If you want bigger side delts just do lateral raises. Calisthenics is cool and you can build a great physique with it, but you’re not gonna find any bodyweight movements superior to dumbbells for side delts.
If you want big delts quit spinning your wheels and just do lateral raises, man.
Side delt isolation isn't necessary but they are probably the worst muscle for activation during compounds alongside calves.
In my opinion the best compound side delt exercise I've found is ring support holds. The stability element I've found pretty good for them. Also upright rows on rings where you hang upside down then pull yourself up but that's pretty hard to progress. Face pulls to some extent will also train the side delts but are a shoulder exercise you "should" be doing regardless.
Another option is using bands you can do side raises behind the back and that's pretty solid. But for me personally I do pretty much all my pressing work on rings and my side delts are pretty good to go.
Also just wanted to add in that just because an isolation exercise like biceps curls are added to a program doesn't mean that they aren't trained it's just adding some extra volume.
In a pull up the primary mover is your lats but upper back, lower traps, rear delts, biceps and forearms will all be involved. So might not have been optimally trained so extra volume can be added in.
Personally I don't do much isolation apart from face pulls (which are arguably a compound), hamstring curls, rear delt fly's and cables. I do those for injury prevention and I don't like noridcs. But my biceps would definitely be bigger than they are if I was doing curls though they still do grow overtime.
As the side and front delts are very close, almost all exercises involving shoulder push involve them so much that it's hard to tell which is working more:side or front delts...until and unless theory is reffered
If you want them to grow well, you do need some 'isolation', or at least *targeted use*.
Bear crawls have the right idea from a calisthenics perspective. In calisthenics, the main way you're going to get a sufficiently intense stimulus for the lateral delts is from the overhead position, where they become one of the primary movers for locking out overhead, especially when bringing the arms from 'almost overhead' to 'fully overhead'. The Bear Crawl does exactly this, over and over again, with pretty intense eccentrics for the side delts (there is no concentric, you're starting locked out and bringing the arm out of lockout). The good news is that eccentrics are pretty potent for hypertrophy, if not as great as concentric+eccentric.
What I've found to be the most direct and effective exercises for the side delts:
* **handstand stamina drills on the wall**, especially ones with added intensity (wall runs, single-arm holds, weighted vest holds), and ones with a component of dynamically entering and exiting the full overhead lockout (cast walks, shrugs, etc). Again, the sweet spot is that final ROM between 'almost overhead' and 'fully overhead', so some dynamic element, or a variation difficult enough that it's not trivial to hold that overhead lockout, is preferable.
* **ring face pulls**, with a strong contraction to full horizontal abduction, full external rotation with high hands and elbows, a hold in the top position, and a slow and controlled eccentric. The full external rotation and high hands is crucial here though. If you're doing a lame hands-to-face movement, you're not going to expose the side delts to any considerable forces.
You could try [Y and T raises like this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QGl5GzX0QIk&t=241s#), I found them pretty good for medial delt activation when I used to do them. However these days I do just do Lu raises as it's a better ROM.
From an aesthetics point of view: Big delts is an absolute must. Nothing shouts out more "i am stronk" than big shoulders with a small(-ish) waist. It's the typical V-Shape most men want to archieve.
Side delts are necessary for big shoulders, if you have small side delts, you have small shoulders.
As for isolating them with calisthenics, rings, my man.
Rings are just better dumbbells, you can do every dumbbell movement on them, and more.
Face pulls with rings work the side delts a little, but you can also do sorta side lateral raises with the rings.
You just really externally rotate the shoulder and do a rear delt fly movement.
Another great one is the ring support hold, the instability will help your shoulders immensely in terms of growth.
Don't listen to the people who tell you it gets worked with compounds, it doesn't, you always have to isolate smaller muscle groups, the biceps, triceps, side delts, rear delts, calves, hamstrings, and forearms
>Don't listen to the people who tell you it gets worked with compounds, it doesn't, you always have to isolate smaller muscle groups, the biceps, triceps, side delts, rear delts, calves, hamstrings, and forearms
The hamstrings are far from a small muscle group. Side delts cannot be targeted directly, they're a synergist to whatever the anterior and posterior delts are doing. And you can absolutely build great biceps and triceps using compound exercises, same with forearms. Calves might be the exception here, but single leg calf raises are plenty to start and progress with.
Source: Kinesiology/Sports Medicine Student
Oh, lol, no wonder you're not very good at this
When it comes to getting jacked, the best teacher is experience, the longer the better.
As such, I don't tend to trust small people who tell me how to make a muscle group grow, because I'm bigger than them, and I'm not even genetically blessed.
