The 7 Best Trainer-Approved Exercises for Sculpted Shoulders

When it comes to developing bigger shoulders, the overhead press is often the exercise of choice.

However, just as you need more than squats to build the muscular, defined legs or bench presses for picture-perfect pecs, sculpting awesome shoulders requires more than just overhead presses.

As a veteran personal trainer, I’ve spent the last 30 years helping people exceed their fitness goals. During that time, I’ve tried and tested hundreds of exercises to determine which ones work the best.

So, while I recognize the overhead press is a great strength builder, it’s just one of several movements that I use in my shoulder workouts.

Why does the overhead press sometimes fall short? It all comes down to the muscles that make up the shoulders.

Rather than just being one muscle, the shoulders comprise three muscles which are collectively known as the deltoids (1).

Anterior Deltoid: Located on the front of your shoulder, this muscle raises your arm forward (flexion) and draws it across your body (horizontal flexion). It’s also involved in the medial or inward rotation of the shoulder joint.

Medial Deltoid: This muscle is on the side of your shoulder and gives your upper body much of its width. The medial or middle deltoid raises your arm up and out to the side (abduction).

Posterior Deltoid: Located in the back of your shoulder, the posterior or rear deltoid is responsible for pulling your arm back (extension/horizontal extension). Of the three shoulder muscles, the posterior deltoid is usually the most neglected.

Shoulder presses emphasize your anterior deltoids but do very little for the medial or posterior muscles, which is why you need more than overhead presses to build the ultimate shoulders.

In this article, I share my favorite exercises and workouts for building strong, chiseled shoulders.

Sculpt Perfect Shoulders with These 7 Proven Exercises

While there is nothing inherently wrong with overhead presses, they are not a cure-all for all your shoulder-building needs. The complexity and various functions of the deltoids mean that you need to hit them from a range of angles using a variety of exercises to develop them fully.

Not convinced?

Just compare the shoulders of a strongman competitor to those of a bodybuilder. Strength athletes have huge shoulders but usually lack the shape and aesthetics of a bodybuilder. This is because strongmen do a lot of overhead pressing but their programs tend not to include many additional shoulder exercises.

That’s not to say my list of top shoulder exercises doesn’t include a couple of overhead pressing variations. However, I’ve chosen movements that challenge your deltoids in a unique way.

And so, with no more delay, here is my list of seven exercises for building the shoulders you’ve always wanted.

1. Barbell Cuban Press

The barbell Cuban press is an Olympic weightlifting assistance exercise that works not just all three deltoids but the deeper rotator cuff, too. As such, it’s an ideal exercise for busy exercisers looking for the most time-efficient way to build stronger, healthier, more functional shoulders. Go light at first – this exercise is more challenging than it looks!

Steps:

1. Standing with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent, hold a barbell in front of your thighs using an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Leading with your elbows, bend your arms and row the barbell up the front of your body to your lower chest.
3. Next, rotate your arms and raise the bar to your forehead.
4. Press the weight overhead.
5. Reverse the movement to lower the bar and return to the starting position.

2. Dumbbell Victory Raise

Like the Cuban press, the dumbbell victory raise works all three deltoids plus that all-important rotator cuff. In addition, you’ll also feel this exercise in your mid and lower traps. As well as being an effective muscle builder, this exercise is an excellent prehab/rehab movement that’ll enhance your shoulder health.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and brace your core. Put a mini-band around your wrists.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your hips with your palms facing inward. Press your arms outward to put some tension in the band.
3. Keeping your arms slightly bent, raise your arms forward, up, and out to form a V-shape above your head.
4. Lower your arms and repeat.
5. Maintain outward pressure against the band throughout your set to keep your muscles under constant tension.

3. 1-Arm Cable Lateral Raise

The most effective way to target your medial or middle deltoids is with exercises that involve abduction, i.e., lifting your arms out to the side. While dumbbell lateral raises are popular, in my experience single-arm cable raises are much more effective.

Working one side at a time strengthens your mind-muscle connection and ensures that both sides are worked equally. In addition, using a cable machine instead of freeweights keeps your muscles under near-constant tension.

Steps:

1. Attach a D-shaped handle to a low cable machine. Stand sideways onto the weight stack, feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
2. Hold the handle with your outside hand so the cable runs across the front of your body. Your palm should be facing your leg.
3. Keeping your elbow slightly bent, raise your arm up and out to the side until your hand is level with your shoulder.
4. Lower your arm and repeat.
5. Do the same number of reps on both sides.

4. Band Pull-Apart

Of the three deltoids, the posterior or rear head is usually the most neglected and underdeveloped. That’s because the anterior or front deltoid is involved in all chest exercises, and most people understand the importance of training their medial deltoids. The rear deltoid is out of sight and out of mind, so it’s left out of most shoulder workouts.

