How to Structure a Shoulder Workout to Hit the Front Rear and Side Delts

Why Your Shoulder Workout Isn't Working (And the 3-Part Fix)

To properly structure a shoulder workout to hit the front, rear, and side delts, you must stop prioritizing the overhead press. Instead, use a 3-part sequence: one heavy compound press for 3-4 sets, followed by 6-8 sets targeting your side delts, and 6-8 sets for your rear delts. You're probably frustrated because you've been pressing heavy for months, maybe even years, but your shoulders still look narrow from the side and your posture is starting to curve forward. You see people with round, “3D” delts and wonder what they’re doing differently. The answer is simple: they aren't just training their shoulders; they are building them with architectural precision. Your current routine is likely 75% front delts, 20% side delts (with bad form), and 5% rear delts. This is why you feel stuck. The front of your shoulder gets hammered all week with bench presses, incline presses, and push-ups. Adding more direct front delt work is like watering a flood. The key to that wide, powerful look is a near-obsessive focus on the side and rear heads of the shoulder-the two parts that are almost completely ignored in most programs. This isn't about adding more exercises; it's about reallocating your effort to where it actually matters.

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The Anatomy Secret: Why Your Shoulders Look Flat

If your shoulders look flat when you turn to the side, it's not because you aren't training hard enough. It's because you're training the wrong parts. The deltoid muscle has three distinct heads, and 99% of gym-goers only train one of them effectively. Understanding this is the difference between spinning your wheels and building impressive shoulders.

The Three Heads of the Deltoid

1. Anterior (Front) Delt: Its job is to move your arm forward and up. Every single pressing motion you do-barbell bench press, dumbbell incline press, push-ups, even the overhead press-smashes this muscle. If you follow a standard workout plan, your front delts are getting 10-15+ sets of work per week without you even trying. They are overworked, overdeveloped, and are pulling your shoulders forward, contributing to that hunched, internally rotated posture.
2. Lateral (Side) Delt: Its only job is to lift your arm directly out to the side (abduction). This is the single most important muscle for creating shoulder width. It's what makes you look broader in a t-shirt. The problem? It gets almost zero stimulation from your big compound presses. If you are not doing specific, targeted lateral raise movements, your side delts are not growing. Period.
3. Posterior (Rear) Delt: Its job is to pull your arm backward. This muscle provides depth to your shoulder from the side and back, and it's critical for posture and shoulder health. While heavy rows and pull-ups provide some stimulation, it's often not enough to balance out the immense volume your front delts receive. A weak rear delt is a primary cause of the forward-slumped shoulders that plague desk workers and lifters alike.

Your lack of progress is simple math. Let's say in a week you do 4 sets of bench press, 4 sets of incline press, and 4 sets of overhead press. That’s 12 sets for your front delts. Then, at the end of your workout, you might throw in 3 sloppy sets of lateral raises. The score is 12 to 3. Your front delts are getting four times the work. You will never build balanced shoulders with that ratio. You now understand the three heads of the shoulder and why your side and rear delts are lagging. It's about targeted volume. But knowing you need 6-8 sets for your side delts and *actually doing* 6-8 quality sets every week are two different things. Can you say for certain how many sets you did for your rear delts last month? If you can't, you're not structuring a workout; you're just guessing.

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The 3-Part Template: Your New Shoulder Workout Structure

Stop thinking in terms of “shoulder day” and start thinking in terms of weekly volume for each of the three heads. This 3-part template ensures you hit the right muscles with the right intensity and volume, every single week. Your goal is 12-16 total high-quality sets for shoulders per week, distributed correctly.

Part 1: The Foundation (1 Heavy Press, 3-4 Sets Weekly)

First, you need a heavy, compound pressing movement. This is for overall strength and mass. It will be the primary stimulus for your front delts, and that's all they need. Pick ONE exercise and stick with it for at least 4-6 weeks, focusing on getting stronger.

• Your Options: Standing Barbell Overhead Press (OHP), Seated Dumbbell Press, or a Machine Shoulder Press.
• Execution: Perform 3-4 sets in the 5-8 rep range. This is your strength movement. The goal is progressive overload-adding 5 lbs to the bar or moving up to the next set of dumbbells whenever you can complete all your sets and reps with good form.

Part 2: The Width Builder (Side Delt Focus, 6-8 Sets Weekly)

This is the most important part for building that wide, capped-shoulder look. Form is everything here; ego has no place. The weight will feel light, and that's the point. The side delt is a small muscle that responds to tension and volume, not sloppy, heavy reps.

