Compound shoulder exercises like the military press, dumbbell shoulder press, and push press are excellent for building overall strength and mass. These exercises mainly target the front and middle heads of the deltoids, which are the two larger and more visible muscles in the shoulder. However, these exercises may not provide enough stimulation to fully develop the rear deltoid, the smaller muscle located at the back of the shoulder.

It is important to include some isolation exercises in your shoulder routine to further develop the side and rear deltoid. In other words, too many pressing exercises can lead to overdeveloped front deltoids. This can cause imbalances in your shoulders, creating an unbalanced appearance and a higher risk of a shoulder injury.

Know Your Shoulders

The shoulder is a complex joint that consists of several muscles, including the deltoids, which are the primary muscles responsible for shoulder movement. The deltoids are divided into three heads: the anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoid.

The shoulders serve several purposes, including:

1. Mobility: The shoulder joint enables an extensive range of motion, such as bending, stretching, moving away, bringing near, rotating inward or outward, and moving in a circular motion. Shoulder mobility is crucial for everyday activities like holding, carrying, pushing, pulling, and more.
2. Stability: The shoulder joint is supported and stabilized by a complex network of muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The rotator cuff muscles, in particular, play a pivotal role in providing stability to the shoulder joint, essential for maintaining proper alignment, preventing injury, and ensuring optimal function.
3. Posture: The position and movement of the shoulders impact the alignment of the entire body. Rounded shoulders can cause the head to stick out forward, leading to neck and shoulder pain, while overly elevated shoulders can lead to tension in the upper back and shoulders. Proper posture through the correct positioning and movement of the shoulders is vital for reducing strain on the neck, back, and hips, promoting overall comfort, and preventing the risk of chronic pain or injury.
4. Aesthetics: Well-developed shoulders are an important component of an aesthetic physique. Strong, defined shoulders can help to create the illusion of a smaller waist and enhance overall body symmetry.

What Are Compound Shoulder Exercises?

Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. These exercises involve movement at more than one joint and typically recruit a large number of muscles in the process.

Examples of compound shoulder exercises:

1. Barbell Military Press: Recruits the shoulders, traps, and triceps. Your abdominals are used for stabilization and the chest is engaged from the starting position of the movement.
2. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Recruits the shoulders, traps, and triceps.
3. Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press: Recruits the shoulders, traps, and triceps.

Which Compound Shoulder Exercise is Best?

Both seated barbell and dumbbell shoulder presses are considered to be the most effective compound exercises for developing the shoulder muscles. Since both of these exercises are performed in a seated position, you can concentrate on lifting the weight without being distracted by the need to stabilize or engage your core.

The seated position provides a stable base making it easier to lift heavier weights and work the muscle to failure. Additionally, this position helps to reduce the risk of injury to the lower back and core, which can be a concern when performing standing shoulder presses.

Seated Barbell Shoulder Press:

• Can lift more load
• Best for building strength
• Can create imbalances between the left and right shoulder
• More emphasis on the anterior (front) delt growth

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press:

• Shoulders work independently preventing muscular imbalances
• Does not restrict you to a specific movement pattern
• Works stabilizer muscles
• More emphasis on the lateral head compared to the seated barbell shoulder press

Back Exercises That Target The Rear Delts

There are some compound exercises that target the posterior delts along with the back muscles. Any pulling movement that involves bringing your arm behind your back will recruit the posterior delt.

Compound exercises for the back that recruit the rear delts are:

• Barbell Bent Over Row
• Pull Ups
• Cable Lat Pull Downs
• Dumbbell Row

There are some individuals that prefer to train their rear delts on back day or their pull day, which involves training the back, biceps, and rear delts in the same workout. After doing some compound exercises for the back, it’s usually enough to do a few isolation exercises for the rear delts to make them grow.

Overdeveloped Front Delts Can Be Problematic

It is not necessarily a “bad” thing to have overdeveloped front deltoids, but it can create an unbalanced appearance and increase the risk of injury. This can also affect your posture, causing your shoulders to round forward, leading to neck and upper back pain. In addition, neglecting the other two heads in the shoulder can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome. This can cause pain and limit your ability to perform certain exercises.

It is common for the front deltoids to be larger and more visible than the other two heads. This is due to their involvement in pressing exercises such as bench press, dumbbell press, push-ups, etc. It’s important to include exercises that target the lateral and rear deltoids. Thus, ensuring balance in your shoulders and reducing the risk of injury.

Include Isolation Exercises With Your Compound Shoulder Exercises

Isolation exercises target a single muscle group and involves movement at only one joint. Examples include bicep curls, tricep extensions, calf raises, and leg extensions.

People often use these exercises to target and isolate a specific muscle for aesthetic or rehabilitative purposes. They aren’t as effective for building overall strength, but they are effective for targeting a specific shoulder head.

Examples of isolation exercises for the shoulder:

1. Dumbbell Lateral Raise: Targets mainly the lateral (side) delt of the shoulder.
2. Cable Lateral Raise: Targets mainly the lateral (side) delt of the shoulder.
3. Dumbbell Reverse Flye: Targets mainly the posterior (rear) delt of the shoulder.
4. Dumbbell Front Raise: Targets mainly the anterior (front) delt of the shoulder.

By engaging stabilizer muscles during dumbbell exercises, you can not only improve your overall strength, stability, and balance but also enhance your neuromuscular control and coordination. This can translate into improved technique and performance in other exercises, such as the bench press.

Summary

In summary, compound shoulder exercises like the seated military press and seated dumbbell shoulder press are excellent for building big shoulders. However, incorporating isolation exercises can help maximize shoulder growth. Isolation exercises are necessary for the side and rear deltoid development. This prevents and corrects any muscle imbalances caused by too many pressing movements for the shoulder.