Shoulder exercises

The shoulder has three heads and they are not all served by the same exercises. Presses load mostly the front head; the side head, the one that gives width, depends almost entirely on lateral raises and cables.

Because pressing already appears in chest sessions, the front of the shoulder is usually well served without direct work. It is the side and rear heads that need sets of their own.

161 exercises in the catalogue, across 13 types of equipment. In a new week, the default target for this group is 4 sets.

How the volume counts

Each set counts in full for the exercise’s primary muscle and for the secondary one where there is one. A set of bench press counts for chest and for triceps — the same rule the app’s weekly volume panel and the public calculator use, and the reason a muscle’s total can exceed the number of sets you actually performed.

By equipment

The names are the catalogue’s own, in English, exactly as the app shows them.

Dumbbells (51)

  • Alternating Arnold Press
  • Alternating Overhead Press
  • Alternating Rear Delt Fly
  • Arnold Press
  • Bayesian Lateral Raise
  • Bent Arm Lateral Raise
  • Cuban Press
  • Decline Neutral Bench Press
  • External Rotation
  • Front Raise
  • Full Front Raise
  • Full Lateral Raise
  • Half Kneeling Overhead Press
  • Half Kneeling Single Arm Overhead Press
  • Head On Bench Rear Delt Fly
  • Incline Front Raise
  • Internal Rotation
  • Internally Rotated Rear Delt Fly
  • Internally Rotated Seated Rear Delt Fly
  • Lateral Raise
  • Laying Incline Lateral Raise
  • Laying Lateral Raise
  • Laying Reverse Fly
  • Laying Reverse Fly Internally Rotated
  • Neutral Alternating Overhead Press
  • Neutral Overhead Press
  • Neutral Seated Overhead Press
  • Overhead Press
  • Push Press
  • Rear Delt Fly
  • Rear Delt Row
  • Seated Arnold Press
  • Seated Full Lateral Raise
  • Seated Lateral Raise
  • Seated Overhead Press
  • Seated Rear Delt Fly
  • Seated Rear Delt Row
  • Seated Single Arm Arnold Press
  • Seated Single Arm Full Lateral Raise
  • Seated Single Arm Lateral Raise
  • Seated Y Press
  • Shoulder External Rotation
  • Single Arm Arnold Press
  • Single Arm Neutral Overhead Press
  • Single Arm Overhead Press
  • Single Arm Push Press
  • Single Arm Upright Row
  • Six Way Lateral Raise
  • Standing Bayesian Lateral Raise
  • Upright Row
  • Y Press

Barbell (25)

  • Behind The Neck Press
  • Behind The Neck Seated Overhead Press
  • Bradford Press
  • Front Raise
  • Full Front Raise
  • Landmine Alternating Single Arm Press
  • Landmine Half Kneeling Single Arm Overhead Press
  • Landmine Kneeling Alternating Overhead Press
  • Landmine Kneeling Overhead Press
  • Landmine Lateral Raise
  • Landmine Lunge To Overhead Press
  • Landmine Overhead Press
  • Landmine Rotational Lift To Press
  • Landmine Seated Alternating Overhead Press
  • Landmine Seated Overhead Press
  • Landmine Seated Single Arm Overhead Press
  • Landmine Single Arm Overhead Press
  • Landmine Single Arm Push Press
  • Landmine Single Arm Staggered Overhead Press
  • Landmine Split Jerk
  • Overhead Press
  • Seated Full Front Raise
  • Split Jerk
  • Upright Row
  • Z Press

Cables (25)

  • Bar Face Pull
  • Bar Front Raise
  • Behind The Back Lateral Raise
  • External Rotation
  • High Internally Rotated Reverse Fly
  • High Reverse Fly
  • High Single Arm Rear Delt Fly
  • Internal Rotation
  • Low Bilateral Lateral Raise
  • Low Single Arm Lateral Raise
  • Overhead Press
  • Rope Face Pulls
  • Rope Front Raise
  • Rope Kneeling Face Pull
  • Rope Mid Lateral Raise
  • Rope Single Arm Low Lateral Raise
  • Rope Upright Row
  • Seated Bar Face Pull
  • Seated Rope Face Pull
  • Seated Single Arm Face Pull
  • Single Arm Face Pull
  • Single Arm Internally Rotated High Reverse Fly
  • Single Arm Rear Delt Row
  • Standing Single Arm Cross Rear Delt Row
  • Upright Row

Kettlebells (14)

  • Bottoms Up Overhead Press
  • Bottoms Up Single Arm Overhead Press
  • Front Raise
  • Kneeling Bottoms Up Overhead Press
  • Long Lever Lateral Raise
  • Push Press
  • Rear Delt Row
  • Rear Delt Row (Double)
  • Seated Overhead Press
  • Single Arm Lateral Raise
  • Single Arm Push Press
  • Single Arm Rear Delt Fly
  • Single Arm Rear Delt Row
  • Swing To Upright Row

Band (11)

  • Face Pull
  • Front Raise
  • High Face Pull
  • Lateral Raise
  • Low Lateral Raise
  • Mid Lateral Raise
  • Overhead Press
  • Pull Apart
  • Rear Delt Fly
  • Single Arm Lateral Raise
  • Upright Row

Plate (9)

  • Car Driver
  • Front Raise
  • Full Lateral Raise
  • Halo
  • Lateral Raise
  • Reach
  • Rear Delt Fly
  • Squat Hold Reach
  • Squat Reach

Machine (8)

  • Neutral Overhead Press
  • Overhand Overhead Press
  • Overhand Row
  • Plate Loaded Front Military Press
  • Plate Loaded Low Row
  • Rear Deltoid Row
  • Reverse Fly
  • Standing Lateral Raise

TRX (5)

  • I Raise
  • Rear Delt Fly
  • Rear Delt Row
  • W Raise
  • Y Raise

Vitruvian (4)

  • Arnold Press
  • Lateral Raise
  • Overhead Press
  • Rear Delt Fly

Bodyweight (3)

  • Backward Arm Circle
  • Forward Arm Circle
  • Ring Rear Delt Fly

Bosu-Ball (2)

  • Front Raise
  • Pike Pushup

Medicine-Ball (2)

  • Halo
  • Press Jack

Smith-Machine (2)

  • Seated Overhead Press
  • Upright Row

Keep reading

Open the calculator

Weekly volume calculator: sets per muscle group

Pick the week’s exercises, set the sets and see how many sets each muscle receives — no account needed.

Read the guide

How many sets per muscle per week

The most cited range is 10 to 20 effective sets per muscle per week. Where to start, how to climb inside a block, and what actually counts as a set.

Chest exercisesBack exercisesLeg exercisesBiceps exercisesTriceps exercisesAb exercisesTraining volume
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