14 Best Shoulder Exercises You Can Do at Home

The best shoulder exercises you can do at home include the military press, Arnold press, lateral raise, and bent-over row. Together, these types of movements can target the three heads of the deltoid — anterior, lateral, and posterior — as well as muscles that help stabilize the shoulder.

Most of the exercises below require only a pair of dumbbells or a resistance band, while several use just your body weight.

Your shoulders are two of the most versatile joints in your body, capable of an extensive range of motion. “But that unparalleled mobility also makes them vulnerable to injury,” explains Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S.

That’s why it’s important to strengthen the muscles supporting the shoulder joint as part of a balanced resistance-training routine.

 

1. Military Press

Appears in: DIG DEEPER >> Upper Body Circuit 1

Benefits:

• Targets the entire deltoid muscle
• Builds shoulder mass and strength
• Engages triceps, traps, and pectoral muscles

How to do it:

• Adjust an incline bench so the back is vertical and sit on the seat, holding two heavy dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
• Keeping your back straight and core engaged, slowly press the dumbbells upward until your arms are straight.
• Lower your hands back to your shoulders and repeat.

2. Arnold Press

Benefits:

• Works both the middle and anterior parts of the deltoid
• Improves shoulder stability through rotational movement

How to do it:

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Engage your core. Keeping your back flat, bring your weights to shoulder level, with your forearms in front of your chest and your palms facing back. This is the starting position.
• Rotate the weights so that your palms face forward as you press the weights directly above your shoulders.
• Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position, and repeat for reps.

 

3. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

 

4. Front Deltoid Raise

Benefits:

• Isolates the anterior (frontal) head of the shoulder muscle
• Builds front shoulder strength and definition

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
• Keeping your arms straight, slowly lift the weights up directly in front of you to shoulder height with your palms facing each other.
• Lower back down to the starting position and repeat for reps.

5. Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Benefits:

• Targets the rear head of the deltoids
• Works the muscles of the upper back
• Builds pulling strength and posture

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
• Engaging your core, push your hips back and hinge forward at your waist until your torso is almost parallel with the floor. Let your arms hang straight down, with your palms facing each other.
• Keeping your back flat, and squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull the weights up to your sides.
• Pause, then lower the weights to the starting position. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps.

6. Reverse Fly

Appears in: Sure Thing >> Week 2: Power >> Upper Body Power

Benefits:

• Engages the posterior deltoid
• Strengthens the upper back
• Improves posture and shoulder balance

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Bend forward at the hips until your chest is almost parallel with the ground. Allow the weights to hang straight down at arm’s length, palms facing each other. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your back flat, raise your arms out to your sides until they’re in line with your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
• Return to the starting position, and repeat for reps.

7. Plank Raise Tap Crunch

• Benefits:
• Builds shoulder stability through closed-chain movement
• Works the core
• Improves coordination and body control

“This bodyweight move is another good closed-chain exercise for shoulder stability,” Miami-based physical therapist William P. Kelley, CSCS, ACT, says. The plank crunch part of the move is also great for working your core.

How to do it:

• Start in a straight arm plank position with your shoulders stacked above your hands and your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your right arm forward, then place it back down into the plank.
• Extend your right arm to the side, then place it back down into the plank.
• Keep your body in a straight line as you reach your opposite (left) arm under your body, pull your right leg toward your core, and tap your right foot with your left hand.
• Return to the plank position.
• Do all of your reps, and then repeat on your opposite side.

8. Deep Swimmer’s Press

Benefits:

• Works the shoulder through a greater range of motion than a conventional overhead press
• Emphasizes the deltoid’s frontal head
• Builds functional shoulder strength

How to do it:

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides, palms facing forward.
• Keeping your elbows close to your sides, curl the dumbbells up until your elbows are bent at 90 degrees. This is the starting position.
• Curl the weights up toward your shoulders, then press them overhead, rotating your hands so your palms face forward as you reach the top of the movement.
• Reverse the movement, lowering the weights as you rotate your palms back toward your body, and finishing in the half-curl, palms-up, starting position. Repeat for reps.

9. Sit-Through

Benefits:

• Hits all three heads of the deltoid
• Builds mobility and coordination
• Engages the core throughout the movement

How to do it:

• Assume a bear stance with your arms straight, your hands below your shoulders, and your knees bent 90 degrees below your hips. (Only your hands and toes should touch the floor.)
• Keeping your back flat, core engaged, and right hand on the floor, lift your left arm and right leg, and open your body to the left, pivoting on your left foot as you thread your right leg beneath you and extend it straight on the floor.
• Reverse the movement to return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side, lifting your right hand and left leg, and pivoting on your right foot.
• Continue alternating sides for reps.

10. Callahan Press

Benefits:

• Challenges the rotator cuff musculature
• Builds shoulder stability and control
• Works the deltoids through multiple angles

How to do it:

• Holding a dumbbell in each hand, assume a staggered stance and raise your arms out to your sides with your elbows bent 90 degrees. Your upper arms should be in line with your shoulders, and your hands should point toward the ceiling. This is the starting position.
• Bring your forearms together in front of you, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Press the weights directly above your shoulders, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position. That’s one rep.

