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Exercises by muscle

Shoulder exercises

Compare overhead presses, lateral raises and rear-delt work. Choose the area and movement you want to train, then find a setup you can repeat.

Choose your starting pointBrowse exercises
Shoulder — Front
Front
Shoulder — Back
Back

The front and back views locate the three deltoid regions. Highlights do not rank exercises or show how much each region grows.

Meet the shoulder

The deltoid has front, side and rear portions. Presses involve the front shoulders and triceps, lateral raises train lifting the arms out to the side, and rear-delt movements bring the upper arms backward or wide. No single press does the same job as every raise.

Choose your starting point

Choose an overhead press

Compare a guided path with independently held weights.

Lift the arms to the side

Lateral raises fill a different role from presses. Compare the resistance source and setup.

Include the rear shoulders

Use a supported fly if you want to move the upper arms wide with a nearly fixed elbow bend.

How to choose

Choose by movement, not just the muscle name

A press, lateral raise and rear-delt fly have different arm paths. Consider the pressing already present in your workout before adding another similar press.

Make small increases useful

Raises often use lighter weights than presses. Progress within your planned rep range and keep the movement consistent; a larger swing changes the comparison.

Explore the exercises

Guides: 55

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Frequently asked questions

Are overhead presses and lateral raises interchangeable?

No. A press combines shoulder and elbow movement; a lateral raise lifts the arm out to the side with much less elbow movement. Pick according to the role you need.

Where can I compare more rear-delt exercises?

The rear-delt page compares dumbbell flyes, a row, cable options and a reverse-fly machine. Open it from the muscle directory for the setup tradeoffs.

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