Top Shoulder Workouts for a Wider and 3d Shoulder

Your shoulders are the most important part of your body, which helps to increase strength during weightlifting or any stretching movements (such as pullups, and parallel bar dips). You’ll hardly find any upper body workouts without any shoulder involvement. Proper shoulder exercise can boost your performance and also help to prevent injuries.

Did you know that the shape of your shoulders contributes to 50%-60% of your body’s V-shape? Yes, the main reason why the body looks wide is the wider shoulders. It’s the physical beauty of your body and also the energy center, especially when you are lifting loads or doing any heavy movements.

Moreover, the shoulder is the part that gives you a wider manly look. We often see professional bodybuilders performing on stage has an aesthetic V-shaped wider physique. The reason behind is their broad shoulders. This V-shape improves the body’s appearance and also increases strength because, when the shoulder muscles function properly, other body parts look equally stronger.

Beginners at the gym typically focus on their abs, chest, and arms, but they often overlook their shoulders. Skipping shoulder exercises can affect the overall balance of the body and increase the risk of injury in the long run.

 This article goes into great depth about the best shoulder exercises, so you can add the most effective and intense shoulder workout to your routine. Which will make your shoulder equally stronger and wider.

Shoulder Anatomy

The structure of the shoulder is like a three-dimensional work of art, where each muscle works properly to create beauty and strength in the body. According to a 2024 research, there are three main parts of the shoulder that work differently. Let’s see where these muscles are located and how these three muscles determine the strength and beauty of the body.

Front Head (Anterior Deltoid)

The front part of your shoulder is called the front head or anterior deltoid. Generally, this is a small part, but it helps to create a rounded shape of the shoulder. If it is well developed, the front part of your body becomes more visible. This muscle plays an important role in lifting your arm forward and horizontal adduction.

Side Head (lateral deltoid)

The lateral deltoid is the largest and most visible muscle of the shoulder. This covers almost 40-45% of your shoulder muscle, which gives you shoulder width, especially when you look from the front or from the side. If you focus on this part, the shape of your shoulder will look more wide and firm. The side head basically helps in lifting the arm to the side and horizontal abduction (taking the arm to the side).

Rear Head (Posterior Deltoid)

Mostly we call this muscle our rear delt, this is a little part but very essential to train because it helps to create the fullness and rounded shape of the shoulder. Especially, when you look at the shoulder from the back, the presence of this muscle feels like the finishing touch of a masterpiece. The rear head basically helps in moving the arm back and horizontal abduction.

 Trapezius Muscle

The trapezius or traps is a muscle that extends from the neck to the middle of the back. It not only strengthens the shoulder but also helps to keep the posture correct and reduces the risk of injury.
This is actually a very large muscle. And a study shows us this large muscle is actually divided into three parts.

Upper Traps: Helps to raise the shoulders and increases the strength of the neck.

Middle Traps: Helps to stabilize the scapula (backbone), which improves the back pose.

Lower Traps: Helps to stabilize the lower back, which maintains the overall balance of the body. 

Warm-up for Shoulder Workouts

The shoulder is a part that works in almost every upper-body movement, like pushing, pulling, or weightlifting. However, shoulder is a very sensitive part and increases the risk of injury if not properly prepared.

With a warm-up, the shoulder joints and muscles get activated, and blood circulation increases, which helps protect you from injury. If the shoulder works without warming up, it can put extra pressure on the body, which increases the risk of injury.

A meta-analysis study found that warming up improved physical performance. Researchers analysed 32 high-quality studies and found that warm-up can increase performance in about 79%.

These are some warm-up and stretching techniques

• Dynamic stretching: rotation of the large circle of the hand,
• Shoulder rotation.
• Light weight lifting: shoulder press or arm raise with a light dumbbell or barbell.

The shoulder is the only part of your body that, if you warm up and activate properly, you can connect the highest level of your mind-muscle connection. So never ignore this part before starting any shoulder movement.

Front Delt Shoulder Workouts

 1. Overhead shoulder press (Dumbbell/Barbell)

The overhead shoulder press works on all parts of your shoulder, but it is especially beneficial for the front delts. It also puts some pressure on your upper chest and triceps.