11. Diving Dolphin

Appears in: P90 – Sculpt C

Benefits:

• Engages the anterior deltoids without equipment
• Enhances shoulder stability through closed-chain movement
• Strengthens the core

How to do it:

• Start in a forearm plank with your elbows under your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart.
• Walk your feet in towards your arms about eight to 12 inches so your hips are lifted slightly toward the ceiling. This is the starting position.
• Lower your hips and keep your body in a straight line as you drive your shoulders forward to hover over your wrists.
• Reverse the movement to return to the starting position, and repeat.

12. Clean Squat Press

Appears in: 22 Minute Hard Corps – Special Ops: Resistance

Benefits:

• Works the entire body
• Allows you to safely use momentum to power through extra reps
• Builds explosive shoulder strength

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Lower into a squat, keeping your arms at your sides.
• Simultaneously stand up and curl the weights from the hanging position to the “clean” position (shoulder-height with your palms facing each other).
• Without pausing, drop back into a squat, and then stand up as you press the weights directly above your shoulders.
• Lower the weights back down to your sides as you lower your body back into a squat.
• Continue repeating the entire sequence.

13. Scarecrow Press

Appears in: P90 – Sculpt B

Benefits:

• Challenges the rotator cuff musculature
• Builds shoulder stability
• Works the deltoids through multiple movement patterns

How to do it:

• Holding a dumbbell in each hand, assume a staggered stance and raise your arms out to your sides with your elbows bent 90 degrees. Your upper arms should be in line with your shoulders, and your hands should point toward the ceiling. This is the starting position.
• Bring your forearms together in front of you, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Press the weights directly above your shoulders, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position. That’s one rep.

14. Alternating Lunge With Lateral and Front Raise

Appears in: Shift Shop – Strength: 35 (as “Flying Lunges”)

Benefits:

• Works the entire body
• Targets the lateral deltoids and traps with the lateral raise
• Targets the anterior deltoids with the front raise
• Engages the core, quads, and glutes

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Keeping your back flat and your core engaged, raise your arms straight in front of your chest, palms facing each other.
• Lower your arms, pivot to your left, and lower yourself into a lunge position (rear knee bent 90 degrees, front thigh parallel to the floor) as you raise your arms straight out to your sides, palms facing down.
• Lower the weights as you stand back up, and then pivot back to center to return to the starting position.
• Repeat the entire sequence, this time pivoting to your right.
• Continue alternating sides.

How and When to Do Shoulder Workouts

Perform targeted shoulder workouts twice a week, with rest days in between so your muscles have a chance to recover. Aim for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps per exercise when training for muscle growth.

You can work out your shoulders more often, but keep in mind that they’ll also be engaged during many chest, back, and arm exercises, and even HIIT or Pilates, Kelley says.

If you want to specifically increase shoulder size, you need to perform movements that employ multiple angles to hit each part of the deltoids. The best shoulder workouts will include a variety of moves to work your rotator cuff and deltoid muscles so you can build strength, stability, and mass.

Shoulder Anatomy

Before you dive into a shoulder workout, it’s helpful to understand the different parts of the shoulder muscle. The deltoid is the triangular muscle covering the shoulder joint, responsible for arm rotation and lifting movements.

There are two layers of musculature to the shoulder: the rotator cuff and the deltoids. Both parts of the shoulder are important, but they serve different functions.

The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint, while the deltoid muscles on top of the rotator cuff drive most shoulder movements and give shoulders their shape. “The muscles that stabilize each joint are those of the rotator cuff — the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis,” Thieme explains.

There are three parts of each deltoid:

• Anterior (front)
• Lateral (middle)
• Posterior (back)

How Often Should You Train Your Shoulders?

Perform targeted shoulder workouts about twice a week, with rest between sessions so your muscles have time to recover. Your shoulders also work during many chest, back, and arm exercises, as well as activities such as HIIT and Pilates, Kelley says.

How Many Sets and Reps Should You Do for Shoulders?

When training for muscle growth, aim for around three to four sets of eight to 12 repetitions per exercise. If you specifically want to increase shoulder size, include movements that work the deltoids from multiple angles rather than relying on a single type of press or raise.

Our Top BODi Picks for Shoulder Training and Recovery

DIG DEEPER

DIG DEEPER is a BODi resistance-training program designed around muscle-building workouts. Exercises such as the Military Press appear in the program’s Upper Body Circuit 1, making it an option for people who want structured strength training rather than creating individual shoulder workouts themselves.

Beachbody Performance Recover

Beachbody Performance Recover is formulated for post-workout nutrition. It combines whey protein and carbohydrates, providing nutrients relevant to muscle recovery after demanding resistance workouts.

Training provides the stimulus for muscle adaptation, while adequate nutrition and recovery between sessions support the process.

Shakeology

Shakeology is designed as all-in-one daily nutrition rather than solely as a post-workout recovery product. It combines protein with other nutritional ingredients, making its role different from a dedicated post-workout formula such as Recover.