Build Sculpted Shoulders with these 5 Exercises

Laura Flynn Endres
Apr 19
3 min read

Want sculpted shoulders?

A client recently sent me an Instagram post showing an American Ninja Warrior competitor who is sculpted from head to toe (her abilities defy all logic!), and what my client coveted most are her shoulders.

“I’ll never be able to do what she does, but how can I get her shoulders?”

Indeed, you don’t have to be able to perform hours of monkey bar swinging to build strong and shapely shoulder muscles. You can get them by consistently incorporating the following 5 shoulder exercises into your workout plan! (And in conjunction with, cough cough your diet.)

The muscles that will give my client the capped look she desires are the deltoids.

The deltoid muscles have 3 parts:

The Anterior Delts which help move your arms forward. You use your front delts when you reach for an object on a shelf.
The Lateral Delts which help move your arms to the side as well as up and down. You use your side delts when you raise your arms in jumping jacks.
The Posterior Delts which help move your arms backward. You use your posterior delts when you pull something toward you or bring your arm back to pitch a ball.

Equally important are the four rotator cuff muscles which provide structural support to the shoulders. Those must be strengthened for optimal shoulder health too, but for the purposes of today’s post we are focusing on working your deltoids.

Here are 5 of the best shoulder exercises to sculpt your shoulders!

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Overhead Shoulder Press

In this video I demonstrate these with a handled band and dumbbells. Do these with palms facing inward or palms facing forward. Exhale as you press overhead, and lower with control.

Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps, with at least one set going to failure (as many as you can with good form).

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Lateral Raises

Use light or medium dumbbells and do them with palms facing forward (safest) or palms facing down. Also, don’t lift them straight out to the sides - angle your arms just a bit forward. Focus on lifting and lowering with control, keep a slight bend in your elbows at all times, and brace through your core to aid the lift and protect your back.

You can also do these with a light handled band or a ribbon.

Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps, with at least one set going to failure.

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Arnold Press

In this exercise, you access a fuller range of motion. You start with the weights at the top of a bicep curl with palms facing you, then rotate your shoulders as you press the weights overhead so your palms are facing forward at the top. This variation targets the front and medial deltoids more than standard overhead presses (exercise #1 above). Focus on maintaining smooth control and bracing through your core to aid the lift and protect your back.

Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps, with at least one set going to failure.

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Bent-Arm Lateral Raises

This exercise allows you to do lateral raises with heavier dumbbells. Be sure you bring your entire bent arm up to parallel with the floor; don’t let your forearm lag and end up lower that your upper arm at the top. Focus on lifting AND lowering with control.

Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps, with at least one set going to failure.

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Front Raises

This often-overlooked exercise is important to overall shoulder health and definition! You can do these with palms facing center or palms facing down. Focus on lifting AND lowering with control, keep a slight bend in your elbows at all times, and brace through your core to aid the lift and protect your back.

Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps, with at least one set going to failure.