AI Summary
The video explains that most shoulder exercises are a waste of time and that simplifying shoulder training to three key movements—overhead press, lateral raises, and rear delt flies—is the most effective approach. The host explains the roles of the front, side, and rear delts, provides rep and set recommendations, and shares a programming trick to balance chest and shoulder training.
Chapters
Doing fewer exercises correctly with proper form and progressive overload builds more muscle than trying every shoulder exercise available.
Shoulders consist of front, side, and rear delts; each needs just one targeted exercise.
Pressing exercises already train the front delts heavily; adding isolation can lead to imbalanced shoulder development.
Pick one overhead press variation (dumbbell, barbell, seated, or standing) and perform 3 sets of 5-8 or 8-12 reps twice a week.
On upper body days, alternate which muscle gets the lower rep range first: one day starts with chest, the other with shoulders, to maximize strength.
Perform lateral raises (dumbbells, cables, or machine) for 3 sets of 15-20 reps twice a week to build shoulder width.
Choose one rear delt exercise: reverse fly, reverse pec deck, or face pull. Do 3 sets of 15-20 reps twice a week; optionally up to 5 sets to catch up.
The routine is 3 sets of overhead press, 3 sets of lateral raises, and 3 sets of rear delt flies, all performed twice a week.
By stripping shoulder training down to one exercise per delt head and training twice weekly, you can focus on progressive overload and consistency—the true drivers of muscle growth.
Mentioned in this Video
Tutorial Checklist
Study Flashcards (8)
What are the three main parts of the shoulder?
easy
Click to reveal answer
What are the three main parts of the shoulder?
The front delts, side delts, and rear delts.
01:21
Why shouldn't you do isolation exercises for the front delts?
medium
Click to reveal answer
Why shouldn't you do isolation exercises for the front delts?
Because all pressing exercises already work the front delts a lot, and extra isolation can lead to imbalanced shoulder development.
01:33
How many sets and reps are recommended for the overhead press?
easy
Click to reveal answer
How many sets and reps are recommended for the overhead press?
Three sets of either 5-8 or 8-12 reps, performed twice a week.
02:21
What programming trick helps when training chest and shoulders on separate days?
hard
Click to reveal answer
What programming trick helps when training chest and shoulders on separate days?
Alternate which muscle gets the lower rep range first: start one upper-body day with chest (5-8 reps) and the other with shoulders (5-8 reps).
03:27
What exercise is recommended for the side delts?
easy
Click to reveal answer
What exercise is recommended for the side delts?
Lateral raises (with dumbbells, cables, or a machine) for 3 sets of 15-20 reps, twice per week.
05:01
Name the three rear delt exercises recommended in the video.
medium
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Name the three rear delt exercises recommended in the video.
Reverse fly (dumbbells), reverse pec deck, and face pull.
06:06
How many times per week should you train shoulders according to the video?
easy
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How many times per week should you train shoulders according to the video?
Twice per week.
01:07
What happens if you add extra shoulder exercises beyond the key three?
medium
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What happens if you add extra shoulder exercises beyond the key three?
It adds unnecessary fatigue that does not lead to extra muscle growth.
07:24
💡 Key Takeaways
Quality over quantity
Focusing on a few exercises with proper form beats doing many exercises poorly.
00:40Front delts need no isolation
Pressing movements already sufficiently work the front delts, so adding isolation risks imbalance.
01:33The chest-shoulder priority swap
Alternating the low-rep focus between chest and shoulders on upper-body days maximizes strength and growth.
03:27Side delts create the 3D look
Side delt development makes the physique appear wider and more impressive.
04:49Extra exercises add fatigue, not muscle
Beyond the three key lifts, additional movements don't contribute to growth and only add unnecessary fatigue.
07:24Full Transcript
[00:01] you can choose from is absolutely insane. And because there is so many of them, it's really difficult to know which exercises are actually worth your time. So, it might seem that the best option is to just do as many of them as
[00:13] possible. But the reality is most of these exercises are a complete waste of time. You simply don't need like 10 different shoulder exercises every week because then you are not working out. You are just clowning around. which
[00:25] might be pretty funny, but unfortunately being funny doesn't build any muscle. have the biggest shoulders in the world, huh? You need to realize that actually doing less and really just hyperfocusing on doing that small amount of exercises
[00:40] correctly is much better than trying to do every single shoulder exercise under the sun. Simplifying your shoulder training is the key to finally seeing real noticeable results without setting up camp in the gym. Because when you
[00:53] break it down to the absolute basics, it becomes much easier to focus on what is the proper form and progressive overload. As these factors are thousand times more impactful than overly trying to chase variety. My mission is to show
[01:07] shoulders need. That will be your foundation. Then I will show you the many times per week you should train your shoulders. You can easily just copy that and slide it right into your routine. Shoulders are really not that
[01:21] difficult to understand. They are made up of three main parts. The front delts, the side delts, and the rear delts. And for each one of those areas, you need just one exercise. It really is that simple. When it comes to the front
[01:33] delts, you need to realize one crucial thing. All pressing exercises already work your front delts a lot. So, actually going out of your way to isolate your front delts is not a good idea because adding additional isolation
[01:45] exercises for the front delts can lead to an imbalanced development of your shoulders. And as you will see later, actually focusing on the rear and the side delts is much more important for achieving that boulder shoulder look.
