Jeff Cavaliere is a renowned fitness coach, influencer, and founder of ATHLEAN-X, which is an extremely popular fitness brand. Cavaliere often shares his profuse knowledge and gives valuable advice regarding workouts and overall fitness. On March 7, 2025, Jeff shared another YouTube video, showcasing a meticulously crafted, science-driven shoulder workout designed to perfection.
Cavaliere’s experience stands out. From 2006 to 2008, he was head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets, training top athletes. With a Master’s in Physical Therapy and a science degree under his belt, his knowledge powers his training approach. He’s now back, assisting gym-goers with a clear, high-impact shoulder routine.
Related: Fitness Coach Jeff Cavaliere Shares The Perfect Science-Based Biceps Workout
Jeff Cavaliere Shares a Science-Backed Shoulder Workout for Maximum Gains
Jeff Cavaliere first explained that building perfect shoulders means training the front, middle, and rear delt muscles. So, the workout requires multiple exercises and independent movements to make sure that each of the aforementioned muscles is activated properly.
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“So, you want to build perfect shoulders. Well, you are going to need a perfect shoulder workout. To do that, you are going to want to make sure that you are training your entire shoulder. That means, your front delt, and yes, in this perfect workout, you are actually going to directly train your front delt. You are also going to want to add size and width to your shoulders by training the all important middle delt… And then finally the rear delt.”
Jeff Cavaliere also pointed out that performing the shoulder workout twice a week is better than doing it just once. However, that also means that you should split the volume, which results in shorter workouts. This allows you to incorporate another muscle group into the same session, and as per Jeff’s recommendation, a leg workout fits best with a shoulder workout.
“When I say the perfect shoulder workout, what I actually mean is not just one workout, but actually two… One thing we tend to agree on is that two workouts a week for a muscle group seem to be better than one. That is because we have the opportunity to restimulate that muscle a second time in the week.”
Jeff’s Shoulder Workout (Part 1)
- Dumbbell Single Arm Overhead Press or a Barbell Overhead Press [2-3 sets / 6-8 reps / Form Failure]
- Dumbbell Lateral Raises [3-4 sets / 10-12 reps / +Partials]
- Dumbbell Rear Delt Rows [2 sets / 10-12 reps]
Dumbbell Single Arm Overhead Press or a Barbell Overhead Press [2-3 sets / 6-8 reps / Form Failure]
Jeff Cavaliere believes that it is important to incorporate a press into the shoulder workout, but understands that people could have some sort of joint limitations that prevent them from doing it. So, he recommends the single-arm press, as it allows for a smoother movement.
As per Jeff, this exercise should be performed for 2-3 sets, each of those consisting of 6-8 reps. However, the final few reps should be the limit of form failure, meaning that everyone should adjust the weight according to their strength level.
“The key concept here is that you are going to press… It (single arm overhead press) allows me to focus on one arm at a time, but most importantly, orthopedically, as I press up, I can focus more on stacking those joints…
When we take two dumbbells out of our hands, we are able to actually lift more, one at a time, because our core doesn’t have to stabilize two dumbbells going up at once. If you do just one (dumbbell), you will find that you can increase the weight.”
Dumbbell Lateral Raises [3-4 sets / 10-12 reps / Partials]
The dumbbell lateral raise is the second exercise of the workout, and it is directly focused on the middle delts. Jeff suggests that it should consist of more volume, which is why he advises going from straight arms, to bent arms, and finally to partial reps.
“We know that the middle delt needs more work. What we are going to do is raise the set volume on this to 3-4 (sets). So a little bit more work directed at the middle delt. You don’t have to get all that complicated because we know that the lateral raise is really effective for building out that middle delt.
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Do this for me: go from a straight arm to a bent arm. So, you do a mechanical drop set… Lean the torso forward a little bit more, keep the thumbs higher than the pinkies… Take it all the way to failure in the 10-12 rep range and don’t stop. Instead, from there, what you do is just bend the elbows… you’ll find that you can continue to go… Get to the end of that; we still have the option to keep going a little bit more with some partial repetitions.”
Dumbbell Rear Delt Rows [2 sets / 10-12 reps]
The last exercise of Jeff Cavaliere’s first shoulder workout is the dumbbell rear delt row. It is a pretty simple way to activate this muscle group, but, as Jeff points out, it is sure to become many people’s favorite.
“Here what we are focusing on is two sets, but done with an exercise that more effectively targets the rear delt… The focus is getting the elbow back behind the body with a bent arm, because the real drive of the rear delt activity is going to be the extension of the elbow back behind the body.”
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Jeff’s Shoulder Workout (Part 2)
- Dumbbell Cheat Laterals [3-4 sets each arm / 6-8 reps / Form Failure]
- Incline Dumbbell Front Raise [2-3 sets / 10-12 reps / +Partials]
- Face Pulls [2 sets / 10-12 reps]
Dumbbell Cheat Laterals [3-4 sets / 6-8 reps / Form Failure]
The second workout starts with the dumbbell cheat lateral raise. In Jeff Cavaliere’s demonstration, he performed the exercise one arm at a time, performing cheat reps to get the dumbbell up, but trying to slow it down as much as possible on the descent. Each set should consist of 6-8 reps until form failure.
“What we are doing here is actually cheating the repetition, loading up the weight much heavier than I typically would. The idea is to get the lateral raise as clean as you possibly can, but understand that you are going to use a little momentum. But where you don’t want to have momentum is on the way down. So, eccentrically trying to control the weight and trying to slow it down.”
Incline Dumbbell Front Raise [2-3 sets / 10-12 reps / Partials]
Jeff Cavaliere incorporates an incline dumbbell front raise, which uses an incline bench as a part of the setup. Jeff recommends doing 2-3 sets, each consisting of 10-12 reps. Then, he follows it up with some partial reps once the full range of motion is not possible.
“We are doing a stretch front raise done on an incline bench… If you want to build the biggest shoulder possible, you of course still want to target the front delts. They are very responsible for rounding out the shoulder. The best way to do this is to incorporate a setup that provides for some stretch on the front delts… Finish up with some partial repetitions. When I burn out and I can’t get full range reps, I can still get some additional partials.”
Face Pulls [2 sets / 10-12 reps]
The Face Pull exercise activates multiple muscle groups, but they are still very effective at growing the rear delts. That is why Jeff Cavaliere decided to add them to his workout, recommending 2 sets of 10-12 reps.
“I believe the face pull is much more multi-dimensional; it rounds out the entire upper back development, but if you do this the way I show you and do it with your elbows in this position, driving back behind my body, but maintaining that 90 degree angle of the elbows, you are getting the rear delts really effectively… When we talk about any shoulder workout, you are trying to keep your shoulders healthy while trying to grow them at the same time.”
Watch the full video here:
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Shoulders really make a body stand out, though they’re tricky to build. Jeff Cavaliere’s smart, science-driven shoulder workout is perfect for anyone eager to step up their gym game. Backed by years of skill and insight, Jeff’s routines reliably give awesome results.
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