The deltoids contain anterior, medial and posterior segments. The anterior is in the front, the medial is on the side and the posterior is in the back. When developing the outer delts, you want to zero in on the medial portion, which is also known as the lateral delt. The best exercise for this is called an upright row, and it has specific characteristics.
Function of the Medial Delts
The medial delts give the outer shoulders a round and robust look when fully developed. These muscles get activated when you raise your upper arm laterally at your side. The upright row matches this movement pattern, which makes it a good exercise in your workouts.
Performing the Upright Row
Paying attention to your form is important for developing your outer lats. If you do not move through a full range of motion or have bad body alignment, your progress will be compromised. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell in front of your thighs, with your hands about 10 inches apart and palms facing your body. Keeping your abs tight and back straight, steadily lift the bar up until your palms are even with your shoulders. Slowly lower the bar back down and repeat. When lifting the bar, make sure to keep your elbows higher than your forearms at all times.
Other Muscles Targeted
The upright row is a compound exercise. Compound exercises involve more than one joint and muscle working in concert. Both the elbow and shoulder joints get activated, causing you to work your delts as well as the biceps, trapezius, brachioradialis and rotator cuff. The biceps sit on the front of the upper arms. The traps run from the back of the head across the collarbones. The brachioradialis starts under the biceps and runs across the top of the forearms. The rotator cuff surrounds the shoulder joint.
Variations
The upright row can also be performed with dumbbells. Simply hold them in front of your thighs with your palms facing your body and lift them up in the air. You also have the option of using a cable machine with a straight revolving bar.
Resistance Tips
Using an adequate resistance is important for fully taxing your muscles. Barbells, dumbbells and cable machines each give you plenty of resistance to choose from. As a rule of thumb, aim for a weight that you can only lift eight to 12 times with proper form. A standard barbell weighs 45 lbs., and it comes with weight plates that range from 2 1/2 to 45 lbs. Dumbbells start as light as 1 lb. and go well over 100 lbs. Cable machines have weight stacks that start as light as 10 lbs. and run up to 100 lbs. or more.
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