Broaden your shoulders and improve upper body symmetry
Best Side Delt workouts
The side delts, or lateral deltoids, are responsible for the width and rounded shape of your shoulders. Well-developed side delts enhance upper body aesthetics and play a functional role in shoulder abduction and stabilization. These workouts focus on isolating the lateral delts using exercises like lateral raises, upright rows, and overhead presses. Whether you're training for appearance or performance, strong side delts contribute to balanced, injury-resistant shoulders.
Workout 1 Side delts (Strength & Width)
This side delt workout builds broader shoulders and shoulder width using lateral raise variations that target the side of your shoulders. You'll do 4 sets of 10-12 reps on most exercises, focusing on controlled movements that really make your side delts burn. The workout progresses from basic lateral raises to more challenging variations like bent-arm raises to fully develop the muscles that create shoulder width.
Pike Push Up
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Rear Lateral Raise
Bent Arm Lateral Raise
Improve shoulder stability, strength and aesthetics
The benefits of Side Delt workouts
Training your side delts increases shoulder width and improves the visual proportion between your upper and lower body. Strong lateral deltoids also support compound lifts like overhead presses by stabilizing the shoulder joint. Incorporating side delt exercises helps prevent imbalances that can lead to injury or restricted mobility, especially if your routine already includes a lot of front or rear delt activation.
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Workout 2 Side delts (Precision & endurance)
This side delt workout focuses on perfect form and building stamina in your side delts using controlled movements and higher rep ranges (10-12 reps). You'll do single-arm exercises and different angles of lateral raises to really focus on each shoulder working properly and build the muscle endurance needed for repeated efforts. The workout emphasizes feeling every rep and maintaining perfect control rather than just moving heavy weights.
Inchworm
Extension Of Arms In Vertical Stretch
Cable One Arm Lateral Raise
Lever Lateral Raise
Cable Leaning Lateral Raise
Frequently asked questions: best Side Delt workouts
Yes, to a degree. Strengthening the side delts supports the shoulder joint and helps prevent imbalance-related injuries. However, if you’re experiencing ongoing pain, it’s important to address the root cause with mobility work or professional guidance.
No. Dumbbells and resistance bands are highly effective for training side delts. Cables offer continuous tension, which can be a bonus, but aren’t necessary. Properly performed lateral raises with free weights often yield great results.
Common reasons include using weights that are too heavy (causing momentum to take over), poor mind-muscle connection, and not varying angles or resistance. Focus on strict form, slow tempo, and full range of motion to better activate the muscle.
Side delts can be trained 1–2 times per week with 3–4 sets of focused isolation work. If you do a lot of pressing, you may already be hitting them indirectly, but dedicated lateral raises ensure targeted stimulation for growth and symmetry.
The most effective side delt exercises include dumbbell lateral raises, cable lateral raises, upright rows (with proper form), and overhead presses. These movements target shoulder abduction, which directly engages the lateral delts.
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