How to Build 3D Shoulders

2 minute read

How to Build 3D Shoulders

The best hack for sculpting your shoulders

The deltoid, or shoulder muscle, is made up of three main heads: the anterior (front), lateral (side), and posterior (rear) heads. These segments, are known as the delts. The delts contribute to the overall shape and function of the shoulder.

The three main heads of the shoulder. Anterior head, lateral head, and posterior head

When people think of working out their shoulders, they usually think of exercises such as the shoulder press or the front raise. Exercises like this are great but they only really work out the front delt.

The reason why most people don’t see results on their shoulders is because they focus too much on the front delt. Neglecting the side and rear delts. So while the front delt may look like a boulder, the side and rear delt end up looking like pebbles...

The best way to really make your shoulders turn into boulders is to focus a bit less on front delt exercises and focus more on exercises that target the side and rear delts.

Great. Now… how do you do that? Let’s jump into some exercises for your side and rear delts.

Best exercises for 3D shoulders

Side Delt Exercises

Your side delts are responsible for really making your shoulders pop when someone is looking at you from straight on. A pair of developed side delts can help give that round look.

Here are some great exercises to try out:

Dumbbell lateral raises: Stand with dumbbells at your sides, and lift them outward to shoulder level. Pro tip: Imagine you are trying to touch your elbows and pinky finger to the ceiling.
Cable Lateral Raises: Same thing as dumbbell lateral raises, but on a cable machine.

Rear Delt Exercises

Working your rear delts will help your shoulders have a more circular look to them. Especially from the side angle of your body.

While many back exercises tend to hit the rear delts, it is a good idea to throw some of these exercises into your routine:

Face pulls: Attach a rope to a cable machine, and pull it towards your face, squeezing your shoulder blades.
Reverse pec deck: Sit facing the machine, and pull the handles backward, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Bent over dumbbell reverse flyes: Bend forward at the hips, and lift the dumbbells out to the sides, keeping your elbows slightly bent.

Some considerations

When trying out these methods, be sure to start with lightweight and work your way up. With the addition of prior shoulder warm-ups. The shoulders are one of the easiest body parts to injure.

Now you're one step closer to becoming the best version of yourself. Great job. Thanks for reading.

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