Back in the day, when I wanted to grow my delta, I’d push it really hard on military and shoulder pressing and make sure to be crushing bench press, dips, and rows/pulldowns too.
More recently, I completely changed tactics and decided to have the following split: Lower Body, Chest/Back/Arms, Shoulders. I do this twice per week but on chest/back/arm day I only do 8 total sets and with shoulder day I do 10-12 total sets. So I’m prioritizing delts like never before in terms of volume and frequency.
I don’t go for progressive overload so much as variety. I mainly did the following exercises: cable laterals (full ROM and lengthened partials), cable rear delt rows, cable front raises, db front raises, incline db front raise lengthened partials, band lateral raises, and band face pull apart.
Many of these are not very common but as you’ll see in the video, they light my delts up and always deliver a massive pump. I was surprised to find that my delts have grown larger, despite being 48 years old and training for 33 total years already. It’s not easy to peak at any lift or muscle group at this training age, but it can be done.
I hope you enjoy the exercises…especially the cable rear delt row. It’s amazing. Don’t pause in the squeeze position. Focus on the stretch. These have made a big difference in my training this year, and I think they’ll do the same for you if you implement them.
5 Unique Exercises That MASSIVELY Grew My Delts

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