Best Dumbbell Shoulder Exercises: 8 Moves, Form and a Simple Plan

If all you have is a pair of dumbbells, you can still train every part of your shoulders. Below are eight dumbbell exercises, grouped by the part of the deltoid they work, with form steps and a simple weekly plan.

It also covers what the research does and doesn’t show. Most of it is muscle-activity (EMG) research, which tells you how hard a muscle works, not how much it grows. Technique cues, sets and reps are general coaching practice.

The Eight Dumbbell Shoulder Exercises at a Glance

Exercise	Good to know
1. Dumbbell shoulder press	Seated lets you lift about 10% more than standing
2. Arnold press	A press with a half turn of the wrists
3. Neutral-grip press	Palms face each other
4. Dumbbell push press	Your legs help drive the weight up
5. Dumbbell lateral raise	Usually done with light weights
6. Dumbbell front raise	Presses already train the front delts
7. Bent-over raise	Targets the rear delts
8. Incline-bench rear raise	The bench stops you swinging

Dumbbell Shoulder Anatomy in Brief

The deltoid is the rounded muscle that caps your shoulder. It has three parts, or heads: front (anterior), side (lateral) and rear (posterior).

According to StatPearls, the front part helps lift the arm forward, the side part lifts the arm out to the side from about 15 to 100 degrees, and the rear part helps pull the arm back.

Under the deltoid sit four rotator cuff muscles: the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. They keep the ball of the shoulder centred in its socket.

The same StatPearls source says the supraspinatus starts the first 15 degrees of lifting the arm, and then the deltoid takes over. The traps and upper back also help move the shoulder blade, so see our guides to upper trap exercises and dumbbell trap exercises for those.

What the Research Shows (and Doesn’t)

The only growth trial of a dumbbell shoulder exercise that I found is a lateral raise study (below). Everything else I found is EMG work, so nobody can honestly tell you which exercise grows each head the most. These are the studies I’d lean on:

• A 2020 study of 13 men experienced in strength training compared four lifts, one set of 12 reps at 60% of their one-rep max: a barbell bench press, a dumbbell fly, a seated barbell shoulder press and a seated dumbbell lateral raise. Activity as a percentage of maximal contraction: the barbell press gave about 33% for the front delt, 28% for the side delt and 11% for the rear delt. The dumbbell lateral raise gave about 21%, 30% and 24%. The bench press and fly gave much less for the side and rear delts. Note that the press in this study was a barbell, not dumbbells.
• A 2024 systematic review of 33 studies ranked exercises by deltoid activity. Side delt activity was highest in abduction exercises (raising the arm out to the side) and horizontal abduction exercises. For the rear delt, the top-ranked exercises were pull-ups and inverted rows, so your back training also works that head.
• In a 2025 trial of 24 trained men and women, each person did dumbbell lateral raises with one arm and cable lateral raises with the other, twice a week for eight weeks. Side delt thickness rose by 3.3% to 4.6%, with no meaningful difference between dumbbells and cables.

Read these with care. The samples are small, most of the EMG participants were men, and activity during a set doesn’t prove growth. Of these three, only the 2025 trial measured muscle size.

Dumbbell Presses for the Front and Side Delts

1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The dumbbell shoulder press is the staple shoulder lift: you press two dumbbells overhead from shoulder height. I couldn’t find a study that tested a dumbbell press against the raises. The 2020 study above used a barbell press, which gave the most front delt activity of its four lifts and side delt activity close to the lateral raise.

Dumbbells may do even more for the front delts: in a 2013 study of 15 men lifting at 80% of their one-rep max, the barbell press gave about 11% (seated) and 15% (standing) less front delt activity than the dumbbell press.

Seated or standing? In the same 2013 study, the standing dumbbell press tended to give the highest deltoid activity but also the lowest one-rep max, about 10% below the seated dumbbell press.

So standing asks more of your balance and lets you lift less. Seated is the simpler choice for heavy sets, and standing is a fair option if you want more stability work. This is muscle activity, not growth, and the ACSM position stand found that equipment type did not consistently change training results.

