The shoulder workout you run from your Apple Watch

Heavy press, front and side delts

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

The press you can load heaviest and progress longest, so it anchors the week's pressing strength. It trains the front delts hardest and the side delts with them.

How to do it

1. Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over elbows.
2. Step back, feet hip-width, and brace your abs and glutes so your ribs stay down.
3. Press the bar straight up, moving your head back slightly so the bar clears your chin, then push your head through once it passes your forehead.
4. Finish with the bar over your mid-foot and arms locked, then lower it under control to your upper chest.

Cues

• Ribs down, glutes tight
• Bar close to your face
• Head through at the top

Common mistakes

• Leaning back to finish reps turns it into an incline press. Lower the weight until your torso stays vertical.
• Pressing the bar forward around your face. Pull your chin back and press the bar straight up.

Swap for: Seated Barbell Overhead Press, Smith Machine Shoulder Press, Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Side delts

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Shoulders

Presses barely reach your side delts, and they are what make your shoulders look wider, so they get direct sets on press day and at home.

How to do it

1. Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. Lean forward very slightly and keep a soft bend in your elbows.
3. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides until your arms are about level with your shoulders.
4. Lower slowly to your sides.

Cues

• Push the weights out to the walls
• Lead with your elbows
• Slow down, no swinging

Common mistakes

• Swinging heavy dumbbells with your hips: use a weight you can lift with your arms alone.
• Shrugging as you raise: keep your shoulders down and away from your ears.

Swap for: Cable Lateral Raise, Machine Lateral Raise, Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Rear delts

Reverse Pec Deck

Shoulders

Rear delts round out the back of your shoulder and get little from pressing, so they need their own sets.

How to do it

1. Set the handles all the way back and sit facing the pad, chest against it.
2. Grab the handles with straight arms at shoulder height.
3. Sweep your arms out and back until they line up with your body.
4. Return slowly until your hands nearly meet in front.

Cues

• Sweep wide
• Arms long
• Pause at the back

Common mistakes

• Squeezing your shoulder blades together: keep them still so your rear delts do the work.
• Bending your elbows to move more weight: lighten the stack and keep your arms long.

Swap for: Face Pull, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Rear delts and middle traps

Face Pull

Shoulders, Upper Back

Face pulls train the muscles that pull your shoulder blades back and rotate your arms outward, which rows alone leave under-trained. They take little recovery, so you can do them at higher reps at the end of the session.

How to do it

1. Set a rope on a cable pulley at about forehead height.
2. Grab the rope with thumbs pointing back toward you and step back until your arms are straight.
3. Pull the rope toward your face, splitting the ends apart so your hands finish beside your ears.
4. Return to straight arms under control.

Cues

• Pull the rope apart
• Hands finish by your ears
• Elbows high

Common mistakes

• Leaning back and using bodyweight: stand tall and use a weight you can hold at the end for a second.
• Pulling to your chin with elbows low: raise the pulley or your elbows so it doesn't turn into a row.

Swap for: Dumbbell Face Pull, Band Face Pull, TRX Face Pull

Shoulder press on a fixed path

Machine Shoulder Press

Shoulders

The backrest and fixed path let you push your shoulders close to failure without balancing a weight.

How to do it

1. Set the seat so the handles start at about shoulder height.
2. Sit with your back flat against the pad, feet planted, and grip the handles.
3. Press up until your arms are nearly straight overhead.
4. Lower the handles back to shoulder height under control and press again.

Cues

• Back stays on the pad
• Press up, not forward
• Control the way down

Common mistakes

• Arching hard off the backrest to finish a rep: lighten the stack and keep your ribs down.
• Cutting the rep short at the top: finish each press with your arms almost fully straight.
• Letting the stack rest between reps: stop the handles just above it so your shoulders stay loaded.

Side delts with tension at the bottom

Cable Lateral Raise

Shoulders

A cable keeps pulling where a dumbbell goes slack, so the side delt works from the very first inch of the rep. Small stack increments also make progress easier than jumping a dumbbell size.

