20 Best Lateral Deltoid (Side Delt) Exercises For Mass & Strength

You may think that you’re working your shoulders regularly, but if your shoulders are not appearing wider and bigger, then you’re not doing it right. If you’re not incorporating lateral deltoid exercises into your routine, you won’t get stronger muscles that make your shoulders appear full and round.

Your shoulders are probably your most noticeable body part. Whether you are wearing a suit, t-shirt, or workout vest, good shoulders really stand out. Well-developed shoulders give your upper body its width and make you look powerful and strong.

In this post, you will find a step-by-step breakdown of the 20 best lateral deltoid exercises that you can add to your shoulder workout regime.

Subsequently, we’ve covered the following:

• Shoulder Muscles Anatomy
• Benefits Of Strong, Well Built Lateral Deltoid
• 20 Best Lateral Deltoid Exercises
• Training Tips For Side Delt Exercises

Know About Your Shoulder Muscles (Anatomy)

In fitness, “shoulder exercises” refers to resistance exercises that target the deltoid muscle.

The deltoid is the superficial muscle that forms the rounded contour of your shoulder. While the deltoid is technically a single muscle, anatomically speaking it has three distinct sets of muscles fibers and muscle bellies, which are referred to as “heads.

The deltoid muscle of the shoulder consists of three separate sections or heads.

• Anterior deltoid (In front),
• Lateral deltoid (Side Delt), and
• Posterior deltoid (behind),

Anterior Deltoid

The Anterior Deltoid is commonly called the front delt. It arises from your collar bone and inserts into your humerus (upper arm bone).

The Front delt’s main function is to move your arm up, forward, and to your center. 

Posterior Deltoid

The Posterior Deltoid also knows as the rear delt. It arises from the spine of your scapula (upper part of your shoulder blade) and inserts into your humerus.

Its main function is moving the arm outward and backward.

Lateral Deltoid

The Lateral Deltoid has a few common names, such as side delts, middle delts. It arises from a little area on your shoulder blade called the acromion process and inserts into your humerus.

Its main function is shoulder abduction, which is bringing it up to the side.

The side delt plays an important role in how your shoulders look and feel. Focusing on this area can really make a difference in your upper arm, so you want to give it the best exercises that’ll promote growth and development of the lateral deltoid.

You need to start giving this muscle more attention if you want to develop proper 3D shoulders.

Benefits Of Strong, Well Built Lateral Deltoid

Big, strong, rounded shoulders have numerous benefits besides just looking good.

The deltoid is among the most important muscles in the body as we use them in everyday life activities to push, pull and lift objects over our heads.

For this post, we narrow it down to the benefits of having strong side delts.

The benefit of having strong, well-built lateral delts is simple.

1. Reduced Risk of Injury

Many people experience shoulder pain or injuries at some point in their lives because the shoulders move through a large range of motion. Strengthening the side delts helps to stabilize the shoulders, which can help prevent future injuries.

2. Improve Range of Motion

They help protect your shoulder joint, keeping it stable during arm movements. Strong front delts will make arm movements that involve shoulder flexion, internal rotation, and abduction more powerful and productive.

3. Improve Lifts

The lateral deltoids play a part in stabilizing the weight when performing bench press or overhead press. By working directly on the side delt, there will be a transfer of strength to your other lifts.

4. Give aesthetics Look

One hallmark of someone who’s in shape is having wide-toned shoulders. It improves the overall aesthetics and definition of your shoulders.

The lateral delts are on the outside of the shoulder, so if you work on building them up, so can change the look of your overall body.

20 Best Lateral Deltoid Exercises

We compiled 20 of the best lateral deltoid exercises that should be incorporated into your normal shoulder workout schedule.

Many of the side delt exercises below can be done with various equipment including barbells, dumbbells, cable machines, body weight, and resistance bands.

So, we have created the side delt exercises for many sections such as:

• Barbell Lateral deltoid exercises
• Side delt exercises with Dumbbells.
• Cable Lateral deltoid exercises
• Bodyweight lateral delt exercises at Home (No Equipments).
• Side Delt workout with Resistance band.

Barbell Side Delt Exercises

Barbells are a valuable tool in the arsenal of a person who wants to gain strength efficiently. Exercise experts also point to several other benefits of barbells exercises.

• Side delt barbells exercises provide versatility, can help you strengthen virtually every muscle in the body with a wider range of resistance.
• The barbell is a very simple tool, so it is easy to learn the basic lifts quickly

1. Barbell Overhead Press

The Overhead press is the best shoulder muscle mass builder exercise. The shoulder Press remains the grand-daddy of all shoulder exercises to build big, round shoulder muscles.