How to Do a Dumbbell Shoulder Press

1. Sit on a bench with back support if you have one. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forward, with your forearms upright.
2. Brace your abs and press the dumbbells up until your arms are straight above your shoulders.
3. Lower them slowly to about shoulder height.
4. Repeat for your chosen reps.

Keep the movement smooth and don’t arch your lower back to push the weight up. Pick a weight you can control on every rep. For one-arm versions, see our single arm shoulder press guide.

2. Arnold Press

The Arnold press is named after Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is a dumbbell press with a half turn of the wrists: your palms face you at the bottom and face forward at the top.

No study I found compares it with a standard press, so treat it as a way to vary your pressing, not as a proven upgrade.

How to Do an Arnold Press

1. Sit holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your chest, elbows bent and palms facing you.
2. Press the dumbbells up and turn your wrists as you go, so your palms face forward at the top.
3. Pause briefly, then lower the dumbbells while turning your palms back toward you.
4. Repeat for your chosen reps.

The turn makes it harder to control, so start lighter than you would for a standard press and keep the movement smooth.

3. Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Press

In this version your palms face each other the whole way up. There’s no study behind the idea that it is safer or builds more muscle than other grips.

Some lifters simply find it more comfortable, so it is worth trying if the standard grip feels awkward (my suggestion).

How to Do a Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Press

1. Sit on a bench and hold the dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing each other.
2. Press them straight up until your arms are extended.
3. Lower them slowly back to shoulder height.

Keep your back and neck neutral, and don’t flare your elbows out far from your sides.

4. Dumbbell Push Press

The push press uses a short dip of the knees and a leg drive to help send the dumbbells overhead. It hasn’t been studied for shoulder growth.

Because your legs do part of the work, you can move heavier weights overhead, and your shoulders probably do less of the lifting on the way up (my reasoning). That makes it more of a strength and power move than a shoulder-isolation one.

How to Do a Dumbbell Push Press

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the dumbbells at shoulder height.
2. Dip your knees about a quarter of the way down, keeping your torso upright.
3. Drive up through your legs and press the dumbbells straight overhead.
4. Lower them to your shoulders and reset before the next rep.

Learn the movement with light dumbbells, and press straight up rather than forward.

Dumbbell Raises for the Side and Front Delts

5. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

The lateral raise lifts your arms out to the sides and is the classic side delt exercise. In the 2020 study its side delt activity was close to the barbell press, and it also gave the highest rear delt activity of the four lifts tested.

In the 2025 trial, dumbbell and cable versions gave similar side delt growth, so dumbbells are a fine choice. See our dumbbell lateral raise and side delt exercises guides for more.

How to Do a Dumbbell Lateral Raise

1. Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing in and elbows slightly bent.
2. Raise your arms out to the sides until your hands are about shoulder height.
3. Pause briefly, then lower slowly to the start.

Use a light weight and don’t swing. In a 2020 study of 10 competitive bodybuilders, turning the arm in or out during the raise shifted the work between the deltoid heads, the upper traps and the triceps.

So keep the standard version as your base and treat rotated versions as variations. For other options, try a leaning lateral raise or a one-arm raise (same movement, one dumbbell at a time).

6. Dumbbell Front Raise

The front raise lifts your arms forward. In the same 2020 bodybuilder study, it mainly worked the front delt and the upper chest, with little help from the side and rear delts.

You may not need much of it: in the earlier study the barbell shoulder press gave more front delt activity than the lateral raise, and bench pressing also works the front delts.

No study I found compares front raises with presses for growth, so consider it optional. More in our dumbbell front raise and front delt exercises guides.

How to Do a Dumbbell Front Raise

1. Stand holding dumbbells in front of your thighs, feet about shoulder-width apart and knees slightly soft.
2. Raise one dumbbell straight in front of you to about shoulder height, or raise both together.
3. Lower it slowly, then repeat with the other arm if you are alternating.

Don’t lean back or arch your lower back to get the weight up. If you have to, the dumbbells are too heavy.