How to do it

1. Set both pulleys of a crossover at the lowest position and stand in the middle.
2. Hold the left handle in your right hand and the right one in your left, so the cables cross in front of your body.
3. Raise both arms out to the sides until your upper arms are about level with your shoulders.
4. Lower slowly until the handles cross again in front of your thighs, then start the next rep.
5. With one free pulley, stand side-on and raise one arm at a time, finishing your sets on one side before switching.

Cues

• Arms out wide, not forward
• Slow on the way down
• Stay tall, no leaning away to cheat

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows more as the set goes on, which shortens the lever. Lock a soft bend and keep it.
• Rushing the lowering half. Take about two seconds down.

Swap for: Leaning Cable Lateral Raise, Machine Lateral Raise, Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Side delts, easy to push hard

Machine Lateral Raise

Shoulders

The pads take your hands and torso out of it, so you can take sets close to failure without form breaking down. It is the easiest place to add more side delt sets.

How to do it

1. Set the seat so the machine's pivot lines up with your shoulder joint.
2. Sit with your chest against the pad and your upper arms resting against the arm pads.
3. Drive your elbows out and up until your upper arms are about level with your shoulders.
4. Lower until the weight stack almost touches, then go again.

Cues

• Push with your elbows, not your hands
• Chest stays on the pad
• Pause briefly at the top

Common mistakes

• Seat set too low or too high, so the arm path feels awkward. Line the pivot up with your shoulder first.
• Letting the stack rest between reps. Keep it just off the bottom.

Swap for: Cable Lateral Raise, Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise, Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Overhead press, shoulders

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

It trains the shoulders directly and balances all the forward pressing. Sitting with your back supported keeps the lift simple while you learn it.

How to do it

1. Sit on a bench or sturdy chair with your back supported and a dumbbell at each shoulder, palms facing forward.
2. Brace your stomach so your lower back stays against the support.
3. Press the dumbbells up until your arms are straight overhead, bringing them slightly together at the top.
4. Lower them back to shoulder height under control.

Cues

• Ribs down
• Forearms vertical
• Finish over your head, not in front

Common mistakes

• Arching your back to finish the rep. Use a lighter pair until your back stays put.
• Stopping the lowering at your ears. Bring the dumbbells all the way to your shoulders.

Swap for: Machine Shoulder Press, Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Pike Push-Up

Rear delts with dumbbells only

Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Shoulders

Sitting and leaning over your thighs locks your torso, so you get a clean rear delt fly with nothing but dumbbells and a seat.

How to do it

1. Sit on the end of a bench or sturdy chair and lean forward until your chest nearly touches your thighs.
2. Let the dumbbells hang under your legs, palms facing each other, elbows softly bent.
3. Sweep the dumbbells out wide in an arc until your arms are about level with your torso.
4. Lower slowly back under your legs without letting your chest rise.

Cues

• Chest stays on your thighs
• Wide arc, soft elbows
• Light weight, slow reps

Common mistakes

• Sitting up as the set gets hard, which makes it a lateral raise. Keep your chest down.
• Bending the elbows into a row. Fix the elbow angle at the start and keep it.

Swap for: Incline Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise, Band Rear Delt Fly, Reverse Pec Deck

Overhead press with no weights

Pike Push-Up

Shoulders

With your hips high, the push-up becomes a vertical press for your shoulders and triceps. Raising your feet onto a chair moves you closer to a handstand push-up.

How to do it

1. Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet in and lift your hips until your body makes an upside-down V.
2. Set your hands a bit wider than shoulder width, head between your arms.
3. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a spot just in front of your hands.
4. Press back up to straight arms, keeping your hips high.

Cues

• Head forms a triangle with your hands
• Hips stay over your shoulders

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips drop into a regular push-up: walk your feet closer.
• Cutting the range short: lower until your head is near the floor.

Swap for: Handstand Push-Up, Decline Push-Up