Seated shoulder press has been the favorite shoulder exercise with bodybuilders as it builds muscle fast and is a power move.

Performing the exercise while seated upright is a stricter version than standing and prevents cheating the weight upward using momentum generated by the legs.

How To Do

1. Sit on an exercise bench and grab a bar with an overhand grip.
2. Bring the bar over and in front of your head, under your chin, and just above your upper chest.
3. Now Press the bar straight up overhead until your arms are fully extended but not locked out.
4. Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.

Tips

• Perform a warm-up with 50% weight for 1-2 sets.
• Always perform the Shoulder Exercises before you perform triceps.

2. Behind-the-Neck Press

A behind-the-neck press is an exercise that targets your shoulders. The standard military press and the overhead dumbbell presses hit more of the anterior head of the deltoid, which is often stimulated a lot even during the bench press.

Behind the neck press, on the other hand, stimulates all the three heads of the shoulder, It also recruits the triceps, lateral delts, traps, and rhomboids.

If you do not have a fair amount of shoulder mobility, it is not recommended to perform this exercise.

How To Do

1. Sit on an exercise bench and place the barbell to just below shoulder height.
2. Elevate the barbell overhead by fully extending your arms while breathing out.
3. Hold the contraction for a second and lower the barbell back down to the starting position by inhaling.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Don’t bounce the bar off your neck. Perform the exercise in a slow and controlled manner.
• Perform a warm-up with 50% weight for 1-2 sets.
• Keep your elbows flared out, in line with the shoulders or slightly behind.

3. Barbell Upright Row

The upright row is one of the excellent side delt exercises to build huge trapezius muscles and lateral delt.

Barbell upright rows can be done with both narrow grips and wider ones.

• The narrow grip focuses on the trapezius,
• And the wider focuses on the entire shoulder girdle.
• Moreover, the wider grip allows some cheating movement, thereby allowing you to lift more weight.

How To Do

1. Hold a bar with a narrow overhand grip and let it hang in front of you.
2. Lift the bar and get it as close as possible to the chin, using your arms and elevating your shoulders to squeeze your trapezius muscles.
3. Now, lower the bar under controlled motion until it comes back to its starting position.
4. Repeat for desired reps.

Tips

• Focus on keeping your elbows higher than your forearms.
• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.

Dumbbell Lateral Delt Exercises

There are many advantages of doing side delt exercises using dumbbells, such as:

• Dumbbells require more balance than barbells or machines that can lead to greater muscle fiber recruitment.
• Lateral delt exercises with dumbbells allow unilateral training, increase core stability, and improve muscular imbalances.
• Dumbbell affords a greater level of variety, which prevents physical and mental burnout.
• Dumbbell exercises variations allow for a greater range of movement (ROM).

4. Arnold Shoulder Press

The Arnold dumbbell press is an excellent exercise for strengthening the shoulders. Arnold’s press stands out from the crowd when it comes to the best exercise with the best range of motion for shoulder muscles.

It gives a wide range of motion as you lower the dumbbells well down in front, giving that maximum stretch other shoulder exercises lack. Must add this lateral (side) deltoid exercise to your exercises’ regime.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Anterior deltoid.

Secondary: Lateral deltoid, triceps, trapezius, upper pectoralis.

How To Do

1. Stand straight, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder position with palms facing you.
2. Now press the dumbbells overhead just like dumbbell presses but twisting them so that palms face forwards at the top of the movement.
3. Now lower the dumbbells in a reverse movement.

Tips

• Inhale when you lower the weight and exhale when you lift.
• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements. Keep a strict form.
• Do not lock your arms overhead.

5. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

The dumbbell lateral raise is a fantastic shoulder exercise that targets those side deltoid muscles, giving you those shapely and strong shoulders you’ve always wanted.

Unlike other exercises that work multiple muscle groups, this one goes straight to the side delts. That means you can really focus on building them up and getting that nice shoulder shape. It’s a must-do exercise for your lateral deltoid workout.

How To Do

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and bring the weights together in front of you.
2. The palms should be facing each other.
3. Now bend your elbows and raise the dumbbells to your sides.
4. Lift them to a point slightly higher than your shoulders.
5. Now lower the dumbbells in a controlled manner back to the starting position.

