Every muscle on the body is important when it comes to building a well rounded physique, but if you want to look as big and wide as possible, muscular shoulders are particularly important.

A thick set of delts will give your upper body a strong, powerful look, and will also contribute to the illusion of having a smaller waistline.

The shoulders are made up of 3 individual heads:

1) The anterior head. (The front of the shoulder)
2) The lateral head. (The middle of the shoulder)
3) The posterior head. (The back of the shoulder)

The 3 Best Shoulder Exercises For Men

For optimal shoulder development, all 3 heads need to be maximally developed. You can accomplish this using one exercise per head.

Here are the best shoulder exercises for men to fully develop all 3 heads…

Exercise #1: The Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press

This is the bread and butter of overall shoulder development and targets both the anterior and lateral heads effectively.

You’ll simply sit against a vertical bench and press a set of dumbbells directly over head.

Dumbbells are superior to barbells for this movement because they allow each arm to move independently (this allows for balanced development) and reduces the stress on the shoulder joint.

Start your shoulder workout with 3-4 sets of seated overhead dumbbell presses, performing 5-7 reps per set.

Exercise #2: Cable Side Lateral Raise

This exercise is second on the list of the best shoulder exercises for men and isolates the lateral head to give your shoulders maximum width.

You’ll stand with a cable at your side and raise the handle up until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Keep a slow and controlled cadence for this lift and focus on squeezing your shoulder at the top of each rep.

Cables are superior to dumbbells for this exercise because they keep the tension on the shoulder from the bottom of the movement all the way to the top. When using dumbbells, the tension leaves the shoulder at the bottom of the range of motion.

Perform 3-4 sets of cable side laterals after your overhead presses, performing 8-10 reps per set.

Exercise #3: Bent Over Cable Rear Lateral Raise

Finally, you’ll want to isolate the posterior head of your shoulder with a bent over cable rear lateral raise.

This lift is similar to the side lateral raise, except that you’ll want to start off in a bent over position with your upper body at about a 70 degree angle to the ground. You’ll then raise the weight out to your side to hammer the rear head of your shoulder.

After your side laterals are done, perform 3-4 sets of this exercise with 8-10 reps per set to finish off your shoulder session.

Your Complete Shoulder Building Routine

To sum it all up, here is your fully structured shoulder workout for maximizing the growth and development of your delts…

Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press – 3-4 sets of 5-7 reps
Standing Cable Side Lateral Raise – 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps
Bent Over Cable Rear Lateral Raise – 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps

– Sean

Here’s what to do next…

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