What Are Anterior Deltoids?

The term lateral deltoid may be a little confusing for those who don’t study physiology. But deltoid simply means there are three muscles that make up the shoulder. And anterior means front in anatomy.

In addition, the frontal (coronal) plane divides the three shoulder muscles front to back. So they are called the anterior (front), lateral (side), and posterior (rear) deltoids.

As such, the anterior deltoid is also called the front delt.

Benefits of Building Anterior Delts

It’s important to develop all three deltoid muscles to create proportioned shoulders and avoid injury caused by muscle imbalances. But bringing your anterior delts up in the process has several benefits.

First, the anterior delt gives your shoulders more thickness, especially when viewed from the side.

Second, well-developed anterior delts create a defined separation between the chest and shoulder muscles. This split between the muscles makes them stand out and look more prominent.

And lastly, solid anterior delts increase your strength on other exercises like the bench press.

• Make your shoulders appear thicker from the side.
• Create separation between your shoulders and chest.
• Increase strength in pressing movements.

How To Work The Anterior Delt

The primary function of the anterior deltoid is moving your upper arm forward. And it does this in a couple of ways.

One action of the anterior delt is extending your arms as you press out and up. Think of the motion of an exercise like the incline press.

Another action is anterior arm abduction. In other words, lifting your straight arm as you would in a front raise.

Therefore, the most effective way to train the anterior delt is with incline/overhead presses and straight arm raises to the front.

However, there are many variations of each of these movements. So let’s look at some of the best exercise variations for targeting the anterior delts.

Anterior Deltoid Exercises

To make this list of anterior deltoid exercises easier to digest, I’ve divided it into sections based on the equipment used. There are sections for barbells, dumbbells, cables, machines, resistance bands, and “others.”

This segmentation also makes finding exercises that work with your gym equipment easier. So, whether you work out at a fancy health club or in your backyard, there are at least a few side delt exercises you can do.

Barbell Anterior Deltoid Exercises

The barbell is arguably the most versatile equipment for training front delts. So let’s begin with barbell front delt exercises.

1. Overhead Press

The overhead or military press is like the squat of shoulder exercises. So you should absolutely use it in your shoulder-building workouts.

Often, inexperienced bodybuilders overlook this exercise in favor of isolation movements. But make no mistake, the overhead press is fantastic for overall shoulder development.

Start standing with the barbell on the front of your shoulders for this exercise. Then press the bar overhead until your elbows are locked. Now lower the weight back to your shoulders.

Dumbbell Anterior Deltoid Exercises

You can replicate many barbell exercises we just covered with a pair of dumbbells. So let’s look at the best dumbbell exercises for anterior deltoids.

8. Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The dumbbell shoulder press is almost the same as the barbell overhead press. However, each arm works independently.

With dumbbells, you must use more shoulder stabilizer muscles, reducing how much weight you can lift. But you also get a more natural arm movement and range of motion.

Anterior Deltoid Workout

Now you have twenty-one excellent exercises for hitting anterior delts. But you might be stuck on assembling a practical workout routine.

So I’m going to give you an example anterior delt workout. In addition, I’ll explain how to program anterior delt exercises in terms of frequency and sets/reps.

Anterior Deltoid Workout Frequency

The first thing to establish is how often you train shoulders. The answer to that depends on your experience and your goals.

For beginners or people who can only work out a few days a week, a total body 3-day split works well. That means you would do a couple of shoulder exercises each workout three times per week.

More advanced lifters might work single muscle groups in each workout. This routine is called the bro split workout, which works perfectly for growth.

In that case, you would work your shoulders for an entire workout once or twice a week. And you want to include at least a couple of anterior delt exercises in those workouts.