This simple exercise is one of the most convenient and effective ways to develop stronger posterior deltoids. It’s also a great exercise for better shoulder health and improved posture.

Steps:

1. Hold your resistance band with a shoulder-width palms down grip. Raise your arms so they’re perpendicular to your body.
2. Pull your shoulders down and back and brace your core.
3. Keeping your arms slightly bent but rigid, stretch the band out across your chest.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat.

5. Barbell Javelin Press

While regular barbell overheard presses predominately work the anterior deltoids, this lesser-known variation involves the medial and posterior deltoids, too. That’s because you’ll need to use these muscles to stabilize what is a very unwieldy load.

Like Cuban presses, you must avoid going too heavy too soon with this exercise as it’s far more challenging than it first appears.

Steps:

1. Place a barbell in a squat rack set to around shoulder height.
2. Stand side-on to the bar and grip the middle with your palm turned inward.
3. Brace your core, unrack the bar, and take a small step to the side.
4. Keeping your torso perfectly upright, press the bar up and overhead. Control the bar and make sure it doesn’t tilt or twist.
5. Lower the bar back to your shoulder and repeat.
6. Do the same number of reps on both sides.

6. Kettlebell Halo

Halos are partly a shoulder and thoracic spine mobility exercise and partly an effective deltoid developer. As such, they make excellent use of your training time and energy. Working all three deltoid heads, halos provide a balanced workout for your shoulders and just a few sets a week will provide very impressive results.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Brace your core and hold your kettlebell in front of your chest so it’s upside down. Use the vertical handles, known as the horns.
3. Raise one elbow and circle the kettlebell around your head. Take care not to hit yourself.
4. Return the kettlebell to the starting position and then change directions.
5. Alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise circles for the required number of reps.

7. Banded Overhead Press

No gym? No problem. You can strengthen and sculpt your shoulders anywhere and anytime with resistance bands – no weights required! This unique overhead press variation will hammer your posterior deltoids and also hits your mid trapezius and rhomboids. Consequently, this is a great exercise for better posture as well as shoulder strength.

Steps:

1. Attach your resistance band to a shoulder-high anchor.
2. Take one end of the band in each hand and take a step back to tension it. Raise your hands to your shoulders, palms facing forward and elbows pointing down.
3. Keeping your shoulders down and back, press your hands up and overhead.
4. Return your hands to your shoulders and repeat.
5. You can also do this exercise with an alternating arm action if preferred.

Sculpt Perfect Shoulders with These Tried-and-Tested Workouts

Doing any of the exercises listed above will strengthen your shoulders. However, you’ll get better results if you incorporate them into a balanced program. While there is nothing to prevent you from writing your own, here are two workouts that feature my seven favorite shoulder developers.  

Workout One: Perfect Shoulders – The Home Edition

Contrary to what many people think, you don’t have to train in a gym to develop the body of your dreams. In fact, equipped with nothing more than some light dumbbells and a few resistance bands, you have all you need to get a great workout at home.

	Exercise*	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Dumbbell Victory Raise	2-4	8-12	60-90 seconds
2	Band Pull-Apart	2-4	10-15	60-90 seconds
3	1-Arm Lateral Raise*	2-4	8-12	60-90 seconds
4	Banded Overhead Press	2-4	15-20	60-90 seconds

*Use a resistance band instead of a cable machine for this exercise.

Workout Two: Gym-Based Shoulder Smasher

Training in a gym gives you access to all the equipment and weights you need to build strong, powerful shoulders. This workout includes most of the exercises outlined above with set, rep, and recovery recommendations to ensure you work your muscles hard enough to achieve the best possible results. 

	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1a*	Dumbbell Victory Raise	4	12-15	90 seconds
1b*	Barbell Cuban Press
2	1-Arm Cable Lateral Raise	3	8-12	60 seconds
3	Barbell Javelin Press	3	8-12	60 seconds
4	Kettlebell Halo	3	8-12	90 seconds

*Do exercises 1a and 1b as a superset. Perform exercise 1a and then immediately do a set of exercise 1b. Rest for the allocated time and then repeat the pairing.

Closing Thoughts

According to some trainers, overhead presses are the only exercise you need to build sculpted shoulders. However, in my experience, this is not the case. To develop balanced, well-defined shoulders, you must pay equal attention to all three deltoid muscles, which requires a more varied list of exercises.

As a personal trainer who has helped hundreds of people achieve their fitness and body composition goals, I’ve found that the seven exercises in this article are among the best for building shoulders you can be proud of.

Create your next upper body workout around these awesome movements or give either of the provided programs a try.

You’ll soon be on your way to developing the shoulders you’ve always wanted!

References:

1 – Elzanie A, Varacallo MA. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Deltoid Muscle. [Updated 2024 Jan 30]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537056/

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