Dumbbell Exercises for the Rear Delts

In the 2020 study, the barbell shoulder press gave the rear delt only about 11% of maximal activity, so a rear delt exercise earns its place (my view). Here are two dumbbell options. Both work best with light weights you can control (my suggestion).

7. Bent-Over Dumbbell Raise

You hinge forward and lift the dumbbells out to the sides. A 2025 modelling study of 10 men estimated rear delt force from motion data (not EMG). I

t found the bent-over dumbbell lateral raise and the face pull produced similar forces, both higher than a bent-over row. That’s a small, model-based study, so treat it as a hint, not proof.

On a reverse-fly machine, a 2013 study of 19 men found that a neutral grip (palms facing each other) gave more rear delt and infraspinatus activity than an overhand grip.

There’s no dumbbell version of that study that I found, so try both and use the one that feels better. See also our bent-over lateral raise and dumbbell rear delt exercises guides.

How to Do a Bent-Over Dumbbell Raise

1. Sit on the edge of a bench, or stand, and hinge forward from the hips until your torso is close to parallel with the floor.
2. Let the dumbbells hang below your shoulders with your elbows slightly bent.
3. Raise your arms out to the sides until your upper arms are about level with your back.
4. Lower slowly to the start.

Don’t swing the weights or shrug your shoulders up. Use a lighter dumbbell than you think you need.

8. Incline-Bench Rear Raise

Lie chest-down on an incline bench and raise the dumbbells out to the sides. The bench supports your torso, which makes it harder to swing the weights up.

I haven’t found a study of this exact setup, so the idea that it keeps the work on the rear delts is my reasoning, not a research result.

How to Do an Incline-Bench Rear Raise

1. Set an incline bench to about 30 to 45 degrees and lie chest-down on it with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging straight down.
2. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides, leading with your elbows and keeping a slight bend in them.
3. Pause briefly at the top, then lower slowly.

Keep your chest on the bench and move only your arms. For a seated alternative, see our seated rear delt fly guide, and for more options see rear delt exercises.

What About Shrugs and Upright Rows?

Both are common dumbbell shoulder-day moves, but they mainly work the upper traps, so they have their own pages. In a 2008 study of 12 women with chronic neck muscle pain, trapezius activity was highest for the shrug (102% of maximal), then the lateral raise (97%) and the upright row (85%). In a 2013 study of 16 weight-trained men, a wider grip on the upright row increased deltoid and trapezius activity, and reduced biceps activity.

If you do upright rows, Schoenfeld and colleagues advise stopping at or just below shoulder height, keeping the weight close and leading with your elbows. The safe height is still debated, so skip the exercise if it pinches your shoulder. See our guides to the dumbbell shrug and dumbbell upright row.

Sample Dumbbell Shoulder Workouts

I couldn’t find a study that sets exact sets and reps for dumbbell shoulder training. The 2026 ACSM position stand pooled 137 systematic reviews in healthy adults. Its findings are general: muscle size was better with at least 10 sets per muscle group per week, and strength was better with heavier loads (80% of one-rep max or more) and at least 2 sessions a week.

Muscle size gains were similar across loads from light (30% of one-rep max) to heavy (100%), and training to momentary failure did not consistently change results. So the rep ranges below are a starting point, not a rule. The stand doesn’t name individual muscles, and treating the deltoids as one muscle group is my assumption.

Here are two simple sessions (my suggestions, not study results). Do either one twice a week, with a rest day or two between sessions.

Beginner Dumbbell Shoulder Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell shoulder press	2	8-12
Dumbbell lateral raise	2	10-15
Bent-over dumbbell raise	2	12-15

That is 6 sets per session and 12 a week.

Fuller Dumbbell Shoulder Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell shoulder press	3	6-10
Dumbbell lateral raise	3	10-15
Bent-over or incline-bench rear raise	2	12-15

That is 8 sets per session and 16 a week. If your goal is mainly strength, press with heavier weights for 4 to 6 reps, in line with the ACSM finding on heavier loads. Swap the Arnold press or neutral-grip press in for the standard press if you want a change.

Choose weights that make the last reps hard while your form holds. When you can finish every set at the top of the rep range, add a little weight. Your shoulders also work during chest and back training, so count that work when you add up weekly sets.