Performance guideline:

• Take an adjustable bench and place it at around 75 degrees, and sit on it.
• Take two dumbbells or a Barbell and put the weight according to your capacity.
• Place the dumbbells on the sides of your shoulders, and tuck your elbows inward a little bit, around 10-15 degrees.
• Keep your shoulders straight and push the weight up over your shoulder, not over your head.
• Exhale as you lift the barbell at the top.
• After reaching the top, feel the contraction, then slowly lower the weight and inhale.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Keep the body stuck to the bench while pushing up and use the dumbbells in full range.
• It is important to keep proper control when lowering the weight, so as to put more pressure on the muscles.
•  Try to do a few partial reps at the end, so that there is continuous tension in the muscles

2. The Arnold Press

The Arnold press is a powerful exercise, which is an advanced version of the shoulder press. It is very useful for the front deltoids and increases shoulder mobility.

Performance guideline:

• Take the dumbbells in both hands and keep them in the crooked position
• Keep the dumbbells close to the shoulders, and the elbows will be slightly out.
• Raise the dumbbells by rotating at the top, and breathe out.
• Now slowly lower the dumbbell by rotating back into the starting position, and breathe in.
• Keep the head and shoulders straight, otherwise, you may put pressure on the lower back or neck.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Rotating the dumbbells will put pressure on all the muscles of the shoulder. While pushing the dumbbells, keep the pressure on the entire range so that all the aspects of the exercise work properly.
• Use only the shoulder muscles, keeping the other parts of the body straight.

3. Front Raises (Dumbbell / Barbell)

Front raise is basically an isolation exercise for the front deltoids. It increases both the definition and strength of your front shoulder.

Performance guideline:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells or a barbell in your hands, and the weight is according to your capacity.
• Put your hands straight in front of the dumbbell or barbell,  and your elbows should be slightly bent.
• Now raise the weight to your shoulder level by keeping your arms extended but not locked, and breathe out at the top.
• After reaching the shoulder level, hold for a second, then slowly lower it. Breathe in as you lower.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Keep the arms straight, but the angle of the elbows should be 10-15 degrees bent, so you can feel the pressure on your shoulders.
• While lowering the weight, lower it in a controlled way so that you can continuously keep the tension on your front delt.
• Concentrate on the shoulder muscles throughout the exercise.

Side Delt Workouts for Shoulder Width

4. Incline lateral raises

 It’s one of the best workouts for the shoulder that targets the middle delt muscle separately and helps to increase the width and add volume to your shoulders. Using an incline bench puts more pressure on the shoulder muscles, which gives better results.

Performance guideline:

• Sit on an inclined bench (30-45 degrees).
• Take the dumbbells in hand and hang the hands down, the elbows will be slightly bent.
• Slowly lift the dumbbells to the side until they reach parallel to the level of your shoulder and breathe out.
• Hold for a few seconds and then lower slowly and breathe in.
•  Reps and sets: 4-5 sets, 12-15 reps.

Advance tips:

• Get up fast and down slowly, so that there is tension in the muscles and the speed is controlled.
• Keep the body stable, avoid excessive swinging, to avoid other muscles’ involvement, like traps.
• Stop parallel to the shoulder, so that the traps do not work too much and the pure mid-delts are targeted.

5. Dumbbell lateral raises

Dumbbell lateral raise is another most effective shoulder workouts, which helps to build a wide and attractive shape of the shoulder. It especially strengthens the middle deltoids, which makes the shoulder structure look more well-formed and broad.

Performance guideline:

• Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips.
• Your arm should be slightly bent around 10-15 degrees.
• Then raise your arms to the level of your head.
• Hold for a few seconds and exhale.
• Then slowly bring it to the starting position and inhale.
• Reps and sets: 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps.

Advance tips:

• Do not keep the hands straight; keep a little fold so that there is pressure on the shoulders.
• Do controlled movements, do not swing so as not to put pressure on the back.
• You can add partial reps at the end, or you can go for a drop set to get the maximum result 

6. Upright Row

Upright row is an exercise that strengthens the middle and rear deltoids of the shoulder and improves the traps. It helps to give the shoulder a stronger and more definite shape.

