The ONLY 2 Shoulder Exercises You Need (NO, SERIOUSLY!)

What would you say if I told you that there were only two shoulder exercises you need to do? In this video, I am going to show you the two shoulder exercises that should make up the bare minimum of your shoulder workouts. Not only are these two exercises great for building big shoulders, but they are the two exercises that hit cover all 3 heads of the shoulders.

Some might tell you that you only need two exercises total in order to build a muscle group. I disagree. I don’t think anyone should be limited to picking just two exercises for a muscle group because each one often has multiple muscle head as well as multiple functions that can be targeted individually through exercise selection.

The chest is a great example of this; it has three heads as well as two separate functions. Some might tell you that all you need is a flat bench press and incline bench press. You are only hitting two of the three heads of the chest with this election and while you are pressing, you are not getting any adduction - another major function of the chest.

In the case of the shoulders, you have the ability to hit all three heads of the delts given the proper exercise selection. Pressing and lateral raises are the basis of your shoulder training and being able to choose one of each is a great way to build big shoulders. This means that one exercise should be a pressing movement and the other should be a lateral raise movement.

However, when trying to build big shoulders, this is simply the foundation of your what your shoulder training should include. Not every shoulder workout needs to include both of these exercises, but a complete training plan will at least build off or include them at some point.

The first exercise up is the overhead press. Now, this doesn’t have to be a barbell overhead press, but it needs to be some variation of the press. This can come in multiple options such as the barbell press, a modified Bradford press, the z-press, or a dumbbell overhead press (standing or seated without pressing your back into the bench).

The thing is that dumbbell press is limited by the weight you can clean up to your shoulders to press overhead. I like to perform this exercise with a single dumbbell as it allows you to clean the weight up with two hands and it allows for stacking of the wrist over elbow over shoulder to help with orthopedic issues.

The next exercise is some form of a lateral raise; this can be cheat lateral or a strict lateral performed normally or with an intensity technique such as 1.5 reps. However, my choice is the cable lateral raise because it allows you to hit the middle and rear delts in the same movement. Not only are you raising the weight to hit the middle delts, you are getting the elbow behind your body top get a contraction on the rear delt.

This exercise is also interesting because it allows you to put the middle and rear delts on stretch, which is normally ignored on traditional lateral raise exercises. In order to build bigger shoulders, you need an exercise selection that not only gets a good contraction, but a good stretch as well.

If you don't have access to a cable machine to perform this cable side lateral raise for your shoulders you can always grab a pair of dumbbells. One of the most powerful dumbbell shoulder exercises you can do is something called the cheat lateral raise. This is used with heavier weights than you would normally use on a strict lateral raise.

You lean forward at the torso a bit which will not only help you generate some of the momentum used to bring the weight up and position it for the slow eccentric lowering, but it will put the rear delts into position to drive the arm back behind the body into extension as you raise into abduction. It's a powerful variation of the lateral raise that will hit both the rear and middle delts without needing to have access to a cable machine.

Now, if you want to take your shoulder training to the next level that hits every head of the shoulders from different angle, there are many exercises to choose from. I don’t think we should ever be limited to just two exercises for a muscle group, the delts included. But you should at least start with these two exercises to build the foundation of your shoulder growth.

For more videos on hot to get big shoulders and the best exercises to do just that, make sure that you subscribe to this channel here on YouTube and remember to turn on your notifications so that you never miss a video when it’s published.

[Vinemaple]

1:53 one arm dumbbell overhead press
4:14 dumbbell lateral raise

[StephenMarkTurner]

I have 66 year old shoulders, so I really like that adjustment of doing the overhead press with only one dumbbell, I also take a bit of a side step to support that slight body lean.

[theQuickining]

I like videos like this because some days I have an hour to exercise and some days I only have half an hour so I have to leave out some exercises so figuring out what's most beneficial makes it easier to choose what to do with the available time

[SchTef]

Jeff, I have been workout out for 25 years now. But the most amount of knowledge came, when I started watching your videos like 5 years ago. Just wanted to say thank you

[NewDarkKnight]

Understood. You need only 3 exercises for shoulder.
1.OHP
2. Lateral raises
3. Rear delt fly

[seanmartin]

I had a major stroke & my right side has muscle atrophy, my right shoulder doesn't have the mobility for me to build the muscles in my right shoulder, arm & hand. I'm working with OT/PT to help me but an OT told me I may not be able to build the muscles in my right shoulder, arm & hand. I took this as a challenge & am doing some light resistant training for my right side but I want to build it up better

[archiesenol]

I am an intermediate on-and-off lifter in my mid 40s, tryin‘ to get rid of that wobbly 29% belly of mine. I have never seen such a knowledgeable, likeable guy, who explains crucial stuff in an honest and easy-to-follow way. Thx so much, Jeff🏋🏿

[GermanGuyBulldogs]

OK so it’s not “the only two shoulder exercises you need” it’s the “if I could only do two in the world these are the two”

[kendrick]

Jeff is the type of guy to have twins to avoid any imbalances

[compactdisk]

This was a timely video for me! I started just alloting 2 workouts for shoulders last week and I was thinking of how to efficiently do it without sacrificing one of the rear/middle delts for this week. This was a really helpful video. Thanks Jeff!

[bazzm]

This fits my minimalist routine
Thank you!!!

[tanmayfadnis]

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday, Jeff :)

[thefiend_]

I'm new here, and I'm already loving the amount of detail he has to help people with exercise, the content is high quality and I'm definitely subscribing

[isaiahdanz]

Used these two exercises, they are exceptional! I really felt the pump on my shoulders (which I previously struggled with).

[jaybman]

Great video! I have arthritis in my left shoulder, and these workouts are becoming quite painful, but there’s no way I’m going to stop, so I’m looking for alternative approaches I am definitely going to try these

[TopNotchFitness]

I like the modified Bradford press, z press, and standing 1 arm press for all heads to begin shoulder day. Then, focus on isolation. I've learned that it's not about the amount of sets you do but more about the quality of the reps and how you train. Superset lifts with complimentary lifts and mix in plenty of drop sets and rebel in the burn and beyond for a metabolic effect.also, Don't forget to do do progressive overload lifts to work on your strength.

[jordanslingluff]

This has been my approach for the past couple of years as I've gotten older. I do a push and pull days twice a week (legs included). Once I learned about Arnold's Golden 6 I started to think about what basic movements I needed to do in order to hit all the big areas. OHP and lateral raises were what I went with. I kind of threw the rear delt in with my back since it easier to engage with those type exercises, pull ups and rows. I rotate specific exercises around and watch Jeff for ideas on stuff to try.

[hunterhills]

Overhead press and side laterals is all I’ve been hitting and been having some insane progress. I started overhead pressing 95 lbs for like 4 and I hit 155 for 3 and that was over the span of 12 weeks

[RurouniKenshinShinta]

Ive always struggled with shoulders exercises for some reason. It always feels like my body is using joints/bone to lift the weight and could never trigger my actual shoulder muscle to lift the load, no matter what angles I used, hopefully the barbell workout will be easier to use since I do like to use barbel/bench workouts more than others like dumbells, cables. Thanks for your uploads, you're my main source of exercises!

[supersaiyanzero]

oh that z press looks good I still have an l5 s1 hernia so sorta dead pressing may be in the near future. I remember doing one handed overhead dumbbell presses as a teen. We often forget so many things it is good to have this channel to remind and teach us