• Your Options: Dumbbell Lateral Raises (seated or standing), Cable Lateral Raises (single arm).
• Execution: Perform 6-8 total sets per week. You can do this as 2 exercises of 3-4 sets each, or one exercise for all 6-8 sets. Use a weight you can control for 10-20 reps. A 180 lb man might only use 15 lb dumbbells here, and that's perfect. Control the weight up, pause for a split second at the top, and-most importantly-control the negative for a 2-3 second count on the way down. No swinging.

Part 3: The Depth Builder (Rear Delt Focus, 6-8 Sets Weekly)

This is your ticket to better posture and a thick, 3D look from the side. Like side delts, these muscles respond best to high reps and perfect form. You cannot go too light on these.

• Your Options: Face Pulls, Reverse Pec-Deck Machine, Bent-Over Dumbbell Raises.
• Execution: Perform 6-8 total sets per week. Aim for a higher rep range of 15-25 reps. For face pulls, focus on pulling the rope apart as you pull it towards your face. For raises, think about pushing your hands out to the sides, not just lifting them up. Squeeze your rear delts at the peak of every single rep.

Sample Workout Structures

Option A: Dedicated Shoulder Day

• Seated Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
• Cable Lateral Raise: 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Face Pulls: 4 sets of 15-20 reps

Option B: Integrated into Push/Pull/Legs

• Push Day: Add Cable Lateral Raises for 6 sets of 12-15 reps after your chest presses.
• Pull Day: Add Face Pulls for 6 sets of 15-20 reps after your rows and pull-ups.
• Note: Your main overhead press can be done on Push Day. In this setup, you get the benefit of higher frequency, hitting the side and rear delts twice a week if you run the split twice.

What Your Shoulders Will Look Like in 90 Days

Adopting this new structure requires patience. You're undoing years of imbalanced training, and the muscles you're now targeting are small and stubborn. Here is a realistic timeline.

• Week 1-2: The Humbling Phase. You will feel soreness in your side and rear delts like never before. The weights you use for lateral raises will feel embarrassingly light-maybe just 10 or 15 pounds. This is not only okay, it's required. Your job is to master the form and establish a mind-muscle connection. Forget your ego. Control every rep.
• Month 1 (Weeks 3-4): The Connection Phase. The initial deep soreness will fade. You'll start to feel the target muscles working during the exercises. You can now focus on progressive overload, either by adding a rep or two to each set or moving up by the smallest weight increment possible (e.g., from 15 lb to 17.5 lb dumbbells). You won't see major visual changes yet, but your foundation is being built.
• Month 2-3 (Weeks 5-12): The Visible Change Phase. This is where the magic happens. As you consistently apply tension and volume, your side and rear delts will begin to grow. When you look in the mirror from the side, you'll start to see a curve where it used to be flat. Your shirts will feel a bit tighter across the top of your shoulders. Your posture will have subtly improved, making you look more confident and upright even when you're not in the gym. This is the payoff for the humbling work you did in the first month. The key is consistency over these 90 days. One perfect workout does nothing. Twelve weeks of them changes everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Required Weekly Volume for Shoulder Growth

For most people, 12-16 total direct sets per week is the sweet spot for shoulder growth. This should be broken down with the majority of volume going to the side and rear delts: 3-4 sets for pressing, 6-8 sets for side delts, and 6-8 sets for rear delts.

Training Shoulders After a Previous Injury

If you have a history of shoulder pain, prioritize machine-based movements as they provide more stability. Replace barbell overhead presses with a neutral-grip machine press. Use cables for lateral raises instead of dumbbells to keep tension more consistent and reduce joint stress. Always start with extremely light weight.

The Role of Front Raises in a Workout

For 95% of people, front raises are unnecessary and counterproductive. Your front delts already get more than enough stimulation from bench pressing, incline pressing, and overhead pressing. Adding front raises just exacerbates the muscular imbalance that makes shoulders look narrow and hunched.

Training Frequency for Shoulders

Shoulders are a smaller muscle group and recover relatively quickly. Hitting them 2 times per week is ideal for growth. You can do this with a dedicated shoulder day and a second, shorter session, or by integrating the movements into a Push/Pull or Upper/Lower split.

Integrating Shoulders into a PPL Split

This is a highly effective method. Do your heavy overhead press and all side delt work on your Push Day. Do all of your rear delt work (like face pulls or reverse pec-deck) on your Pull Day. This splits the volume and allows you to hit each part when it's fresh.