Performance guideline:

• Hold the barbell or dumbbell in your hand and keep your feet shoulder-width apart.
• The hands should be in front of the body holding by holding the weight.
• Bring your elbows up to your upper chest, keeping your elbows as high as possible, and breathe out.
• Then hold for a second and feel the contraction, now slowly lower the weight by breathing in.
• Reps and sets: 4-5 sets, 8-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Elevate the elbow to the maximum height, not the hand, so that the mid delts work well.
• Don’t overstretch, it can put extra pressure on your shoulder, which can lead to injury.
• Slowly lower down, so that you have control over your shoulders and maintain balance.

7. Cable Lateral Raises

Cable lateral raises work in the same way as the dumbbell lateral raise, but it has more constant tension, which is very effective for improving the muscle. This is especially good for those who want to better isolate the middle delts.

Guidelines for performance:

• Adjust the pulley to your knee level.
• Then hold the grip from behind with one hand and hang by holding the machine with the other hand.
• Raise your arms above your shoulders and breathe out.
• Then slowly lower the grip (because during this exercise, you won’t feel the maximum contraction at the top; rather, while lowering the hand, you can feel the peak contraction) and inhale.
•  Reps and sets: 4-5 sets, 10-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Use your hands in full range, and keep control while lowering so that you can feel constant tension.
• Keep the body fixed, and avoid excessive swinging so that pure mid delts are targeted.
• You can only stand a little away from the machine to increase the resistance, it will feel the load more.

Rear Delt Focused Shoulder Workouts

8. The Bent Over Rear Delt Fly

Bent over rear delt fly is an important exercise aimed at the rear deltoids of the shoulder. It especially strengthens the back delts and helps improve overall shoulder balance, which is helpful in maintaining good posture and gives your shoulder a well-rounded 3d look.

Performance guideline:

• Bend your knees slightly and keep your feet flat on the floor.
• Bend the body forward (90 degrees).
• Take the dumbbell in your hand, keep the elbow slightly bent, and lift it towards the side.
• Raise your arms above your shoulders, and breathe out.
• Hold for a few seconds, then slowly bring the weight back into the starting position and breathe in.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps.

Advance tips:

• There is no need to take heavy weights because the rear delts are small muscles.
• Do not swing; keep the whole movement under control.
• You can try pulse reps, to bring more burn to the rear delts at the end.

9. The rear cable Delt Fly

Cable rear delt fly is a remarkable isolation exercise, which improves the structure of the rear delts with constant tension. This helps to better define the back delts.

Performance guideline:

• Simply hold the top-pulley grip of the crossover machine (left cable in the right hand, right cable in the left hand).
• Bend your knees slightly and keep your feet straight.
• Keep the hands slightly bent and pull only till they are equal to the shoulders and breathe out.
• Then slowly release the grip into the starting position and breathe in.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Just pull slowly, so that the rear delts are fully activated.
• You can add drop sets at the end of the set to bring more burn to the rear delts.
• Control the speed of the hand, so that the traps do not get too involved.

10. Face Pulls

Face pulls are one of the best exercises for the rear delts, traps and rotator cuff, which increases the stability and strength of the shoulder. This helps to maintain the correct posture and prevents injury.

Performance guideline:

• Simply attach the rope and adjust the height of the machine to the same height as the forehead in the front.
• Hold the edge of the rope with both hands, with your hands at shoulder height.
• Keep the elbows towards the outside, pull them towards your face only, squeeze the muscle, and breathe out.
• Then slowly release the rope and breathe in.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Keep the elbows outward, so that the rear delts are properly activated.
• Try to pull with the shoulder, not the hand, so that the rotator cuffs and delts are more active.
• Keep the form right without lifting heavy weights, so that the rear delts work perfectly.

11. Reverse Pec Deck Fly

Reverse pec deck fly is the best machine exercise to isolate the rear delts. It helps to strengthen the back delts and adds fullness to the back of the shoulders.
Performance guideline:

• Sit on the pack deck machine, and put it on the chest pad.
• Hold the grip with both hands and keep the hands slightly bent.
• Move the hands to the back until the scapula is fully compressed and breathe out.
• Then slowly bring them into the starting position and breathe in.
• Reps and sets: 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Advance tips:

• Keep the focus on the back of the shoulder, so that the traps do not get too involved.
• Slow down, so that there is maximum tension in the muscles.
• Keep your form right, because if you do it in the wrong form, the risk of injury will increase. You can stand a little away from the shin, it will feel the load more.