Tips

• Don’t just swing your arms. Keep controlled motion throughout the exercise.
• Perform a warm-up with 50% weight for 1-2 sets.
• Always use weights that you can handle comfortably.

6. One-Arm Dumbbell Upright Row

When doing a lateral (side) delt workout, there are plenty of single-arm shoulder exercises you can add to correct potential imbalances.

One arm dumbbell upright row is the unilateral variation on the dumbbell upright. It is a popular movement for building stronger and bigger traps and shoulders. Because it works on each shoulder separately, it can fix any differences in strength between your left and right sides.

How To Do

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand at your side.
3. Pull the dumbbell vertically towards your ear.
4. At the top, pause for a moment and contract the muscles.
5. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.
6. After completing all reps on the left side, repeat on the right side.
7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
• Keep your back straight and core tight.
• Pause and squeeze the traps at the top of the movement.
• If you want to add a bit of intensity to the exercise, you should lower the dumbbells slowly.

7. Upright Row

The dumbbell upright row is a fantastic compound exercise that targets the muscles in your side delt, upper back, and traps.

It’s a really simple exercise to perform. You hold a dumbbell in each hand and lift the dumbbells vertically, bringing them up to the level of your collarbone, before smoothly lowering them back down to the starting position.

How To Do

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your body.
2. Let your arms hang straight down, maintaining a slight bend in your elbows.
3. Keep your chest up, shoulders back, and core engaged.
4. Lift the dumbbells vertically towards your chin, leading with your elbows.
5. Keep the weights close to your body throughout the movement.
6. When the dumbbells reach the height of your chest, pause for a moment.
7. Lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Tips

• Remember to exhale while you exert.
• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.

8. Incline Bench Rear Lateral Raise

The incline bench rear lateral raise is an upper-body exercise that targets the rear delt, lateral delt and the postural muscles of the upper back.

The incline bench takes away the potential of using momentum, making the movement more challenging that develops bigger, more balanced, and healthier shoulders.

How To Do

1. Sit in reverse direction on an incline bench (45 degrees) while holding dumbbells with neutral grips.
2. Hold the dumbbells so that they hang straight down from your shoulders.
3. Slowly lift the dumbbells up and out to the sides of your body, pulling through the rear delts and middle traps.
4. Pause a moment at the top of the motion before slowly lowering the weights back down to the starting position.

Tips

• Do not lift backward or forward.
• Set a bench at about 30-45 degrees inclined.
• It is important to keep your wrists straight during the exercise and your elbows above your wrists.

9. Lying Dumbbell Lateral Raise

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your lateral delt workout, why not try a lying dumbbell lateral raise?

The side-lying lateral raise increases strength and stability throughout the entire shoulder. This exercise more specifically targets the side deltoid.

Having a great lateral head will give the illusion of a super-wide set of shoulders. Incline side laterals are perhaps difficult for beginners, but it is an interesting variation on conventional lateral raises.

How To Do

1. Lie sideways on a flat bench, propping yourself up onto your elbow, so it is perpendicular to the bench.
2. Hold the dumbbells so that they rest sideways on your upper thigh
3. Slowly lift the dumbbells up and out to the sides of your body, pulling through the rear delts and middle traps.
4. Pause a moment at the top of the motion before slowly lowering the weights back down to the starting position.
5. The “top” of the movement is when the shoulder joint is at a 90-degree angle to the body.

Tips

• Do not lift backward or forward.
• Avoid using momentum. Focus on moving in a slow and controlled fashion the entire time.
• Your working elbow should be slightly bent during the lift.

10. Dumbbell One-Arm lateral raise

Another good side delt single-arm exercise is the dumbbell one-arm lateral raise.

One-arm lateral raise is performed with one arm at a time, and it is an excellent exercise to isolate and build side deltoids.

To build the middle head of the deltoid muscle, make dumbbell one-arm lateral raise a part of your side delt exercises.

How To Do

1. Stand holding a dumbbell with one hand. Feet are shoulder-width apart and knees are slightly bent.
2. Now bend your elbow and raise the dumbbell to your side.
3. Lift them to a point slightly higher than your shoulder.
4. Now lower the dumbbell in a controlled manner back to the starting position.
5. Perform all reps on one side and then repeat with the other arm.

Tips

• Pause for a moment at the top before slowly lowering the dumbbell back to the starting position.
• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
• Avoid arching of the lower back.

11. Dumbbell Armpit Row

Dumbbell Armpit Row Aka monkey Row offers a great alternative to common place exercises for trap and deltoid development like the upright row.

