Shoulders · Machines · 16 exercises

Shoulder workouts with machines

A machine shoulder workout: a shoulder press, a lateral-raise machine and a reverse fly.

The deltoid has three heads. Overhead presses work the front and side heads hard, but the side head grows best from raises, and the rear head needs its own work from reverse flyes, face pulls and rear-delt rows. A balanced shoulder workout covers all three.

Machines guide the weight along a fixed path, so you can push close to failure without balancing the load or needing a spotter. That makes them quick to learn, easy to progress, and a good fit for the later exercises in a workout.

Machine shoulder workout

Machines make strict lateral and rear-delt work easy to load.

Lever Shoulder Press
Sets
4
Reps
8–10
Rest
2 min
Lever Lateral Raise
Sets
4
Reps
12–15
Rest
60 s
Lever Seated Reverse Fly
Sets
3
Reps
15
Rest
60 s
Smith Seated Shoulder Press
Sets
3
Reps
8–10
Rest
90 s

Can’t do one of these?

Machine taken or training somewhere else? Each of these has substitutes that work the same muscles.

Tips

Keep lateral raises light and strict. The side delt is small, and a weight you have to swing is mostly trained by your traps and momentum.
Press with your ribs down and glutes tight so the bar travels over your midfoot instead of your lower back arching to make room.
Give the rear delts as many sets as the front. Most pressing already trains the front head; the rear head is the one that lags.
Adjust the seat so the joint you are moving lines up with the machine’s pivot; most machines mark it with a coloured dot.

Run this workout in SPLYT

Every exercise here is in SPLYT’s library. Save the workout as a template, log your sets on iPhone or Apple Watch, and next time your weights are already filled in from what you lifted.

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16 shoulder exercises with machines

Every one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration. Swap any of them into the workouts above.

All shoulder exercises →

Questions

How many shoulder exercises can you do with machines?

SPLYT’s exercise library has 16 shoulder exercises you can do with machines, including Lever Lateral Raise, Lever Shoulder Press and Lever Seated Reverse Fly. Each one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration.

How many sets should I do for shoulders?

Around eight to sixteen hard sets a week of side and rear delt work, on top of your pressing. The front delts get plenty of work from chest and shoulder presses already.

Are upright rows bad for your shoulders?

A narrow grip pulled high can pinch the shoulder for some people. A wider grip, pulled to about chest height, is easier on the joint and still trains the side delts and traps.

Are machines good for building muscle?

Yes. Muscles respond to hard sets, not to whether the weight is free. Machines also make it safe to take sets close to failure.