What Are the Best Tips to Get Bigger Shoulders If Lateral Raises Aren't Working

Why Your Shoulders Aren't Growing (It's Not the Lateral Raises)

If you're asking what are the best tips to get bigger shoulders if lateral raises aren't working, the answer is to stop making isolation the main event and start building a foundation with heavy overhead presses in the 5-8 rep range. You've been told that lateral raises are the key to wide, round delts, and you've probably done thousands of reps, chasing a pump and feeling the burn, only to look in the mirror and see the same shoulders you had six months ago. It's frustrating. You feel like you're doing the right thing, but the results aren't there. Here’s the truth: lateral raises are a finishing move, not a foundational one. They are for shaping, not for building raw mass. The medial deltoid-the muscle you're trying to hit-is relatively small. It grows best as a secondary result of getting brutally strong on compound movements. The primary builder for shoulder size is mechanical tension, which comes from moving heavy weight through a full range of motion. That means prioritizing the overhead press. Think of it like building a house. The overhead press is the concrete foundation and frame. Lateral raises are the paint and trim. You're trying to paint a house that hasn't been built yet. We're going to fix that by flipping the script: strength first, pump second. This shift in focus is the single biggest change you can make to finally see the growth you've been working for.

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The Two Mistakes Killing 90% of Shoulder Growth

You're putting in the effort, but two common errors are likely sabotaging your results, turning your hard work into wasted energy. Fixing these isn't about adding more exercises; it's about executing the right ones correctly. The first mistake is directly related to the exercise you're already doing, and the second is about what you're completely ignoring.

Mistake #1: You're 'Lifting' Your Lateral Raises, Not Raising Them

Watch most people do lateral raises in the gym. You'll see them grab 25 or 30-pound dumbbells, hunch over, and use a violent hip thrust to swing the weight up. Their traps bunch up to their ears, and their body contorts. This does almost nothing for your medial delts. That muscle is small and designed for controlled abduction, not explosive swinging. Using momentum and excessive weight shifts the load to your traps, back, and front delts-everything *but* the muscle you want to grow. The fix? Cut the weight in half. If you're swinging 25s, grab a pair of 10s or 15s. Stand up straight, keep your chest up, and raise the dumbbells with a smooth, controlled motion. Imagine you're holding two full glasses of water and you can't spill them. The top of the movement should be when your arms are parallel to the floor, no higher. The burn you feel with 10 pounds and perfect form is 100 times more productive than the ego-lifting you were doing with 30s.

Mistake #2: You Have No Rear Delts

Boulder shoulders are 3D. They need to be round from the front, side, and back. Almost everyone neglects their posterior (rear) deltoids. Your front delts get hammered from every pressing movement (bench press, push-ups, overhead press), and your medial delts get attention from lateral raises. Your rear delts? They get almost nothing unless you train them directly. Without developed rear delts, your shoulders look sloped forward and narrow from a side view. You lack that 'capped' look. The solution is simple: add a dedicated rear delt exercise to every shoulder workout. The best options are Face Pulls or the Reverse Pec-Deck machine. These aren't ego lifts. They require light weight, high reps (think 15-20 per set), and a focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together. Adding 3-4 sets of a rear delt movement at the end of your workout is the fastest way to add visible roundness and thickness to your entire shoulder girdle. You now know the two biggest mistakes: ego lifting on laterals and ignoring your rear delts. The fix is simple: control the weight and add a rear delt exercise. But knowing this and actually applying it are different things. Can you honestly say you know the exact weight and reps you used for shoulders 4 weeks ago? If you can't, you're not tracking progress, you're just guessing.

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The 8-Week Protocol for Building Bigger Shoulders

This isn't a random collection of exercises. It's a structured, 8-week specialization program designed to force new growth by focusing on progressive overload. You will train shoulders twice a week, ideally with at least 48 hours of rest in between (e.g., Monday and Thursday). Forget what you were doing before. For the next 8 weeks, this is your shoulder workout.

Step 1: Find Your Starting Strength (Week 1)

Before you begin, you need a baseline. In your first workout, your goal is to find your approximate 5-rep max (5RM) on the Standing Barbell Overhead Press (OHP). Warm up with the empty 45-pound bar, then slowly add weight. Do sets of 5 reps, resting 2-3 minutes between sets. Keep adding weight until you find a load you can barely complete 5 reps with, using good form (no excessive back bend or leg drive). For many men, this might be between 75-115 pounds. For many women, it could be between 45-65 pounds. Whatever that number is, write it down. This is your starting point. All your progress will be measured against this number.

Step 2: The Two-Day Workout Structure

For the next 8 weeks, you will perform these two workouts each week.

