Strong, muscular shoulders don’t just look great; they will also benefit your overall pushing strength!
And if you’re looking to build stronger, more defined delts, you’ve arrived at the right place.
What’s important to know first is that the shoulders have three main muscles: the front delts, side delts (lateral delts), and rear delts.
Training all three muscles is important to achieve rounded “boulder shoulders”.
But the front delts are arguably the most important shoulder muscle as they will benefit your strength in other pushing exercises, such as bench presses and push ups.
So let’s take a look at the 7 best front delt exercises for muscle gain and fat loss. These exercises will increase your pushing strength, build shoulder muscle, and promote fat loss through burning calories!
1. Overhead Press
The overhead press is the king of shoulder exercises.
Also called the military press, the overhead press is a simple but effective compound pushing exercise that will increase shoulder strength, improve pushing power, and build front delt muscle.
It can also build upper chest muscle!
Overhead presses can be performed seated or standing, using dumbbells, a barbell, a single weight plate, or even resistance bands.
The exercise involves holding a weight with bent arms, then lifting the weight over your head with fully extended arms.
For Best Overhead Press Form
- Hold the weight level with your neck
- Depress (lower) and protract (imagine you’re trying to make your shoulders touch each other) your shoulders
- Keep your forearms vertical and lift the weight directly over your head
- Fully extend your arms
- Lower the weight in the same way you lifted it to complete one rep
The overhead press can also be performed with alternating reps if desired. This involves using dumbbells and lifting each arm in alternation.
2. Pike Push Ups
Pike push ups are a compound pushing exercise that will improve shoulder strength, build front delt muscle, and build upper chest muscle.
In fact, pike push ups are the bodyweight version of the overhead press and can be done without any equipment!
How To Perform A Pike Push Up
- Get into a push up position on the floor (with straight arms)
- Walk your feet closer to your hands until your body forms a triangle shape
- Keep your forearms vertical as you lower your upper body to the floor
- Push back up and straighten your arms to complete one rep
For Best Pike Push Up Form
- Protract your shoulders (imagine you’re trying to make your shoulders touch each other)
- Keep your forearms vertical throughout the exercise
The difficulty of pike push ups can also be modified for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.
To reduce the difficulty, place your knees on the floor instead of your feet. To increase the difficulty, bring your feet closer to your hands or elevate your feet on a bench, chair, or stool.
3. Decline Push Ups
Decline push ups are a compound bodyweight exercise that are similar to pike push ups due to how the hips are elevated.
This puts more resistance on the shoulders and front delts, which will increase shoulder muscle, strength, and pushing power.
Despite that, decline push ups are easier than pike push ups. They are performed like regular push ups, but with the feet elevated on a surface such as a bench, chair, stool, or plyometric box.
The higher the feet are elevated, the harder the exercise will be!
For Best Decline Push Up Form
- Protract your shoulders (imagine you’re trying to make your shoulders touch each other)
- Keep your elbows tucked at a 45-degree angle
- Keep your core tight to maintain a straight body from your shoulders to your toes
- Fully straighten your arms at the end of each rep for full range of motion
Decline push ups are more challenging than regular push ups and incline push ups.
The elevated lower body puts more load on the shoulders, making the exercise harder but more effective for increasing shoulder muscle and strength.
4. Incline Bench Press
The incline bench press is a compound pushing exercise that targets both the front delts and upper chest muscles. It is performed on a gym bench, typically using a barbell.
Bench presses, including incline bench presses and decline bench presses, are typically performed to strengthen the chest muscles.
This is done by retracting the shoulder blades (pulling the shoulders back and pushing out the chest) to engage the chest more than the front delts.
But in this case, to engage the front delts more than the chest, incline bench presses should be performed with depressed and protracted shoulders.
This means lowering and rounding your shoulders forward as if you are trying to squeeze them together.
How To Perform An Incline Bench Press To Target The Front Delts
- Adjust the bench to to angle between 15 and 30 degrees
- Sit on the bench and lie back with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor
- Lower the barbell to your chest
- Push the barbell directly upwards to complete one rep
For Best Incline Bench Press Form
- Depress and protract your shoulders
- Keep your forearms vertical throughout the exercise
- Straighten your arms at the top of each rep for full range of motion
5. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press
The incline dumbbell chest press involves the same setup and movement as the incline bench press, except that it uses dumbbells instead of a barbell.
Depending on the weight, using dumbbells can make the exercise harder due to how both weights need to be symmetrically controlled throughout the movement!
Despite that, dumbbell chest presses are considered safer than using a barbell.
Similar to how the shoulders must be protracted during incline bench presses to put more emphasis on the front delt muscles, the same applies to incline dumbbell chest presses.
How To Perform An Incline Dumbbell Chest Press To Target The Front Delts
- Adjust the bench to to angle between 15 and 30 degrees
- Sit on the bench and lie back with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor
- Lower the dumbbells in line with your chest
- Push the dumbbells directly upwards to complete one rep
For Best Incline Dumbbell Chest Press Form
- Depress and protract your shoulders
- Keep your forearms vertical throughout the exercise
- Tuck your elbows at 45 degrees
- Straighten your arms at the top of each rep for full range of motion
Since dumbbells are free weights that need to be controlled during each rep, it’s best to lift a lighter weight.
6. Front Raise
Unlike the above front delt exercises, the front raise is an isolation exercise that only works the front delts. This isn’t a bad thing, as it can improve strength and increase muscle definition!
Front raises are performed in a standing position, using dumbbells, kettlebells, or even a resistance band.
The exercise involves keeping your arms straight as you lift the weight in front of you. It can be done with both arms at once or alternating arms.
How To Perform A Front Raise
- Take a pair of dumbbell or kettlebells and hold them in front of your thighs
- Make sure your knuckles are facing forwards
- Keeping your arms straight, raise the weight until your arms are horizontal or slightly higher than horizontal
- Lower the weight, maintaining straight arms, to complete one rep
Since front raises are an isolation exercise that only works one muscle group (which generally makes heavy weights harder), it’s best to use a lighter weight.
7. Wall Handstand
Last but not least, wall handstands! Wall handstands can be performed anywhere as long as you have a free wall.
The exercise involves stacking your body weight onto your shoulders, which will improve front delt strength and muscular endurance.
Inverting your body can be daunting if you’re a beginner, so it’s best to perform the exercise with guidance.
You also have two options: performing the wall handstand with your toes touching the wall or your heels touching the wall.
In general, performing the exercise with your heels touching the wall is safer, but requires you to “kick up” to the wall – which can be difficult for beginners.
Either way, holding a wall handstand for time is both an effective way to increase front delt strength and build shoulder muscle. It’s also one of the first steps for learning how to handstand!
Conclusion
And that wraps up our list of the 7 best front delt exercises for muscle gain and fat loss.
All the above exercises will increase shoulder strength and build front delt muscle while promoting fat loss through burning calories.
Just make sure to practice good form with each exercise to make the exercise more effective and reduce the risk of injury!
