The best workout for shoulders, for your situation
Published October 11, 2026
The best shoulder workout pairs one press with lateral raises and a rear delt fly, done twice a week for about 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle. Chest pressing already works your front delts, so put most of your sets into side delts for width and rear delts for the back of the shoulder. If pressing overhead hurts, swap it for a landmine press and keep the raises.
Intermediate lifters with barbells, cables and machines who want bigger shoulders from two focused sessions a week.
You can load an overhead press heavy, so day A builds pressing strength at 6 to 10 reps and day B adds dumbbell pressing for more volume. Most of the remaining sets go to side and rear delts, which chest pressing barely reaches and which need direct work to keep up. That works out to about 10 weekly sets for side delts and 8 for rear delts, inside the range that keeps paying off for intermediates.
Run Shoulders A and Shoulders B on separate days, at least two days apart. They fit at the end of a push and a pull day, or as two short standalone sessions.
How to progress
Use double progression: when every set reaches the top of the rep range at the target RIR, add the smallest available weight next session. On raises, add reps first, since one dumbbell jump is a big percentage of the load.
Lifters whose shoulders complain under overhead pressing, or who already bench and incline press twice a week.
Chest pressing already works your front delts hard but barely reaches the side and rear delts, so this plan drops overhead pressing and spends its sets where the gap is. The one press is a landmine press, whose angled path avoids locking out overhead. Side delts get about 10 weekly sets and rear delts about 8 from cables and machines, which let you train close to failure without the joint taking the strain.
Push Day Shoulder Add-On
Exercise
Sets × reps
RIR
Rest
Landmine Press1 warm-up set firstPress up and forward, reach long at the top
Add the push add-on to the end of a chest or push day and the pull add-on to the end of a back or pull day.
How to progress
Add reps within the range first, then the next stack plate once every set hits the top at the target RIR. If a lift starts to pinch, drop the load and keep the reps rather than pushing through it.
Lifters in their first year who train at home with a pair of dumbbells and a bench or sturdy chair.
Newer lifters grow from less volume and are still learning each lift, so this is one short session with sets stopped two reps shy of failure. Raises and flies are paired as a superset to keep the session short. Run twice a week, it gives about 6 sets of pressing, 6 for side delts and 10 for rear delts, with the presses adding more side delt work.
Do this session twice a week with at least two days between, for example Monday and Thursday, on top of whatever full-body or upper-body training you already do.
How to progress
Hit the top of every rep range at 2 RIR before moving to the next dumbbell. If your dumbbells jump too far for raises, add a set instead, up to one extra per exercise.
Rear delts get almost nothing from pressing and only a little from rows, so they need their own sets: 8 to 12 a week, 12 to 20 reps, twice a week. Keep your arms long and sweep them out to the sides instead of squeezing your shoulder blades together, or your mid-back takes the work. Every plan on this page has them.
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
Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over elbows.
Step back, feet hip-width, and brace your abs and glutes so your ribs stay down.
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.
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 keep the bar path straight up.
The back pad removes balance and lower-back strain, so all the effort goes into the delts and triceps. Each arm moves on its own path, which most shoulders tolerate better than a fixed bar.
How to do it
Set an adjustable bench just short of upright and sit with your back and head on the pad.
Kick the dumbbells up to shoulder height, elbows slightly in front of your body and forearms vertical.
Press up and slightly in until the dumbbells nearly touch above your head.
Lower until the handles reach about ear to chin height, then press again without bouncing.
Cues
Forearms vertical
Elbows a little forward, not flared flat
Back stays on the pad
Common mistakes
Cutting the bottom short as the set gets hard. Pick a weight you can lower to the same depth every rep.
Arching off the pad to grind out reps. Stop the set at your target RIR instead.
The bar travels up and forward in an arc, so you press hard without locking your arm straight overhead. It is the press to keep when overhead work pinches.
How to do it
Wedge one end of a barbell into a landmine or a corner and load the other end.
Stand in a staggered stance and hold the sleeve end at your shoulder with one hand.
Press up and forward along the bar's arc until your arm is straight, letting your shoulder blade move around your ribcage.
Lower back to your shoulder under control and finish all reps before switching sides.
Cues
Reach long at the top
Ribs down, hips square
Elbow starts in front, not out to the side
Common mistakes
Twisting the torso to move the bar. Brace and keep your hips facing forward, or kneel to lock them in.
Shortening the reach at the top. Let the shoulder blade glide forward so the delt finishes the rep.
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
Set a single handle at the lowest pulley and stand side-on to the machine.
Grab the handle with the far hand so the cable runs across the front of your body.
Raise your arm out to the side until your upper arm is about level with your shoulder.
Lower slowly until your hand crosses just past your hip, then finish all reps before switching arms.
Cues
Arm out wide, not forward
Slow on the way down
Stay tall, no leaning away to cheat
Common mistakes
Bending the elbow 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.
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 safest place to add more side delt sets.
How to do it
Set the seat so the machine's pivot lines up with your shoulder joint.
Sit with your chest against the pad and the outside of your upper arms on the arm pads.
Drive your elbows out and up until your upper arms are about level with your shoulders.
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.
The machine fixes your body and the arm path, so the rear delt does the work instead of your back. It handles high reps close to failure without technique drifting.
