If you’re after bigger and stronger shoulders, physiologist Dr. Mike Israetel has five exercises in mind to help you reach that goal. On March 10, 2025, he took to his YouTube channel to break down these movements, backed up by science-based reasoning.
Dr. Mike Israetel is a YouTube fitness educator and competitive bodybuilder. He’s amassed a huge following with his YouTube channel, eclipsing more than 3.8 million subscribers. Using research and blending it with years of gym experience, he brings unique training insights, which he’s imparting to viewers below.
Exercise Scientist’s Top 5 Delt Exercises for Bigger Shoulders
Find the exercise selections featured in his YouTube video below:
- Dumbbell Incline Lateral Raise
- Machine Lateral Raise
- Cross-Body Lateral Raise
- Freemotion Lateral Raise
- Front Raise/Upright Raise
Dumbbell Incline Lateral Raise
Israetel noted that systematic fatigue is less of a limiting factor with dumbbell incline lateral raises because while sitting, the core, spinal erectors, glutes, and quads aren’t taxed as hard.
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“It’s a great movement for a variety of reasons. One of them is just pure variation. It’s just a good bread and butter movement, so it’d be a good movement even if it didn’t have any super giant advantages just because it’s a way for you to target the side delts in a relatively full range of motion and with free weights.”
“Lots of flexibility on the technique and positioning,” he adds. “Sitting down on a lateral raise means all of the muscles of your core, spinal erectors, glutes, quads, they can turn off or turn down substantially.”
Machine Lateral Raise
Dr. Israetel credited the machine lateral raise for its versatility. Since you can adjust the weight as well as how high or low you take the range of motion, he emphasizes that this can be one of the more joint-friendly shoulder movements.
“They offer a smooth force curve. They offer lots of adjustments for the plates so you can get in that vertical position to get your shoulder aligned.
Not necessarily directly to the axis of rotation, but wherever is comfy for you where you feel your shoulder joints being well taken care of but also that you get plenty of tension throughout the range of motion.”
Cross-Body Lateral Raise
According to Israetel, the downside of cross-body lateral raises is the time expended on performing one arm at a time.
“The downside on this exercise is that it’s going to take some time to do because you just do one arm at a time,” he shared. “You won’t see me do this exercise often.”
However, he believes it’s an effective movement for working the rear of the side delts.
“For targeting the side and rear aspect of the side delts, which is very important, this is an exercise that’s tough to beat. Yes, you’re going to have to invest some time in.”
Freemotion Lateral Raise
He touched on which positions work best when using a cable machine for freemotion lateral raises.
“Ideally, you want to position the cable stack pin situation at roughly hip height. You want to step nice and far away from the machine such that at the very bottom stretch, your muscles are under maximum tension, and at the very top they are under almost no tension at all because they are completely aligned with the cable.
That way, you get huge tension on the stretch, minimal fatigue at the peak contraction. That seems to line up with what literature and experience says, and is the most growth promoting.”
Front Raise/Upright Raise
Israetel discussed performing the front raise and upright raise together as a mechanical drop set.
“The barbell front raise is mechanically more difficult than the upright row because the lever arm is twice as long as you getting out here versus coming in here,” he shared. “As you extend the lever arm, it multiplies the force requisite of the joint.”
“If something is really tough to do for 15 reps, and you can do 15 reps of it with a front raise, as soon as you’re done with that, if you bring it in and start doing upright rows, all of a sudden you can get another five to ten reps no problem. It’s a mechanical drop set, that’s why we’re using it.”
In addition to delt training tips, Israetel laid out his top five exercises for building the back and chest, setting the groundwork for an optimal workout routine. From form cues to guidance on execution, he unpacks training techniques in a way that’s easy to understand for lifters of all skill levels.
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