The Monkey Row can help solve a litany of shoulder and neck pain. What I would recommend doing is incorporating the exercise as part of your warm-up routine or near the end of your workout to really work the traps.

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your side delt exercises, why not try this?

How To Do

1. Stand holding a pair of dumbbells by your sides, with your palms facing your thighs
2. Exhale as you pull the dumbbells up the sides of your torso towards your armpits, with your elbows pointing out to the sides.
3. Hold for a count of two. Inhale as you lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Pull with your elbows, not your biceps
• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.

Cable Lateral Or Side Delt Exercises

The cable side delt exercises offer an effective way to train the rhomboid muscle, let’s take a look at some other benefits of lateral delt exercises with a cable machine.

• For people who experience discomfort in their joints during the barbell press, cable shoulder workout are a great alternative. The cable changes the angle of the movement enough to limit the potential stress on the joints.
• Cable exercises are more evenly distributed, and you have more of a constant load on your side delt muscles throughout the whole range of motion.
• The cable lateral delt exercises offer almost unmatched versatility because you can change up the load, angle, grip positioning and body positioning easily.
• The cable setup gives your muscles almost uninterrupted time under tension, and a huge pump — each of which can help optimize muscle growth.

12. Cable Upright Row

The Cable upright row is a movement that targets many of the large muscles in the upper back and shoulders, which is key for many movements in strength, power, and fitness sports.

Cable machines keep tension on the muscles throughout the entire range of motion, ultimately increasing muscle activation and hypertrophy.

Upright rows are an exercise that nearly everyone can do using a wide variety of grip widths.

How To Do

1. Attach a straight bar to a low cable pulley. Grab the bar using a shoulder-width or wider overhand grip.
2. Stand close to the pulley with your body upright, your shoulders pulled back.
3. Exhale as you pull the bar up the front of your body until it reaches the level of your lower or middle chest.
4. Do not pull the bar up any higher. Hold for a count of two.
5. Inhale as you lower the bar to the starting position.

Tips

• Bend slightly at the knees and stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Keep your shoulders back, chest out, and body upright.

13. One Arm Cable Lateral Raise

The one-arm cable lateral raise is an isolated shoulder exercise that targets the deltoids, while increasing stability in both the wrists and the core.

Cable lateral raise is a one of the best cable side delt exercises that works the lateral head of the deltoid muscle, which is the rounded muscle at the very top of each shoulder.

You can use both arms while performing the exercise, but it’s often recommended to use just one to add more difficulty to your workout and stimulate more gains.

How To Do

1. Stand next to a cable pulley machine with your feet shoulder-width apart and the handle attachment adjusted to the lowest setting.
2. To maintain good posture, push your chest forward, and point your shoulders back while slightly bending both knees.
3. Grab the handle and stand straight up with your arm fully extended and feet facing forward.
4. Maintaining a slight bend in your working elbow, raise your arm up to shoulder height.
5. Hold for a second, and then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.

Tips

• Keep your torso still, your back straight, and your elbow slightly bent.
• Don’t just swing your arms. Keep controlled motion throughout the exercise.
• Always use weights that you can handle comfortably.

14. Cable Machine Y Raise

This is one of the best two-arm cable side delt exercises that you can do during your shoulder workout.

The cable Y-raise is a fantastic exercise for the whole shoulder that activates all fibers of the deltoid anterior, lateral, and posterior, but it mainly targets the lateral shoulder.

This lateral deltoid exercise combines horizontal shoulder abduction with external shoulder rotation. Strengthening the external shoulder rotators and the internal shoulder rotators.

How To Do

1. Stand facing between two low cable pulleys, with each hand holding the handle of the cable of the opposite pulley.
2. To maintain good posture, push your chest forward, and point your shoulders back while slightly bending both knees.
3. Stand straight up with your arm fully extended and feet facing forward.
4. Maintaining a slight bend in the elbows, raise your arms upwards and outwards, forming the letter ‘Y’ with your whole body.
5. Hold for a second, and then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.

Tips

• Maintain a fixed slightly bent elbow position throughout exercise.
• Keep your torso still, your back straight, and your elbow slightly bent.
• Don’t just swing your arms. Keep controlled motion throughout the exercise.

Bodyweight Lateral Or Side Delt Exercises

Use can simply and effectively train your side delt muscle by using these bodyweight exercises at home and use do not need any pieces of equipment for this as well.

