Who doesn’t want shoulders that look like they could carry the world? Building-wide, bowling ball shoulders isn’t entirely about aesthetics—it’s about boosting your overall strength, enhancing your posture, and, okay, fine, adding that superhero silhouette to your physique.
Whether you’re looking to fill out your favorite T-shirt or simply want to feel like a titan at the gym, we’ve got you covered. Get ready to check out the best exercises that will transform your shoulders into broad, sculpted masterpieces. Let’s turn those narrow shoulders into boulders!
The 4 Best Exercises For Wider Shoulders
Below you’ll find my favorite four exercises along with video demonstrations.
1. Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Unsurprisingly, lateral raises are the go-to when looking for that side delt pump.
We love them because you can use so much variety when busting out some sets. A simple slight lean forward can change the feeling of the exercise.
Pro Tip: If you are feeling adventurous, play with changing the angle your arms raise. Bring them forward slightly instead of going perfectly out to the side (like you’re making a T with your body and arms). You’ll have to play with the angle to find what works best.
Interestingly, a study found that performing lateral raises with a straight arm rather than a flexed elbow gave the best results.¹
So, drop some weight if you need to, and really focus on using your delts to move the weight rather than momentum.
2. Cable Lateral Raises
Yes, we’re counting this as a different exercise because it is. While it does use the same motion (for the most part), the constant tension of the cable machine on your shoulders gives an extra level of difficulty and increases time under tension.
You can do countless variations of cable lateral raises, each hitting a bit of a different angle on the small muscle clusters in your delts.
Whatever you decide to do, remember to ensure you’re getting a good stretch at the bottom of the movement.
Pro Tip: Since watching a video with one of Canada’s favorites, Jeff Nippard, I make sure to raise the cable to about hip level to get my arm to a 90º angle, which will provide the most tension, making it a more effective exercise.
Related: Best Cable Shoulder Exercises
3. Upright Rows
This pick is a little controversial. We have trainers on staff who have arguments about whether upright rows are an effective exercise.
Listen, if you have shoulder issues and this movement hurts, DON’T DO THEM.
But if you have no problems, these bad boys are fantastic for a side delt workout. The versatility alone is tremendous: dumbbell, barbell, smith machine, cable, resistance band, kettlebell. No matter what your preferred method of moving weight is, you can do an upright row with it.
Pro Tip: If you want to get the most out of it, a wide grip is the way to go. A study found that a wide grip was significantly more effective in recruiting the lateral delt than a close grip or even hands shoulder-width apart.²
4. Arnold Press
One of my favorite exercises, the Arnold Press, hits all three heads of the shoulders in one movement. Although it’s not the most effective exercise to hit the lateral delts, it still does.
If you plan on using a pressing movement on your shoulder day, this should be the one. A study comparing Arnold Press and overhead DB press confirms that you get more muscle activation out of the Arnold Press.³
So do yourself a favor, emulate one of, if not the best, bodybuilder ever, and start cranking these out during your workouts.
Related: Arnold Press vs Shoulder Press
4 Common Mistakes When Working Side Delts
I’m going to preface this by saying I’ve been guilty of doing all of these in my 20 years of lifting weights. But it’s never too late to course correct and get the most out of your workouts.
1. Not Warming Up Properly
This should be common sense, but as someone who had to take a little time out of the gym after some shoulder issues, I’m going to say it anyway: DON’T RUSH YOUR WARM-UP.
There are four muscles in your rotator cuff, five in your shoulder girdle, and three deltoid heads. That’s a lot that can go wrong if you don’t make sure everything is primed and ready to go.
Take a simple 10 minute dynamic warm up to make sure your joints are loose and feeling good. Warming up is also a great time to discover any pain points you need to be aware of before diving into your workout.
2. Going too heavy
Yeah, everyone wants to throw around heavy weights. I can remember the first time I saw someone doing lateral raises with 60lb dumbbells and being absolutely floored.
Immediately, I thought I needed to move around super heavy dumbbells to see any results on my side delts. While yes, using challenging weights will help trigger growth, you’re also more likely to use other muscle groups to get the weight moving, which leads us to our next mistake.
3. Loose form
I don’t mean it is as extreme as flailing around like an inflatable in front of a car dealership, but I can guarantee that every single one of you reading this has put a little body swing on some dumbbell side raises.
A little swing can be tempting to be able to move serious weight, but like stated above, this is going to bring other muscle groups into it, and take some of the tension off the muscle you’re trying to work.
Something else I see a lot at the gym is people bringing their traps into the movement. If you’re trying to hit your shoulders, keep those traps down!
4. Not Pushing Yourself
Too often, people fall into the rut of, “I need to do exactly what this workout says, with no deviation.” That includes stopping at rep 10 when you know you could get another 3 solid reps out.
I saw real progress when I took my shoulder workouts to the limit. Since I started doing a drop-set to failure after my last set of DB lateral raises, I’ve seen more progress in my side delts than I did for the majority of my training career.
The biggest hurdle you’ll need to face is the mental one. Yes, it burns, but you can squeeze out another rep or two if you dig deep enough.
Sample Workout For Wider Shoulders
Just because you want to get wider doesn’t mean you should ignore your other deltoids. Here’s a workout that will hit all the heads but puts special focus on the side deltoids.
EXERCISE
SETS/REPS/REST
Arnold Press
2 Warm-Up Sets
4 Sets x 8-12 Reps
*Rest 90 sec
Weighted Steering Wheel
3 Sets x 10-12 Reps
*Rest 30-60 sec
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
3 Sets x 10-12 Reps
Perform drop set after 3rd set to failure. Wait 10 secs then do partial reps to failure
*Rest 90 sec (except drop set)
Cable Lateral Raise
3 Sets x 10-12 Reps (each arm)
Tip: Go lighter & pause at the top before a controlled negative
*Rest 30 secs after finishing both arms
Upright Rows x Face Pulls
Superset: 3 Sets x 10-12 Reps
*Rest 45-60 sec between supersets
Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Fly
4 Sets x 10-12 Reps
*Rest 60 sec
Wrap Up
Achieving impressive wide delts isn’t just about pumping iron—it’s about smart, targeted training. Incorporate some of the best lateral delt exercises like raises, cable raises, and the almighty Arnold Press into your routine, and you’ll soon be strutting with shoulders that will push the structural integrity of your t-shirts.
Remember, consistency is key, so keep challenging those muscles and watch your delts grow. If you stick with it, you’ll have to turn sideways to walk through doorways in no time! So, grab those weights, hit the gym, and let your delts do the talking.
Want more exercises to sculpt your shoulders? Explore our full collection of shoulder exercises!
References
Coratella, Giuseppe, et al. “An Electromyographic Analysis of Lateral Raise Variations and Frontal Raise in Competitive Bodybuilders.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 17, 19 Aug. 2020, p. 6015, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176015.
McAllister, Matthew J., et al. “Effect of Grip Width on Electromyographic Activity during the Upright Row.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, vol. 27, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2013, pp. 181–187, journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2013/01000/Effect_of_Grip_Width_on_Electromyographic_Activity.25.aspx, https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31824f23ad.
Raizada, Shiny & Bagchi, Amritashish. (2017). Comparison among the EMG Activity of the Anterior Deltoid and Medial Deltoid During Two Variations of Dumbbell Shoulder Press Exercise. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development. 8. 653. 10.5958/0976-5506.2017.00411.9.
