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Video18 minWith Nikkiey Stott

Gym Shoulder Workout for Women: Lateral Delts and Chest

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This video is part ofStrength Training for Women266 lessons · where to start, common questions and more

In this video

This is a full gym shoulder day with a little chest added in, filmed as a follow-along with Nikkiey Stott. The main goal is the lateral delt, the middle cap of the shoulder, so most of the work goes into side laterals done a few different ways, with higher reps to fully fatigue the muscle.

The workout runs as three supersets and then two straight sets: cable chest flys with dumbbell bench press, military presses with dumbbell side laterals, machine side laterals with partial side laterals, then cable front raises and machine rear delt flys. Along the way Nikkiey shows proper military press form, explains how she picks and increases her weights, and shares a counting trick for getting through long sets.

If you have access to cables, dumbbells and a side lateral machine, you can copy the sets and reps straight from this page. If your gym doesn't have the machine, Nikkiey says you can do the same movement with dumbbells.

Key takeaways

  • Superset 1 pairs cable chest flys with dumbbell bench press for 4 sets of 10 reps each.
  • Start with a slightly lighter weight to let your muscles know what they're getting into, then increase it once it feels too light, as long as your form stays good.
  • Superset 2 pairs military presses with dumbbell side laterals for 4 sets of 10 reps each.
  • On the military press, press your back against the seat and avoid arching or curling your back; if the weight forces you to arch, lower it.
  • Superset 3 hits the lateral delts with machine side laterals (or dumbbells if you don't have the machine) and partial side laterals for 4 sets of 20 reps, using higher reps to fatigue the muscle.
  • To get through a long set, count in groups of five and start over, so 15 reps becomes three sets of five and your brain thinks you're almost done.
  • Finish with cable front raises for 3 sets of 15 and machine rear delt flys for 3 sets of 15.
  • Nikkiey's view is that if your sets look pretty and you're not making faces or grunting, you're not working hard enough, so pick up heavier weight.

Questions answered

What exercises target the lateral delts?

Nikkiey uses side laterals in several forms: dumbbell side laterals, machine side laterals and partial side laterals. She supersets machine side laterals with partial side laterals for 4 sets of 20 to really hammer that part of the delt.

What is proper form for a seated military press?

Press your back up against the seat and press up without curling or arching your back. Nikkiey explains that arching usually happens when the weight is too heavy, so lower the weight to keep good form.

Can I do side laterals without a side lateral machine?

Yes. Nikkiey recommends the machine if your gym has one, but says you can replicate the movement with dumbbells as a free weight exercise.

How do I know when to increase the weight during a workout?

Nikkiey starts with a slightly lighter weight to warm her muscles into the movement, and when she realizes it's too light she increases it to challenge herself, while making sure her form stays good.

How can I push through a high-rep set?

Count in groups of five and start over instead of counting all the way up. For 15 reps, that means three sets of five, which tricks your brain into thinking you're almost done.

Ask Nikkiey

Questions this video helps answer, with what Nikkiey says across everything WarriorBabe teaches.

  • Strength Training for Women

    What should training to failure feel like?

    Training to failure should feel like you physically cannot complete another rep with control. Nikkiey describes it as the last rep or two of a set, when you can't pull, push or keep control of the movement. It shouldn't look pretty. If you can breeze through the set, the weight is too light.

    Read the answer →

  • Strength Training for Women

    When should I increase the weight I lift?

    Go up when you can do 12 reps with perfect form and feel like you could do more. Nikkiey's rule: the last two to three reps of every set should feel hard, not painful. When they stop feeling hard, add a small amount, two and a half to five pounds, and build from there.

    Read the answer →

Full transcript

Nikkiey: What's up everyone? Nikkiey here with WarriorBabe, and today we are going to be hitting some shoulders, adding a little bit of chest. Now, what I want you guys to focus on with this workout that I'm going to share with you today is I'm primarily going to be trying to hit my lateral delt, so really growing this middle cap here. All right, so pay attention and let's go hit it.

All right, we're going to start off doing a superset. First exercise is going to be cable chest flys, and then we're going to go into doing dumbbell bench press, and we're going to do four sets of 10 reps each.

All right. So as I'm taking my rest right now, I want to share with you guys that for my next set, I'm going to increase my weight. So typically I do that. I start off with a little bit of a lighter weight to start letting my muscles know what I'm getting into. And then when I realize that it's too light, I will increase to challenge myself a little bit more, while also making sure that I'm keeping good form.

Woo! I'm sorry.

Nice little filming. This is going to suck. I'm getting back.

I can't do fucking eight with that. Supersets are a bitch.

All right, you guys. Next up, we're going to do some plate-loaded military presses, a superset with some dumbbell side laterals. Four sets, 10 reps each.

Love that feeling. Let's go.

So for this next set, you guys, I want to incorporate and show you what proper form looks like. A lot of people, what they do wrong is they'll curl their back, and when the weight is too heavy, they'll start pushing up like this with an arch in their back. What you want to do for proper form: press your back up against the seat, lower your weight so you keep good form, and press up.

Oh my god. On fire. Last set, everyone. Here we go.

Let's go. All right, guys, the next superset that I'm going to bring to you is, like I said at the beginning of this video, targeting those lateral delts, medial delts, to make that pop even more in the cap. So this next superset is going to be some more side laterals. Now, if you're lucky enough to have this amazing machine in your gym, then I would recommend that you do it on this machine. If not, you can still replicate it by doing the dumbbells in free weight. And I'm going to superset that with some partial side laterals to really just hammer that portion of the delt out.

I'm sorry.

One, two, three. Woohoo! If you don't feel a burn at the end of that, you're doing it wrong. Work harder.

For this superset, we're going to bang out four sets of 20 reps each. Again, higher repetition to really fatigue that muscle. All right.

I literally can't. That was 15 reps. Jesus Christ. Oh my God. Did you get your phone? No, almost. They're just on fire.

Oh my god. I can't lift my arms up.

Here's a trick for you guys to trick your brain on the repetitions that you're doing. Say you have 15 reps to do: count backwards, or count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and then start over again, and do that, obviously, three sets of five. It tricks you into thinking that you're almost done.

There should be nothing pretty about your sets, okay? If you look pretty, you're not making facial expressions, you're not making grunts, you're not working hard enough. Work harder, pick up heavier weight, and do work. Fire.

All right, guys, so this next exercise, we're going to be doing some cable front raises. We're going to do three sets of 15.

Damn.

The last exercise that we're going to hit today is some rear delts, going to focus on the back there, and we're going to hit three sets of 15.

Much better.

Here we go. Last set, guys.

That's a wrap. All right, you guys, make sure to subscribe to this channel, hit the notification bell, and leave what workout you guys want to see next in the comment section below.

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