Are Front Raises Necessary? Why Bench Pressers Rarely Need Direct Front Delt Work

Are front raises necessary? For most people who bench press, incline press or overhead press every week, no. Your front delts are already getting worked on every pressing set, and nothing in the research says you need an extra isolation move to grow them.

That is the short answer. The longer one is more interesting, because it explains why so many lifters have big, rounded front delts and flat, narrow shoulders from the side. If that sounds like you, this article is part of our complete shoulder and delt training guide, and the fix is mostly about where you spend your sets.

What do the front delts actually do?

The anterior deltoid is the front head of the shoulder. It raises the arm forward and takes a big share of the work in any pressing movement. If you want the full map of all three heads, our breakdown of deltoid anatomy for the anterior, lateral and posterior heads covers it.

Here is the gym version. When you bench, the pecs and triceps move the bar, and the front delts help drive it off your chest. When you press overhead, they take an even bigger share. Push-ups, dips and incline presses all do the same.

So you are not neglecting them. You are hitting them three or four times a week without calling it shoulder day.

What does EMG research say about pressing and the front delts?

Electromyography (EMG) measures electrical activity in a muscle. It is a useful clue about which muscles are working, but it does not tell you how much a muscle will grow. Keep that caveat in mind for everything below.

A 2020 study had 30 trained adults bench press at 60% of their one-rep max across five bench angles (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees). Anterior deltoid activity was highest at 60 degrees, and the authors concluded the flat bench produced similar activity for the pecs and the anterior deltoid (Rodriguez-Ridao et al., 2020). Angles above 45 degrees increased the front delt contribution and reduced the pec contribution.

An older study of 15 healthy men found a similar direction. Anterior deltoid activation was significantly greater at 28, 44 and 56 degrees than on a flat bench (Trebs et al., 2010).

Overhead pressing is the same story. In eight competitive bodybuilders, different overhead press variations changed how much each part of the shoulder was excited, and the barbell versions excited the muscles more than a machine that guided the bar path (Coratella et al., 2022).

Do front raises work the front delts more than pressing?

Sort of, and that is where the confusion starts.

In a 2020 EMG study of 10 competitive bodybuilders, the front raise produced greater anterior deltoid activity than the lateral raise variations, and also higher pectoralis major activity (Coratella et al., 2020). So yes, it does hit the front delt. Nobody is claiming otherwise.

The catch is the comparison. The study compared raise variations with each other, not a front raise with a bench press. A dumbbell front raise also tops out at a weight most people can lift with straight arms, which is a fraction of what you handle on a press.

Higher activation in one exercise does not equal a better growth exercise. If you already press heavy, a front raise mostly adds more of the same work to a muscle that is not short of it.

Can indirect pressing volume really grow the front delts?

This is the question that decides the whole debate. Does a bench set count as a front delt set, even though the pecs are the main target?

Research on training volume is starting to treat it that way, with a discount. A 2026 meta-regression of 67 studies and 2,058 participants classified sets as direct or indirect, and the model that counted indirect sets as a fraction of a direct set fit the data best (Pelland et al., 2026). Muscle gain rose with volume, with diminishing returns. The authors concluded that separating direct from indirect sets matters for predicting results.

Here is what that means in the gym. Your bench sets are not a full front delt set each, but they are not zero either. In the paper, the best-fitting method counted an indirect set as half a set. Applied to your week (our extrapolation, not something the study tested on front delts), 12 hard pressing sets would count as roughly 6 front delt sets without a single raise.

An earlier meta-analysis of 15 studies found that weekly sets and muscle growth followed a graded dose-response, with each extra set linked to a small gain (Schoenfeld et al., 2017). Note that those studies looked at the muscles being directly trained, so they do not tell us the exact value of one bench set for one front delt.

Why are my front delts bigger than my side and rear delts?

A few things stack up. Here is the usual picture:

• Pressing dominates the program. Chest day, shoulder day and triceps day all include pressing, so the front delts get most of the weekly work.
• Lateral and rear delts get scraps. The lateral raise and rear delt fly are the main ways to hit those heads, and many programs include few sets or none.
• Genetics. Muscle shape and how a head fills out from the side vary from person to person, so some people will always look front-heavy.
• Posture. Rounded shoulders can make the front delts look bigger and the rear look flatter, though that is a visual effect, not a measured growth difference.

The most common mistake here is treating “shoulder day” as three presses and a front raise, then wondering why the side view never improves. For the lateral head, our guide to lateral delt exercises with dumbbells, cables and machines goes deeper. The rear delts get their own treatment in reverse pec deck vs cables vs face pulls.

Where should you spend the sets instead?

If you drop 3-6 weekly front raise sets, you do not need to remove them from your total. Move them.

A simple version for someone who presses twice or more a week:

1. Keep your main presses (bench, incline, overhead).
2. Do 6-8 hard sets a week of lateral raises, split over two sessions.
3. Do 4-8 hard sets a week of rear delt work.
4. Skip direct front raises, or keep 2 light sets at the end if you enjoy them.

These numbers are practical starting points, not research-proven optimums. Adjust based on how your shoulders look and feel after 6-8 weeks. You can check your weekly totals with the free training volume calculator.

Are front raises necessary for shoulder health?

Short answer: no, and the idea that big front delts directly cause shoulder problems is overstated.

A review of impingement rehab recommends a programme that addresses pain, scapular dysfunction and rotator cuff weakness, with objective testing of range of motion, strength and muscle balance (Ellenbecker and Cools, 2010). A separate review found altered scapular movement in people with impingement, including reduced serratus anterior and increased upper trapezius activation (Ludewig and Reynolds, 2009).

Notice what is not in either abstract: a finding that big front delts cause impingement. A press-heavy program with very little pulling and rotator cuff work may add to the problem, but that is a reasonable hypothesis, not a proven cause.

Do I need a front raise if I rarely press?

Maybe. The argument against front raises depends on you pressing regularly.

If your program has no bench, no overhead press and no dips, the front delts are getting much less work, and a few sets of front raises or a press variation can make sense. The same goes if you have a particular reason to train them, like a sport that demands it.

Also, enjoyment counts. If you like front raises and your lateral and rear delts are already getting their sets, a few light sets will not hurt. The point is priority, not prohibition.

What about the bench itself?

If your front delts take over on the bench, it is worth looking at how you set up and which variation you use. A steeper incline shifts more work to the front delts, as the EMG data above shows, so a lower incline or a flat bench may keep the pecs in front. Our article on flat barbell bench press limitations for hypertrophy covers the trade-offs, and the free push day plan shows how we structure pressing and lateral work together.

The practical takeaway

Press regularly, train side and rear delts directly, and treat front raises as optional. If your front delts are your strong point, there is no case for giving them more. Check your shoulders in the mirror every 6-8 weeks, and adjust where the sets go.

If you have pain, numbness or a shoulder that feels unstable, see a doctor. No exercise swap replaces a proper assessment.