For more ideas, see our delt exercises, single arm shoulder exercises, chest and shoulder dumbbell workout, barbell shoulder workout, cable shoulder exercises, shoulder machines, resistance band shoulder exercises and bodyweight shoulder exercises. For a full list of names, see shoulder exercise names with images and dumbbell exercise names.

Dumbbell Shoulder Exercise FAQs

Can I build big shoulders with dumbbells only?

I found no long-term study of a dumbbell-only shoulder program. The pieces point the same way, though. In the 2025 trial, dumbbell lateral raises grew the side delts about as well as cable raises, and the ACSM stand found equipment type did not consistently affect training outcomes. A press, a lateral raise and a rear delt move cover all three heads (my suggestion).

Is the dumbbell or barbell shoulder press better?

I found no study that compared them for growth. In the 2013 study, barbell presses gave about 11% (seated) to 15% (standing) less front delt activity than dumbbell presses at the same relative load, while the standing dumbbell one-rep max was about 7% lower than the standing barbell one.

Activity isn’t growth, so choose the one you can do with good form and progress over time. See our barbell shoulder workout for the barbell side.

Do I need front raises?

Probably not often. The barbell shoulder press gave about 33% front delt activity in the 2020 study, higher than the lateral raise, and chest pressing works it too. A front raise is a reasonable extra if your front delts lag, but I found no research showing you need it.

Can I train shoulders every day?

I found no research on training shoulders daily. The ACSM stand found similar muscle size gains from training 1 day a week and more than 5 days a week when total weekly sets were equal, so total volume matters more than frequency. Two or three shoulder sessions a week is a practical range (my suggestion).

Are dumbbell shoulder exercises safe?

I found no injury data that rank dumbbell shoulder exercises by safety. Warm up with a lighter set, use controlled reps and stop a set if you feel sharp pain or pinching at the front or top of the shoulder. If pain is severe or keeps coming back, see a clinician before you keep training through it.

Research Papers Referenced in This Guide

1. Currier BS, D’Souza AC, Singh MAF, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: resistance training prescription for muscle function, hypertrophy, and physical performance in healthy adults: an overview of reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872.
2. Campos YAC, Vianna JM, Guimaraes MP, et al. Different shoulder exercises affect the activation of deltoid portions in resistance-trained individuals. J Hum Kinet. 2020;75:5-14.
3. Rabello R, Bertozzi F, Hauschild de Freitas IL, et al. Activation of the three deltoid muscle portions during common strengthening exercises: a systematic review. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2024;40:1309-1325.
4. Larsen S, Wolf M, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Dumbbell versus cable lateral raises for lateral deltoid hypertrophy: an experimental study. Front Physiol. 2025;16:1611468.
5. Saeterbakken AH, Fimland MS. Effects of body position and loading modality on muscle activity and strength in shoulder presses. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(7):1824-1831.
6. Coratella G, Tornatore G, Longo S, Esposito F, Ce E. An electromyographic analysis of lateral raise variations and frontal raise in competitive bodybuilders. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(17):6015.
7. Zhu Q, Chen Z, Feng L, et al. Biomechanical evaluation of posterior deltoid exercises and kinematic trajectory modeling. Acta Bioeng Biomech. 2025;27(4):135-147.
8. Schoenfeld B, Sonmez RG, Kolber MJ, et al. Effect of hand position on EMG activity of the posterior shoulder musculature during a horizontal abduction exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(10):2644-2649.
9. Andersen LL, Kjaer M, Andersen CH, et al. Muscle activation during selected strength exercises in women with chronic neck muscle pain. Phys Ther. 2008;88(6):703-711.
10. McAllister MJ, Schilling BK, Hammond KG, Weiss LW, Farney TM. Effect of grip width on electromyographic activity during the upright row. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(1):181-187.
11. Schoenfeld B, Kolber MJ, Haimes JE. The upright row: implications for preventing subacromial impingement. Strength Cond J. 2011;33(5):25-28.
12. StatPearls. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Deltoid Muscle and Anatomy, Rotator Cuff. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.