How to do it
Set the handles to the rear position and adjust the seat so the handles sit at shoulder height.
Sit facing the pad and grab the handles with your arms straight out in front, palms down or facing each other.
Sweep your arms out and back in a wide arc until they line up with your body.
Return under control until your hands are nearly in front of you again.
Cues
Reach wide, not back
Keep your shoulder blades still
Chest on the pad
Common mistakes
Squeezing the shoulder blades together hard, which moves work to the mid back. Think of sweeping your hands to the side walls.
Using so much weight that the elbows bend and it becomes a row. Keep the arms long.
Swap for: Rear Delt Cable Fly, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly, Incline Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise
Rear delts plus rotator cuff
Face Pull
Shoulders, Upper Back
Pulling the rope apart while rotating the hands back trains the rear delts and the muscles that turn your upper arm outward in one move. It balances all the pressing a typical program does.
How to do it
Attach a rope to a cable at about forehead height and hold one end in each hand, thumbs toward you.
Step back until the stack lifts and your arms are straight, then set your feet.
Pull the rope toward your face while spreading the ends apart, elbows high.
Finish with your hands beside your ears and knuckles pointing back, then return slowly.
Cues
Pull the rope apart
Elbows high
Hands end beside your ears
Common mistakes
Leaning back and using bodyweight. Take a lighter stack and stand tall.
Pulling to the chest with low elbows, which turns it into a row. Keep the elbows at shoulder height.
Swap for: Band Face Pull, Dumbbell Face Pull, Rear Delt Cable Fly
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
Sit on the end of a bench or sturdy chair and lean forward until your chest is close to your thighs.
Let the dumbbells hang under your legs, palms facing each other, elbows softly bent.
Raise the dumbbells out to the sides in a wide arc until your arms are about level with your torso.
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
Heavier rear delt work at home
Dumbbell Rear Delt Row
Shoulders
Rowing with the elbow flared out to the side lets the rear delt work with a heavier load than any fly. It adds rear delt volume when your dumbbells are too heavy for flies.
How to do it
Put one knee and the same-side hand on a bench, back flat and roughly parallel to the floor.
Hold a dumbbell in the free hand with a palm-down grip, arm hanging straight below your shoulder.
Row the dumbbell up with your elbow pointing out to the side until your upper arm is level with your back.
Lower until your arm is straight, then repeat before switching sides.
Cues
Elbow out wide
Pull toward your upper chest, not your hip
Torso stays still
Common mistakes
Tucking the elbow in, which turns it into a lat row. Keep the upper arm about 90 degrees from your body.
Twisting the torso to lift more. Use a weight you can row with your back flat.
Swap for: Kettlebell Rear Delt Row, TRX Rear Delt Row, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly
Make it fit you
Skip front raises if you bench
If you bench or incline press twice a week, your front delts already get plenty. Spend those sets on lateral raises or rear delt work instead. Add front raises only if your front delts clearly lag behind your chest.
Bring up lagging rear delts
Add 2 to 3 sets of reverse pec deck or face pulls to the end of every pull day. Use 12 to 20 reps and stop a rep short of failure. That spreads the extra work over more sessions instead of piling it onto shoulder day.
Shrink the lateral raise jump
Going from 15 to 20 lb dumbbells is a 33% jump, which most lifters can't make in one step. Add reps until you clear the top of the range by two or three, switch to a cable to use smaller plates, or raise one arm at a time.
Work around a pinch
If a raise pinches at the top, stop just below shoulder height and lean your torso slightly forward. If a press pinches, switch to the landmine press or a neutral-grip dumbbell press and keep the rest of the plan.
Short on time
Superset lateral raises with a rear delt fly and rest 60 seconds after each pair. The two exercises barely share muscles, so neither set suffers and you finish in half the time.
Count the sets that matter
Log RIR on every set so you can see which sets were actually hard. In RIRLift, weekly hard sets per muscle show you whether your side and rear delts hit the range you planned.
Questions
How many sets should you do for shoulders?
Aim for about 10 to 20 hard sets per week for side delts and a similar amount for rear delts, split across two sessions. Newer lifters grow well on the low end. Front delts usually need few or no direct sets if you already bench press.
What is the best workout for rear delts?
Pair a reverse fly (machine, cable or dumbbell) with face pulls, 12 to 20 reps, twice a week. Keep your arms long and sweep them out to the sides rather than squeezing your shoulder blades together, so the rear delts do the work instead of your mid back. Wide-elbow rows add rear delt work when you want a heavier option.
How do you hit all three heads of the delts?
Use one press for the front delts, lateral raises for the side delts and a reverse fly or face pull for the rear delts. If you already press for chest, your front delts are covered and the press in a shoulder session becomes optional.
Do you need overhead presses for big shoulders?
No. Overhead presses train the front and side delts, but chest pressing already covers the front and lateral raises cover the side. If overhead work hurts, a landmine press plus plenty of raises and rear delt flies builds full shoulders without it.
How often should you train shoulders?
Twice a week is a good default for most lifters. Splitting the same weekly sets across two sessions keeps each one short and the quality of each set high.
Should you do lateral raises heavy or light?
Use a weight you can control for 10 to 20 reps without swinging. Growth is similar across a wide range of loads as long as the sets are taken close to failure, and lighter raises keep tension on the side delts instead of your traps.
