Properly developing your side deltoids is essential for appearing as wide as the next guy (or wider!) on the bodybuilding stage. Fully developed, thick rear deltoids are needed if you want to be as thick as the next guy from all back and side angled poses. And when it comes to properly displaying an impressive front pose of any kind – from most muscular to front double biceps to a single standing front relaxed – a set of fully developed front deltoids is essential! Here are some tips for helping you to improve this muscle group to keep up with your peers, or to making them so impressive that you knock your peers off the bodybuilding stage!

First, you should always include seated front dumbbell presses. This movement, more than any other, provides an incredible level of unadulterated front deltoid mass which is unmistakable and almost universally recognizable in any pose. Use an incline bench at 75 or 80 degrees, instead of a full incline 90 degree flat bench. Keeping the angle back just a bit will protect your rotator cuff from unnecessary stress. Bodybuilding show auditoriums are filled with men who would love to be onstage but are forced to sit out 8 to 12 weeks of training due to a shoulder injury incurred from full incline pressing. Keep it angled, and include four sets of this movement with every shoulder exercise without fail!

Secondly, you should always conduct a full three movements for front deltoids. This might seem like a strange idea for you, as the deltoids are actually a three-headed group. However, if your front delts are lagging, then it’s already obvious your current 1 or 2 exercises are just not cutting it! Bump up your training volume as well as the number of angles which you are using to actually hit the muscle group, and great success will follow!

Finally, you’re going to want to keep your repetition range for all front delt movements in the 8 to 12 range. Going lighter than 12 reps (into the 15 or more repetition range) means you’re training for a pump, but not muscle growth. And, alternatively, training with 4 to 6 repetitions means you’re targeting the joints and tendons and aiming for functional strength. This is fine if your goal is to be a powerlifter or a strongman competitor. But if you want to shine on a bodybuilding stage, you’re going to need complete full delts – and rep ranges of 8 to 12 certainly deliver that!

As you can see, it’s not all that complicated when it comes to bringing up the front delts. Three movements of 3 to 4 sets with reps in the 8 to 12 range, and never forget to include your front delt raises. Now it’s time to get training and make those babies grow. As time passes and they become better and better, work to ensure you maintain symmetry. Front deltoids that dwarf the chest or other heads of the deltoids look just as bad as those that are underdeveloped. Aim for balance, and a pair of front delts that look good in any pose!

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