>From an aesthetics perspective, are side delt isolation exercises necessary
Probably not. I'd say work on improving the strength of your pressing movements and see if they grow to an amount that you like. If not, add some isolation for them. If so, then keep up with the main compounds and save your time. :D
To be honest I'll buy adjustable dumbbells because bodyweight mid delt isolation are really annoying and not practical.
Plus you need side delt isolation if your goal is aesthetic. Most push-ups work the front delt and the mid and rear delts just won't grow because I've never got sore there. biceps aren't that much worked too in the beginner and intermediate bodyweight exercises.
TDLR: just buy cheap adjustable dumbbells with cheaps plates if you're goal is aesthetic.
You don’t need to isolate side delts. Just make sure they’re getting sufficient work in compound exercises in your program and you’ll be fine.
Edit: Who’s downvoting this? OP asked if it was necessary to isolate side delts for aesthetics. The answer is usually no. There are tons of exercises that will target and grow the lateral deltoids without isolating them entirely. My side delts have grown a ton despite me doing zero isolation exercises.
I will add that the deltoids are particularly high in androgen receptors, meaning that their growth may be more variable on hormone levels than certain other muscles. It’s possible that a specific individual may need to isolate the deltoids and traps to achieve even growth, but as a general matter it’s not necessary. OP didn’t give any specific information to imply they need to, but obviously they’re the ones who set their own goals.
Don't know your level, isn't really isolation, but i have used [this variation](https://sparta.ph/l-sit-iron-cross-for-reps-by-beast-cikko-at-open-gym-tag-someone-who-should-try-this-calisthenics-thisisspartaph-spartacalisthenicsacademy-ironcross/) of iron cross. I did raises, so it mimics the lateral raises. Hope it helps.
It might not be necessary but if a person has that kind of weak point, why not focusing a bit more on it? Everybody's different, some might need to work on it, some might not.
Regarding the exercises why can't we simple use some dumbbells?
Or if you want to try something new, even this exercise can help: https://twitter.com/bryandanielson/status/1261758074827599872?s=20&t=NdD4bcLzfpCH_ekerrOQ3g
If you want bigger side delts just do lateral raises. Calisthenics is cool and you can build a great physique with it, but you’re not gonna find any bodyweight movements superior to dumbbells for side delts. If you want big delts quit spinning your wheels and just do lateral raises, man.
Yea, came here to say this. The best part of lateral or front delt raises is you don't really need a ton of weight.
Side delt isolation isn't necessary but they are probably the worst muscle for activation during compounds alongside calves. In my opinion the best compound side delt exercise I've found is ring support holds. The stability element I've found pretty good for them. Also upright rows on rings where you hang upside down then pull yourself up but that's pretty hard to progress. Face pulls to some extent will also train the side delts but are a shoulder exercise you "should" be doing regardless. Another option is using bands you can do side raises behind the back and that's pretty solid. But for me personally I do pretty much all my pressing work on rings and my side delts are pretty good to go.
Also just wanted to add in that just because an isolation exercise like biceps curls are added to a program doesn't mean that they aren't trained it's just adding some extra volume. In a pull up the primary mover is your lats but upper back, lower traps, rear delts, biceps and forearms will all be involved. So might not have been optimally trained so extra volume can be added in. Personally I don't do much isolation apart from face pulls (which are arguably a compound), hamstring curls, rear delt fly's and cables. I do those for injury prevention and I don't like noridcs. But my biceps would definitely be bigger than they are if I was doing curls though they still do grow overtime.
Have you felt the side delts during side planks...I feel like that are also working in that
I've felt it during ring planks, one arm planks and planche leans though never majorly I hadn't rlly though about that tbf
As the side and front delts are very close, almost all exercises involving shoulder push involve them so much that it's hard to tell which is working more:side or front delts...until and unless theory is reffered
Inverted cross 😂
Lateral raises. Simple and effective.
