Canadian natural bodybuilder and powerlifter Jeff Nippard utilizes science to build an aesthetic physique. Through his techniques, he’s learned how to cap his shoulders to achieve a three-dimensional look. Nippard shared the top exercises he performs for each deltoid head — front, rear, and lateral —to create the three-dimensional aesthetic.
On Nov. 30, 2023, Nippard published his training tutorial with exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel on Nippard’s YouTube channel. Check it out below:
[Related: The 4 Back Exercises Ryan Terry Trained to Win the 2023 Men’s Physique Olympia]
Front Delts: Machine Shoulder Presses & EZ-Bar Front Raises
Starting with the anterior head of the shoulders, Nippard trained the shoulder press. Sitting while performing exercise provides better stability, ensuring most of the tension is on the shoulders. Additionally, the added stability should enable lifters to press closer to mechanical failure without a higher risk of injury. Dr. Israetel paused at the bottom of his reps to increase set difficulty while loading the delts in their lengthened position.
Nippard suggests unilateral pressing to correct shoulder strength imbalances. Nippard typically aims for six to 10 reps per set with a focus on mind-muscle connection to effectively load the target muscles.
Israetel’s front delt suggestion is the EZ-bar front raise with an underhand grip. It allows for a better range of motion without stressing joints. A cable machine would allow for an even freer range as the arms can be positioned behind the body at the bottom. Maintaining a proud chest throughout the movement, particularly during the explosive concentrics, should pair well with a four-to-five-second controlled eccentric.
Side Delts: Lateral Raises & Cable Y-Raises
Moving onto the often most underdeveloped deltoid head — the medial deltoid — Israetel prefers a super-range of motion lateral raise. This lateral raise moves dumbbells almost directly overhead at the top of each rep. Keeping the palms down while moving through the entire range of motion activates the medial delts in their shortened position. Once in the 10-20 rep range, the doctor implored complete control of the eccentric for maximum muscle stimulation.
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Nippard’s go-to for lateral delts is the cross-body cable Y-raise. The arm crossing the body enables a tremendous stretch in the lateral delt. Similar to Israetel’s preferred exercise, an extended range of motion is key for medial delt development.
Rear Delts: Reverse Cable Flyes & Reverse Pec Decks
Keeping the theme of an extended range of motion, the duo performed reverse cable flyes. The alignment of the movement with an athlete’s structure enables better targeting of the delts. Dr. Israetel suggests switching which hand is positioned on top at the bottom of the movement each set to ensure muscular balance.
You will not be able to use as much load but minimizing the load while maximizing muscle involvement is a really big thing.
Nippard likes the reverse pec deck. Dr. Israetel gives him the cue to hunch his shoulders forward for two reasons. The first is the pre-stretch of the rear delts at the beginning of the exercise. The second is a cue to extend the hands outward as if “painting the walls” with the palms during both the concentric and eccentric of each rep. This prevents the traps from overtaking the load. Keeping the elbows locked helps bias the rear delts are being worked.
Deltoid Anatomy
As Nippard explained, the front delts endure a ton of volume during chest exercises. Dr. Israetel agreed and mentioned further that the rear deltoid garners significant load during back workouts. They concurred that the medial delts should be the primary focus during shoulder training; Dr. Israetel expressed that the medial delts should encompass 70-90 percent of a shoulder workout.
If you ever see someone who has big shoulders…almost every case it’s the side delts that are actually very big. It’s side delts that really count.
[Related: The 8 Exercises Dana Linn Bailey Uses for Shoulder Hypertrophy]
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Featured image: @jeffnippard on Instagram