Trap-Focused Shoulder Workouts

12. Shrugs (Dumbbell / Barbell)

Shrugs are the most effective exercise for the trapezius muscles. It especially strengthens the upper traps, which helps make the shoulders appear wider and firmer. Strong traps are very important in sports such as backpacking, weight lifting, or rugby.

Performance guideline:

• Stand straight with a dumbbell or barbell, feet shoulder-width apart.
• Just lift the shoulders, try to lift at the ears position as much as possible, squeeze the muscles, and breathe out.
• Then release the weight and breathe in.    
• Reps and sets: 4-5 sets, 12-15 reps, 8-10 reps can be done if you take a heavyweight.

Advance tips:

• Maintain control if you are not lifting overweight, so as not to lose form.
• Do not move other parts than the shoulders, especially the neck or back.
• Time under tension (TUT): Hold the position for at least 1-2 seconds.
• You can use a Smith machine, which keeps the balance good.

13. Behind the back shrugs

Behind-the-back shrugs is another great exercise for traps, targeting the middle and lower traps. It helps to create a good connection between the neck and shoulders and improves posture.

Performance guideline:

• Hold the barbell backward (this can also be done on the Smith machine).
• Stand straight and keep your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Just lift your shoulders by slightly bending your elbows, but don’t move your neck, and breathe out.
• Then lower the weight and breathe in.
• Reps and sets: 4-5 sets, 12-15 reps.

Advance tips:

• Keep the body lean slightly forward so that the traps are fully active.
• Concentrate on control movements rather than taking heavy weights, this will reduce the risk of pain or injury.
• Hold at the end of the set, so that the tension is higher.

Cool Down and Stretch After Shoulder Workouts

It is not advisable to rest directly after a shoulder workout. This can strain the muscles and increase the risk of injury. Therefore, cooling down and stretching play an important role, which helps to relax the muscles and speed up recovery. Static stretching where each stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Some shoulder stretches are,

Cross Chest Shoulder Stretch:  Keep one arm straight and pull it from the elbow with the other hand, so that the back of the shoulder is stretched well.

Behind-the-back Stretch: Put one hand behind the back, the other hand up and try to hold the two hands together behind the back. This increases the mobility of the shoulder.

Doorway Stretch: Hold the frame of the door and push the body forward, so that the anterior delts and chest stretches.

Trap and Neck Stretch: Tilt the head to one side and lightly pull on the opposite side, so that the traps and neck muscles are relaxed.

Stretching for just 5-10 minutes will increase shoulder flexibility, speed muscle recovery, reduce stiffness, and reduce the risk of injury.

Sample Shoulder Workouts Plan 

Beginner Shoulder Workouts for Strength and Shape,

Intermediate Shoulder Workouts to Build Width and Power,

Tips for Shoulder Workouts Progression

When it comes to the shoulder, ego lifting is useless. Here, it is most important to choose the right weight, control movements, and maintain a 100 % mind-muscle connection.

First of all, always choose a weight that you can fully control. Incorrect form or extremely heavy weight can put more strain on the shoulder joint, which increases the risk of injury. So, exercise using the full range of motion.

Our shoulder is made up of seven separate muscles, which are divided into three main parts. So, add different variations of different exercises for the full improvement of the shoulder. By doing this, each muscle will get stimulation from different angles and the improvement will be faster.

Another important factor is the overload. Instead of focusing on gaining weight every time, focus on control and perfect technique. Do each rep slowly, with full contraction. This will activate the shoulder muscles more effectively and the improvement will be visible.

At the same time, something new must be added to the shoulder workout. Following the same routine for a longer period of time can hinder muscle growth. So, change the exercises and angles with time so that the shoulder muscles are challenged from all sides.

The Bottom Line

Building strong, well-formed, and balanced shoulders requires not only hard work but also the right technique, patience, and consistency. People always want to get results quickly, but the shoulder is a muscle that develops slowly. If you pay 100% attention to each shoulder workouts, maintain the mind-muscle connection, and add the right variations, then you’ll definitely see results faster.

There is no place for ego lifting in shoulder training. Your main goal should be to keep the form right, keep the weight under control, and hit the muscle from different angles. Be patient, follow the rules, and most importantly, give yourself time.

There is only one key to success – consistency. If you continue to practice with the right plan, you will see visible improvements in your shoulder over time. And at the end of the day, a strong shoulder not only looks good, but it also makes you more confident and capable.