

A cable, however, provides constant tension from start to finish. The resistance curve is more consistent, and you can manipulate it by changing the angle of the cable or the pulley height, providing consistent tension across the entire range of motion.

How to Do Cable Lateral Raises

1. Grip a handle connected to the lower position on a cable machine. Stand close to the pulley, with the arm holding the handle facing away from the machine.
2. With control, lift the handle outwards to your sides, until your upper arm is horizontal.
3. Lower the handle with control.
4. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Machine Lateral Raise

The machine lateral raise even furthers removes any stability and balance requirements compared to free-weight laterals. You just sit down in the machine and start frying those side delts.

Machine lateral raises are great if you find a machine that fits your body. I often feel that they are built for someone an inch or two taller or shorter than me, no matter how many adjustments you can make to the seat. But if you have a lateral raise machine that feels good, you’ve got possibly the best way to isolate the muscle fibers of your side delts.

How to Do Machine Lateral Raises

1. Adjust the machine so that the pads are leaning against your elbows.
2. Lift your arms out to your sides, until your upper arms are horizontal.
3. Lower the arms again.
4. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Face Pulls

The face pull belongs on any top ten list of the best exercises for your rear deltoids. However, it’s also a good exercise for your traps and, yes, your lateral deltoids.

To make them target your side delts more, lower the pulley somewhat so you pull from a height around the middle of your upper body.

You also don’t want to use a lot of weight when doing face pulls. Keep it relatively light, focus on higher rep ranges, and maintain good form throughout.

How to Do Face Pulls

1. Fasten a rope handle in a high position on a cable pulley. Grip the ropes with an overhand grip, and take a step or two back.
2. With elbows held high, pull the rope towards you by letting your upper arms move straight out towards your sides, while simultaneously rotating your forearms up.
3. Return with control to the starting position, by letting your arms move forward again.
4. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Side Delt Workout for Muscle and Strength

These exercises allow you to design your own shoulder training session, focusing on the middle delts.

But what if you dont’ want to design your own? Follow ours!

The StrengthLog Shoulder Workout covers all three parts of the deltoid and includes specific exercises to target the lateral head.

• You start with two compound movements – traditional overhead presses and upright rows. These two exercises hit the entire deltoid muscle group, emphasizing the front and side parts, and are fantastic for building stronger shoulders and gaining mass.
• Following the compound exercises, you target all three deltoid heads with different exercises for each. Here, you’re going for the pump rather than moving heavier weights.

That’s the recipe for best side delt workout possible!

Try this workout next time you train your shoulders to get on the fast track to big shoulders.

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Overhead Press	3	5
Upright Row	3	10
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	3	10
Barbell Front Raise	3	10
Reverse Dumbbell Fly	3	12

This shoulder workout is available for free in our workout tracker app, which you can download for free using the buttons below.

StrengthLog is 100 % free, but our premium version offers additional benefits.

Want to give premium a shot? We offer all new users a free 14-day trial of premium, which you can activate in the app.

Final Words

You have reached the end of this guide to the best side delt exercises. Thank you so much for reading!

By now, you’ve got the ultimate arsenal of side delt exercises to sculpt the broad shoulders you’ve always wanted. Whether you’re cranking out the side lateral raise or busting out overhead presses, stay consistent and always try to lift a little more or do one more rep than last time, and your delts are sure to start growing.

Make these movements a regular fixture in your training plan, and your wide shoulders will be the envy of the gym in no time.

Good luck with your shoulder training!

Click here to return to our list of strength training programs and workouts.

Click here to return to our full list of strength training exercises.

Last reviewed: 2025-10-17

References

1. Front Physiol. 2022 Jul 22:13:825880. Front vs Back and Barbell vs Machine Overhead Press: An Electromyographic Analysis and Implications For Resistance Training.
2. Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development 8(4):653. Comparison among the EMG Activity of the Anterior Deltoid and Medial Deltoid During Two Variations of Dumbbell Shoulder Press Exercise.
3. Strength and Conditioning Journal 33(5):p 25-28, October 2011. The Upright Row: Implications for Preventing Subacromial Impingement.
4. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Sep; 17(17): 6015. An Electromyographic Analysis of Lateral Raise Variations and Frontal Raise in Competitive Bodybuilders.