There are many other benefits of training at home such as:

• No gym members required,
• Provide more flexibility as you can train as per your schedule,
• Required limited space.

15. Forearm Side Plank

The forearm side plank is one of the best abs and side delt exercises for strengthening the oblique abdominal muscles and deltoid.

If you’re new to planking, you should master the basic forearm plank before moving on to the side plank variation.

How To Do

1. Place your right foot on the floor, with your left foot resting on top of the inner side of your right foot.
2. Raise your body by placing your right forearm flat on the floor so that it’s perpendicular to your torso.
3. Lift your torso until your right upper arm is straight underneath you, with your elbow bent 90 degrees and your forearm flat on the floor.
4. In this position, only your right forearm and the outer side of your right foot are making contact with the floor and your body forms a diagonal line that is at about a 20-degree angle to the floor.
5. Keep your abs pulled in tight and hold this position for as long as you can, and then repeat on the left side.

Tips

• Keep your legs and body straight.
• Avoid letting your hips sag during these oblique exercises.
• Squeeze your abs and glutes throughout the movement for stability.

16. Elevated side plank

The side plank with feet on the bench is a progression from a normal side plank that targets the core, with an emphasis on the obliques.

Performing with feet elevated also increases the resistance on the shoulders and triceps.

How To Do

1. Get in a side plank position with forearm on the floor and feet on an elevated surface (a bench, box, step, or chair).
2. Contract your abs, pulling the belly button in toward the spine.
3. Slowly raise the weight, making sure not to extend beyond your shoulder.
4. Hold for 1-3 seconds when at the top of the rep.
5. Slowly lower back to the starting position. Repeat on your other side.

Tips

• Don’t let your shoulders roll forward. Keep your chest up and shoulders back.
• Squeeze your glutes and your abs to keep your body stable.

17. Side Plank Lateral Raise

The side plank lateral raise is an exercise that combines an isometric side plank hold with a dumbbell raise to target both the core and the side of the shoulder.

You probably won’t be able to use much weight without disrupting your balance, but even at lightweight, this is a movement that can help address multiple muscle groups in a time-efficient workout.

How To Do

1. Get in a side plank position by lying on your right side on the floor with your left foot resting on top of your right foot.
2. Hold a dumbbell in your top hand, with your arm resting along the side of your body.
3. Slowly raise the weight, making sure not to extend beyond your shoulder.
4. Hold for 1-3 seconds when at the top of the rep.
5. Slowly lower your arm back down. Complete desired no. of repetition. Repeat on your right side.

Tips

• Avoid letting your hips sag during these oblique exercises.
• Squeeze your abs and glutes throughout the movement for stability.

18. Pike Push Up

Pike Push-ups aka shoulder push-up is one of the best bodyweight lateral deltoid exercises that increases strength and stability in the shoulders and triceps.

Performing the exercise in a more upright position will target the shoulders more than the chest.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper Pectoralis Major

Secondary: Lateral Deltoid, Lower Pectoralis Major, Triceps Brachii, Anterior Deltoid

How To Do

1. Start in a standard push up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and elbows completely locked out.
2. Lift the hips up and back until your body forms an inverted V shape.
3. Keep arms and legs as straight as possible.
4. Slowly lower the top of your head towards the ground. Once your head is about to make contact with the ground, pause for a second.
5. Then slowly push back up until your arms are straight and you’re in the inverted V position.

Tips

• Make sure you maintain control throughout the movement.

19. Handstand Push Up

Finally, if you’re looking for one more effective bodyweight lateral delt exercise, try the handstand push-up, aka vertical push-up.

To prepare the strength until one has built adequate balance, the feet are often placed against a wall, held by a partner, or secured in some other way from falling.

Handstand push-ups require significant strength, as well as balance and control if performed free-standing.

How To Do

1. Place hands about 6-12 inches away from the wall and slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
2. Make sure palms are facing forward, or slightly turned out 5-10 degrees.
3. Kick up into a handstand, with your heels touching the wall.
4. Once you have kicked up, establish a strong, rigid midline position.
5. While maintaining this position, lower yourself until the top of your head touches the floor.
6. Try to keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle as you lower.
7. Once your head touches the floor, press up with the same tightness you had lowering yourself, until your elbows reach full extension.

Tips

• Not to arch your back and keep contracting your abs.
• Do not do this move on consecutive days. Rest for at least 2 days before trying this move again to give your body time to recover.
• Point your toes, squeeze your glutes, and grip the ground with your fingertips for a better feeling of stability.