Workout A (Strength Focus)

1. Standing Barbell Overhead Press: 4 sets of 5-8 reps. Use a weight that is challenging in this rep range. Your goal is to add weight to the bar over time.
2. "Corrected" Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Use light weight. No swinging. Pause for one second at the top of each rep.
3. Face Pulls: 4 sets of 15-20 reps. Focus on squeezing your rear delts.

Workout B (Hypertrophy Focus)

1. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps. This allows for a greater range of motion and focus on the delts without requiring as much core stability.
2. Leaning Cable Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 12-15 reps per arm. Holding onto the cable machine allows you to lean away, placing constant tension on the medial delt through the entire range of motion.
3. Reverse Pec-Deck Machine: 4 sets of 15-20 reps. If you don't have this, do bent-over dumbbell raises.

Step 3: How to Progress (Weeks 2-8)

Progressive overload is the only thing that matters. Here is how you apply it:

• For Strength Movements (5-8 reps): Once you can successfully complete all 4 sets of 8 reps with your current weight on the OHP, you must add 5 pounds in your next session. This is non-negotiable. You will likely drop back down to 5 or 6 reps, and that's the point. You then spend the next weeks building back up to 8 reps with the new, heavier weight.
• For Hypertrophy Movements (8-15+ reps): Once you can hit the top end of the rep range for all sets (e.g., 12 reps on dumbbell press or 15 reps on laterals), increase the weight. This usually means grabbing the next set of dumbbells up. The goal is constant, measurable improvement.

This program is for you if you've been training for at least 6 months and your shoulder growth has completely stalled. It's for people who are tired of just chasing a pump and want to build real, lasting size and strength. This is not for you if you have a pre-existing shoulder impingement or injury, or if you're unwilling to drop the weight on lateral raises to perfect your form. Ego has no place here.

Your 60-Day Shoulder Transformation Timeline

Progress isn't linear, and it doesn't happen overnight. Chasing a pump gives you instant gratification that fades in 30 minutes. This program builds real tissue, which takes time. Here is a realistic timeline of what you should expect to see and feel.

Weeks 1-2: The 'Ego Check' Phase

You will feel humbled. The weight on your "corrected" lateral raises will feel embarrassingly light, possibly dropping from 30-pound dumbbells to 10s or 15s. This is the most critical phase. You must accept this and focus on perfect form. Your shoulders, especially your rear delts, will have a deep soreness you've likely never felt before. You won't see any visual changes yet. Your job is to trust the process and master the movements.

Weeks 3-4: The Strength Adaptation Phase

This is when your nervous system adapts. Your Standing Overhead Press will start to feel more stable and powerful. You will likely hit your first personal record, either adding 5 pounds to the bar or hitting more reps than you did in week 1. Your lateral raises will start to feel stronger, even with the light weight. You still won't see dramatic size changes in the mirror, but your shirts might start to feel a little tighter across the shoulders. This is the first sign of progress.

Weeks 5-8: The Visual Growth Phase

This is where the hard work pays off. Your OHP should be consistently moving up. If you started at 95 pounds for 5 reps, you might now be pressing 105 or 110 pounds for 5 reps. This newfound strength is what drives hypertrophy. Now, when you look in the mirror, you'll start to see it. The separation between the three heads of the deltoid will become more apparent. You'll notice more 'roundness' from the side view, thanks to the rear delt work. This is the proof that focusing on strength, not just pump, is the real secret to building bigger shoulders.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Role of Barbells vs. Dumbbells

Barbells are best for building raw strength, which is why the Standing Overhead Press is the cornerstone of this program. Dumbbells are better for hypertrophy and correcting imbalances, as each shoulder has to stabilize its own weight. This protocol uses both for a complete approach.

Training Shoulders After a Chest Day

It's possible, but not optimal. Your front delts and triceps will be fatigued from chest pressing, which will limit your strength on the overhead press. It's better to have a dedicated push day (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) or place at least one full rest day between chest and shoulder workouts.

How Light to Go on Lateral Raises

Use a weight you can control for 15 perfect reps without using any momentum from your hips or back. For many, this is between 10 and 20 pounds. If the burn in your medial delt isn't the main thing you feel, the weight is too heavy. Drop the ego and focus on the muscle.

Fixing Uneven Shoulder Development

If one shoulder is bigger or stronger, use dumbbells for all your pressing and raising movements. Do not use a barbell. The weaker side is forced to do 100% of its own work and will eventually catch up to the stronger side. Always start your single-arm movements with your weaker arm.

The Best Diet for Shoulder Growth

You cannot build new muscle tissue from nothing. To maximize growth, you need a slight calorie surplus of 200-300 calories above your daily maintenance level. Prioritize protein, aiming for 0.8 to 1 gram per pound of your body weight daily. Without fuel, even the best workout plan will fail.