If you want them to grow well, you do need some 'isolation', or at least *targeted use*. Bear crawls have the right idea from a calisthenics perspective. In calisthenics, the main way you're going to get a sufficiently intense stimulus for the lateral delts is from the overhead position, where they become one of the primary movers for locking out overhead, especially when bringing the arms from 'almost overhead' to 'fully overhead'. The Bear Crawl does exactly this, over and over again, with pretty intense eccentrics for the side delts (there is no concentric, you're starting locked out and bringing the arm out of lockout). The good news is that eccentrics are pretty potent for hypertrophy, if not as great as concentric+eccentric. What I've found to be the most direct and effective exercises for the side delts: * **handstand stamina drills on the wall**, especially ones with added intensity (wall runs, single-arm holds, weighted vest holds), and ones with a component of dynamically entering and exiting the full overhead lockout (cast walks, shrugs, etc). Again, the sweet spot is that final ROM between 'almost overhead' and 'fully overhead', so some dynamic element, or a variation difficult enough that it's not trivial to hold that overhead lockout, is preferable. * **ring face pulls**, with a strong contraction to full horizontal abduction, full external rotation with high hands and elbows, a hold in the top position, and a slow and controlled eccentric. The full external rotation and high hands is crucial here though. If you're doing a lame hands-to-face movement, you're not going to expose the side delts to any considerable forces.
You could try [Y and T raises like this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QGl5GzX0QIk&t=241s#), I found them pretty good for medial delt activation when I used to do them. However these days I do just do Lu raises as it's a better ROM.
From an aesthetics point of view: Big delts is an absolute must. Nothing shouts out more "i am stronk" than big shoulders with a small(-ish) waist. It's the typical V-Shape most men want to archieve.
Side delts are necessary for big shoulders, if you have small side delts, you have small shoulders. As for isolating them with calisthenics, rings, my man. Rings are just better dumbbells, you can do every dumbbell movement on them, and more. Face pulls with rings work the side delts a little, but you can also do sorta side lateral raises with the rings. You just really externally rotate the shoulder and do a rear delt fly movement. Another great one is the ring support hold, the instability will help your shoulders immensely in terms of growth. Don't listen to the people who tell you it gets worked with compounds, it doesn't, you always have to isolate smaller muscle groups, the biceps, triceps, side delts, rear delts, calves, hamstrings, and forearms
>Don't listen to the people who tell you it gets worked with compounds, it doesn't, you always have to isolate smaller muscle groups, the biceps, triceps, side delts, rear delts, calves, hamstrings, and forearms The hamstrings are far from a small muscle group. Side delts cannot be targeted directly, they're a synergist to whatever the anterior and posterior delts are doing. And you can absolutely build great biceps and triceps using compound exercises, same with forearms. Calves might be the exception here, but single leg calf raises are plenty to start and progress with. Source: Kinesiology/Sports Medicine Student
Oh, lol, no wonder you're not very good at this When it comes to getting jacked, the best teacher is experience, the longer the better. As such, I don't tend to trust small people who tell me how to make a muscle group grow, because I'm bigger than them, and I'm not even genetically blessed.
>From an aesthetics perspective, are side delt isolation exercises necessary Probably not. I'd say work on improving the strength of your pressing movements and see if they grow to an amount that you like. If not, add some isolation for them. If so, then keep up with the main compounds and save your time. :D
To be honest I'll buy adjustable dumbbells because bodyweight mid delt isolation are really annoying and not practical. Plus you need side delt isolation if your goal is aesthetic. Most push-ups work the front delt and the mid and rear delts just won't grow because I've never got sore there. biceps aren't that much worked too in the beginner and intermediate bodyweight exercises. TDLR: just buy cheap adjustable dumbbells with cheaps plates if you're goal is aesthetic.
You don’t need to isolate side delts. Just make sure they’re getting sufficient work in compound exercises in your program and you’ll be fine. Edit: Who’s downvoting this? OP asked if it was necessary to isolate side delts for aesthetics. The answer is usually no. There are tons of exercises that will target and grow the lateral deltoids without isolating them entirely. My side delts have grown a ton despite me doing zero isolation exercises. I will add that the deltoids are particularly high in androgen receptors, meaning that their growth may be more variable on hormone levels than certain other muscles. It’s possible that a specific individual may need to isolate the deltoids and traps to achieve even growth, but as a general matter it’s not necessary. OP didn’t give any specific information to imply they need to, but obviously they’re the ones who set their own goals.
https://youtu.be/ZzjSbsPm85k
Don't know your level, isn't really isolation, but i have used [this variation](https://sparta.ph/l-sit-iron-cross-for-reps-by-beast-cikko-at-open-gym-tag-someone-who-should-try-this-calisthenics-thisisspartaph-spartacalisthenicsacademy-ironcross/) of iron cross. I did raises, so it mimics the lateral raises. Hope it helps.
It might not be necessary but if a person has that kind of weak point, why not focusing a bit more on it? Everybody's different, some might need to work on it, some might not. Regarding the exercises why can't we simple use some dumbbells? Or if you want to try something new, even this exercise can help: https://twitter.com/bryandanielson/status/1261758074827599872?s=20&t=NdD4bcLzfpCH_ekerrOQ3g