20. Resistance Band Lateral Raise

Resistance band lateral raise is the best side delt exercise to build side deltoids that you can do at home.

The banded lateral raise is a variation of the dumbbell lateral raise and an exercise used to strengthen the muscles of the shoulders.

It utilizes bands to provide accommodating resistance during the exercise. As you get closer to the full contraction, more resistance is applied to the target muscle groups.

How To Do

1. Stand on your resistance band with your feet at shoulder width and a handle in each hand.
2. Tighten your abdominal and avoid arching your back.
3. Maintaining a slight bend in the elbows at all times.
4. Slowly raise your arms up from the sides of your body
5. Once your arms reach parallel with the floor, pause, then slowly lower your arms back down to the starting position.

Tips

• Raise arms straight up and in line with your body. Do not jerk up. Raise slowly in a smooth, controlled manner.
• Inhale as you lower your arms down, and exhale as you raise them up.
• Spread feet wider on the band to increase resistance.
• Keep the abs braced and don’t lean back or arch the back at the top of the movement.

Add Side Delt Exercises Into Your Workout Routine

The lateral delt exercises can be incorporated into your workout routine in a variety of ways. Here are some options:

1. As a standalone exercise: Do on 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
2. As part of a shoulder workout: Do them along with other shoulder exercises.
3. As part of a full-body workout: Do them with other compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.

1. As a Standalone Exercise

Goal: Focus on targeting the rear deltoids.

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Interval
Lateral Raise	4	8-12	60 seconds

2. As Part of a Shoulder Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Interval
Shoulder Press	4	6-8	90 seconds
Dumbbell Lateral Raises	3	10-12	60 seconds
Rear Delt Flys	3	12-15	60 seconds
Front Raises	3	10-12	60 seconds

3. As Part of a Full-Body Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Interval
Deadlifts	3	6-8	90 seconds
Pull-Ups	3	8-10	60 seconds
Squats	4	8-10	90 seconds
Shoulder Press	3	12-15	60 seconds
Bench Press	3	8-10	60 seconds

Training Tips

To sum it up, you should hit your side delts directly at least 2 times a week, but if you’re lacking in this area, you might want to work them more often than that.

Try to stay under 20 sets a week in total, while making sure to have a holistic approach to the rep ranges you use.

The side delts will respond best to mid-high rep ranges, don’t let your ego get in your way.

FAQs

How do you train side delts for size?

To train side delts for size, focus on exercises that target the lateral deltoid muscles specifically. Perform lateral delt exercises like Dumbbell Lateral Raises, Cable Lateral Raises, Arnold Press, and Overhead shoulder press.

Can you train side delts every day?

No, it is not recommended to train side delts (lateral deltoids) every day. Overtraining the side delts can lead to fatigue, an increased risk of injury, and hinder muscle growth. It’s best to allow at least 48 hours of rest between intense shoulder workouts.

How can I work my side delts at home?

You can work your side delts at home by performing bodyweight delt exercises like side plank, pike push ups and handstand push ups. To effectively target your side deltoids at home, it is recommended to grab water bottles, canned goods, or any other weighted objects and perform lateral raises.

Do side delts make you look bigger?

Yes, having strong side delts can make your shoulders look bigger and more defined. Strong and sculpted side delts add width to the shoulders, creating a V-tapered shape.

Conclusion

These lateral deltoid exercises are highly recommended for anyone interested in building a wider shoulder and who wants to gain strength.

It not only allows for targeted muscle development, but also provides an overall 3D look to the shoulder. It is easy to do and requires no more scientific details and fancy equipment.

If you incorporate some exercises we listed above into your shoulder workout regimen, you will get good result.

When you do these lateral deltoid exercises consistently, the results will speak by themselves.

Thanks for reading, enjoy working your lateral deltoid exercises.

References

• Sweeney S. ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE DELTOID MUSCLE DURING VARIOUS SHOULDER EXERCISES. May 2014.
• Campos YAC, Vianna JM, Guimarães MP, et al. Different Shoulder Exercises Affect the Activation of Deltoid Portions in Resistance-Trained Individuals. J Hum Kinet. 2020;75:5-14. Published 2020 Oct 31. doi:10.2478/hukin-2020-0033
• De Duca CJ, Forrest WJ. Force analysis of individual muscles acting simultaneously on the shoulder joint during isometric abduction. J Biomech. 1973;6:385–393

12 Best Lateral Delt (Side Delt) Exercises and Workout