Training Middle Delts

Watch the direction of your upper arms to ensure you’re maximally engaging the middle delts

Is there a secret to building middle delts so wide they block a doorway? It’s not really a secret per se, but if you don’t grasp this one important aspect of shoulder training, you’ll forever be spinning in the world of bro-science.

The point is actually a fairly unspectacular one: Raising your upper arms directly out in the lateral (side) plane is the best way to target your middle delts. By going directly out to your sides, you hit them best; if you instead go somewhat forward and out, you’re working both the front and middle heads, and the middle delt contribution falls further the more your arms go forward.

With that information in mind, you can assess how well just about any overhead shoulder press targets the middle delts versus another. And you’ll discover some recruit the front delts to a far greater degree. Arnold presses start with the weights in front of you: Watch your upper arms as you execute the movement and you see considerable anterior delt activation. Not so with dumbbell shoulder presses so long as your palms are facing forward: The upper arm bone (humerus) is restricted to the lateral plane, so all the emphasis is on the middle delts.

Barbell overhead presses are an interesting case. When you take the bar behind your head, you get much greater middle delt focus than if you bring the bar to the front. Want proof? Just watch your upper arms!

Depending on the machine overhead press you do, including the Smith, you can determine just how much middle-delt activity is involved and therefore pick the right pressing motion for your training goals.

You can even dial up and down middle delt emphasis on an exercise such as upright rows by adjusting your grip. A wide grip enables your upper arms to move fully through the lateral plane, whereas a closer grip pulls them somewhat forward. That forward motion recruits more anterior delt but can be problematic for anyone with shoulder issues because of possible impingement. The upper traps pick up more work with a close-grip upright row, too.

That leads us to the last two points, which I promise will make you sound smarter at the gym among a sea of bro-science-inspired lifters. Never use the phrase “side lateral raises” because “side” and “lateral” are essentially redundant. They both refer to the plane of movement that goes directly out to your sides. Second, such exercises target the middle delt and middle delt only, which is sometimes called a side delt (very lazy terminology, in my opinion) but never, ever called a medial delt. That’s factually wrong, and it’s the kind of know-how that lets you know which trainers really know their stuff.