[01:57] So, for the front delts, I really don't recommend doing any isolation exercises. You know, pretending to be a track driver can be a good hobby, but exercises like that really just are a waste of time. If you are already doing
[02:09] some variation of the overhead press and some chest pressing exercises, you are already doing more than enough to grow your front delts. So, what is really important in this section is to select one variation of the overhead press and
[02:21] really focus on it. It doesn't really matter if you go with dumbbells or a barbell or even if you are sitting or standing. Go with the variation that you to. Generally, you should do three sets of overhead press per workout either in
[02:34] the 5 to 8 or 8 to 12 rep range. And you do that twice a week. But you don't have to stick to just one rep range forever, though. You can mix them based on the priority of each workout, like I do in my training plans. When you are trying
[02:47] to program shoulders into your split, you need to pay close attention to your chest exercises. Why, you might ask? That is because chest and shoulders Meaning that the body part you train first will always be much better off
[03:00] than the second one. Because by the time you get to the second body part, you will already be pretty fatigued from the first one. This is a pretty common issue in most of the training splits except the Arnold split where shoulders and
[03:12] all the other training splits, you need to do one very simple programming trick. Most commonly when you do the upper lower split, for example, you train the crucial if you want to execute this very useful trick. Because when you train
[03:27] you don't want both of the days to look the exact same. You need one day to be more focused on your chest and one on your shoulders. Which means that on the first day you will start with a chest exercise in a lower rep range like 5 to
[03:41] shoulder press in a higher rep range like 8 to 12 or even 12 to 15. But on the second upper body day you do the exact opposite. You start with the overhead press in a lower rep range like 5 to 8. And then later you do the chest
[03:55] exercises in a higher rep range like 8 to 12 or 12 to 15. Because you are always doing the low rep range exercise at the start of the workout, your strength will be at its peak. So you will be able to give it a roll. And then
[04:08] once you are a little more tired, you will be able to do exercises in a higher weight. This is the best way of going about it. and I just barely scratched the surface with this as there is so many other really cool programming
[04:21] routine so much better. If you would like to grab a training plan that techniques implemented, then I would highly recommend one of my training plans. You just grab it and follow it in the most simplified way possible without
[04:35] feeling lost or overwhelmed. So, if you want to check it out, click the first link in the description. Now, let's talk about the side delts. The side delts are because they are responsible for that really sick 3D look. And if your
[04:49] shoulders look like you are a Minecraft character, you are clearly missing out in the side delts department. Once you get your side delts big enough, your physique will appear much wider and much more impressive. To hit the side delts,
[05:01] you should go with the lateral race. Doesn't really matter what variation you go with. If it's dumbbells, cables, or some kind of fancy machine, as they all work on the same basis. Simply go with the variation that you feel like works
[05:14] the best for you. That is always the best approach. Once you find that one perfect the form to squeeze out every once again go with three sets per workout, ideally in a little higher of a
[05:27] rep range. So something like 15 to 20 reps is perfect. And you do this twice per week. Then we have the third head of the shoulder, which is the rear delts. forgotten, which is really sad to see
[05:40] responsible for making you look massive from the side. To be completely honest, if you are skipping the rear head of the shoulder, your shoulders will look really weird and incomplete. It's like driving a car that only has the two
[05:54] front wheels. It looks okay from the front, but once someone looks from the side, you will be exposed. To grow your rear delts, I recommend picking one of these exercises based on what you like the most and what equipment you have
[06:06] access to. You can choose between the original fly that utilizes dumbbells, the reverse spec deck, which is a very good machine that most gyms have, and if with the face pull, which is more difficult in terms of executing the
[06:19] technique properly. But if you nail it perfectly, you will see some great gains. But from all of these exercises, you should pick just one, not multiple. You know, if for some reason you want to do more sets for your rear delts than
[06:31] just three, then you don't need to add more exercises. Just do more sets with that same exercise. That will be so much better. And as per usual, the norm for the rear delts is three sets per workout in roughly the 15 to 20 rep range. And
[06:44] you do that twice a week. But in the case of rear delts, going from just three sets per workout up to five sets per workout can be a good idea if you you want them to catch up as fast as possible. Now, we went over all the
[06:58] look at how your example shoulder routine could look like when we put it all together. So, you got your three sets of overhead press in the 5 to eight or 8 to 12 rep range. Then, three sets of lateral raises in the 15 to 20 rep
[07:12] range. And lastly, three sets of rear dead flies also in the 15 to 20 rep range. Simply copy this and do it twice per week. Then you will see the best shoulder gains of your life. Doing any extra exercises beyond the key three
[07:24] will be just useless. It would just add unnecessary fatigue that would not lead to any extra muscle growth. Do exactly what I outlined a second ago and you will start seeing results. This setup is super simple so that you can focus on
[07:37] proper technique, tracking your weight progression over time and going to the gym consistently, which should not be a problem anymore because you now know exactly what you need to focus on. So you can finally relax and stop stressing
[07:50] about if you are missing out on something. You got everything you need Thank you for watching. I hope that you learned something and I will see you next time. Try clicking on this video. I
[08:02] think it's a pretty good one. [music]
