Shoulder Exercises Ranked (BEST TO WORST!)
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Publicado 2021-10-31
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With that said, we have to lay out the criteria for the shoulder exercise selections. The first thing is that it has to be a multi-dimensional exercise if possible. This means, if it is only good at hypertrophy but provides no opportunity for overload and for building progressive strength, then it is not going to rank up there with the exercises for shoulders that do a good job at both.
Furthermore, if the exercise is harmful to the shoulder joint or can cause shoulder injury over time, it is simply not going to rank high no matter what type of short term benefits it can provide the person that does it.
With that being said, we start laying out the list and work our way up the rankings from the worst to the best shoulder exercise.
WORST
1. Upright Rows
2. Cuban Press
3. Behind the Neck Press
4. Pour the Pitcher Side Lateral Raises
The upright row is simply a terrible exercise biomechanically for the shoulders and should not be part of a shoulder workout routine long term. It places the glenohumeral joint in a position of impingement and increases the likelihood of developing symptoms if they don’t already exist.
The cuban press is just a step away from joining the upright row as the worst of the worst but it’s still pretty bad. Even though it includes an element of external rotation, it does so from an elevated and internally rotated position.
The behind the neck press takes the shoulders out of the scapular plane and forces motion from an awkward position of the elbows. Again, overhead presses are a great exercise for building boulder shoulders but it shouldn’t be done from this position when we know there are better ones without the risk.
Stop pouring the pitchers on a side lateral raise and instead turn the thumbs up and you’ll take a bad shoulder exercise and make it a great one, just like that.
BETTER
5. DB Pressouts - Front Delts
6. DB Cheat Laterals - Middle Delts
7. DB Reverse Flys - Rear Delts
DB or plate press outs are a good exercise for building up the front delts but they lack the range of motion possible with other exercises for the front head of the delts.
The cheat lateral raise is a good middle delt builder as it gives you an opportunity to load the exercise heavier than you might be used to. This gives you a chance to place a good eccentric overload on this head of the delts to drive growth. Muscle substitution however limits your ability to target the middle delt specifically.
The db reverse fly may be the most popular rear delt exercise but it has its limitations. Not enough of an ability to extend the arm behind the body makes this an inferior choice to the ones coming later.
BETTER STILL
8. Arnold Presses - Front Delts
9. Abduction Rows - Middle Delts
10. Facepulls - Rear Delts
The Arnold Press is a good multi-head shoulder building exercise. It keeps the elbows out in front of the body which is safer for the joint but as with all presses, is limited in its ability to target the front head more specifically.
The face pull is normally my favorite exercise for everything - that said - it involves too many other muscles like the rotator cuff and mid scapular muscles that tends to limit it’s position on this list of the shoulder exercises ranked.
ALMOST BEST
11. DB Scoop Press - Front Delts
12. Side Lateral Raises - Middle Delts
13. Hip Huggers - Rear delts
These three shoulder exercises are near the top of the heap when it comes to the best exercises for building big shoulders. Watch the video to see why they stand alone.
BEST
14. DB Front Raise - Front Delts
15. Cable Lateral Raises - Middle Delts
16. Rear Delt Rows - Rear Delts
There simply are no better shoulder exercises for building big delts than these for the front, middle and rear delts. They combine the ability to load up the best, target the head in question and do so in the safest way possible.
If you want just overall shoulder mass and growth, then be sure to watch the bonus segment on the variations of shoulder presses and overhead presses.
For a complete step by step workout program that was created with the same level of science behind the selection of every exercise in the plans, be sure to head to athleanx.com via the link below and check out the program selector tool.
For more videos on exercises for bigger shoulders and the shoulder workouts / shoulder exercises be sure to remember to subscribe to our channel here on youtube via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
Todos los comentarios (21)
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I use one of these ranked exercises to build bigger, wider shoulders in just 14 days and best of all ... you only need one dumbbell to accomplish it! - https://youtu.be/PJ_kayODqG8
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WORST 1. Upright Rows 1:59 2. Cuban Press 2:45 3. Behind the Neck Press 3:32 4. Pour the Pitcher Side Lateral Raises 4:20 BETTER 5. DB Pressouts - Front Delts 5:24 6. DB Cheat Laterals - Middle Delts 6:00 7. DB Reverse Flys - Rear Delts 6:44 BETTER STILL 8. Arnold Presses - Front Delts 7:31 9. Abduction Rows - Middle Delts 8:16 10. Facepulls - Rear Delts 9:18 ALMOST BEST 11. DB Scoop Press - Front Delts 10:12 12. Side Lateral Raises - Middle Delts 11:02 13. Hip Huggers - Rear delts 12:08 BEST 14. DB Front Raise - Front Delts 13:01 15. Cable Lateral Raises - Middle Delts 13:45 16. Rear Delt Rows - Rear Delts 14:33
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I urge everyone to read the descriptions when Jeff posts his videos, the man puts a lot of effort into every video, been a proud follower of Athlean X since 2010 💪🏽
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The pain this man went through, only ranking facepulls at "better still". We'll always be here for you, Jeff Cavelier at AthleanX.
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Dude, I've literally been using 3 of your 4 worst shoulder workouts for years. Today I tried your 3 best and had the best shoulder workout I've ever had in my life. Thanks man, much appreciated!
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Interviewer: What's the cause of evil? Jeff: Easy, internal rotation.
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When Jeff said " you do train your rear delts don't you?" That hit me in my soul "Imma go train them right now Sir"
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This ended up being exactly what I wanted. youtube.com/post/UgkxP26Tir6n60vUkdtn4mbwhRO8cwuJQ… I get the flexibility of multiple dumbbells without taking up the space of a whole set. I have a very small spare room that these and a bench fit perfectly into. Like others mentioned the size of these are a little bigger/longer than traditional weights so they aren’t the perfect solution for everyone. However, if you're looking for a flexible and space saving design for a home workout I’d recommend these.
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Upright rows: “I sense a disturbance in the force…”
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Handstand-push up seems like a great way of solving the issue of not having a headache, by giving you one.
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I love the explanation of Pros 'n’ Cons behind performing each of these workouts as this helps to assist me in my training and addressing injuries. These are also useful points to highlight as they will provide me with awareness to prevent new or ongoing injuries. I truly do look forward to seeing and hearing more about the science behind exercises, while also impacting more depth in my understanding of the art of effective training.
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Seriously. These best to worst videos are just awesome. At 50, I am evaluating and overhauling the way I train based on this series from Jeff. I can't wait until the whole body has been done in best to worst! Thanks Jeff for providing this free information.
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Jeff that was big of you to put facepulls in the lower tier category- credit to you man, I know it was hard
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11:20 why is nobody talking about what Jeff said here…. Got me cracking up 😂 ☠
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Jeff brushes his teeth with both hands to prevent muscle imbalance.
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Lifting for 17 years and still learning a lot from you Jeff. Thank you
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Love the “ranked” series, keep them coming!
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Would love to see this series with leg exercises.
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I've been training for over 30 years. I love that you never stop learning. This is such a great video. Looking forward to trying these better options tonight!
