Your front delt is the part of your shoulder sitting right under your collarbone, and it’s already doing heavy work every time you bench press, overhead press, or push a door open. It’s the prime mover any time your arm goes up in front of your body, and it kicks in as a secondary driver on nearly every pressing exercise you already do. This page covers 6 cable exercises built specifically for that muscle, from a basic front raise you can load heavy to a rotation variation most lifters have never tried.
A cable keeps tension on your front delt through the whole rep instead of losing it at the top or bottom the way a dumbbell does. That matters more here than on most muscles, since your front delt is already getting plenty of indirect work from pressing, and the last thing you want is another exercise that only loads it hard for half the range. Direct cable work lets you finish the job at a controlled, joint-friendly angle instead of just adding more heavy pressing to your week. You also get angles a barbell can’t touch, like the cross-body path and the deep behind-the-body stretch, both covered below.
Below are the 6 cable exercises I’d actually program for the front delt, starting with the basic raise and working through the straight-bar, single-arm, cross-body, and rotation variations before finishing on a compound press. Every exercise gets real how-to steps and a demo video, plus a sample workout and a look at the anatomy behind it. If you want lateral and rear delt options on the same page, see our cable shoulder exercises roundup instead. This page sticks to the front delt only.
Table of Contents
- 1 The 6 Best Cable Front Delt Exercises
- 2 Cable-Only Front Delt Workout
- 3 Shoulder (Deltoid) Anatomy
- 4 Frequently Asked Questions
- 4.1 How often should I train front delts with cables?
- 4.2 Can I build my front delts with cables only?
- 4.3 Cable front raise or dumbbell front raise, which is better?
- 4.4 Do I need direct front delt work if I already bench and overhead press?
- 4.5 What rep range works best for cable front delt exercises?
- 4.6 Why do my shoulders hurt during cable front raises?
- 4.7 Should I train front delts before or after my chest and shoulder pressing?
- 5 Final Thoughts
- 6 References
- 7 Other Muscle Groups Exercises
- 7.1 The 8 Best Long Head Bicep Exercises
- 7.2 The 9 Best Side Delt Exercises for Broader Shoulders
- 7.3 The 8 Best Short Head Bicep Exercises
- 7.4 The 8 Best Lateral Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.5 The 8 Best Bicep Cable Exercises
- 7.6 The 8 Best Long Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.7 The 8 Best Front Delt Dumbbell Exercises
- 7.8 The 8 Best Rear Delt Exercises
- 7.9 The 6 Best Cable Hamstring Exercises
- 7.10 10 Best Cable Shoulder Exercises
- 7.11 The 7 Best Lower Lat Dumbbell Exercises
- 7.12 The 8 Best Rear Delt Bodyweight Exercises
- 7.13 The 7 Best Outer Quad Exercises (2023)
- 7.14 The 7 Best Medial Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.15 The 6 Best Cable Rear Delt Exercises (2023)
The 6 Best Cable Front Delt Exercises
- Cable Front Raise
- Straight-Bar Cable Front Raise
- Single-Arm Cable Front Raise
- Cross-Body Cable Front Raise
- Cable Front Raise with Rotation
- Cable Shoulder Press
1. Cable Front Raise
Benefits of the Cable Front Raise
This is the standard version and the one I’d teach first. The low pulley keeps tension on your front delt at the bottom of the rep, right where a dumbbell front raise goes slack the second gravity stops helping. You can grip the handle in front of your thigh for a normal starting position, or reach behind your body between your legs for a deeper stretch before the rep even starts. It’s also the easiest of the 6 to load progressively, since a single handle and a straightforward path make it simple to add weight week to week, and it’s the one I’d default to if you can only fit in one direct front delt exercise per session.
How to Perform the Cable Front Raise
- Attach a single handle to the low pulley of a cable machine.
- Stand with your back to the machine and grip the handle in front of your thigh, or reach behind you between your legs for extra stretch.
- Step forward until the cable is taut, feet shoulder-width apart.
- Raise your arm straight out in front of you to about shoulder height. Keep a slight bend in your elbow the whole way.
- Pause for a second at the top, then lower back down under control.
Equipment: cable machine, single handle. I run this for 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.
This video from Ben Yanes at The Modern Meathead shows how to perform the cable front raise.
Want dumbbell and barbell options too? See our full front delt exercises roundup.
2. Straight-Bar Cable Front Raise
Benefits of the Straight-Bar Cable Front Raise
Swapping the single handle for a straight bar changes the mechanics of the plain front raise. Your hands lock at a fixed distance apart, so both delts move as one unit instead of drifting off on their own separate paths. That fixed bar path also lets you load it a bit heavier than the single-handle version, since you’re not managing a wobbly hand independently on each side, and there’s no room for one arm to sneak past the other and take over the rep. I like this one for lifters who find the single-handle version too unstable to load hard, or anyone who’s stalled on the standard raise and needs a small mechanical change to keep progressing.
How to Perform the Straight-Bar Cable Front Raise
- Attach a straight bar to the low pulley.
- Stand with your back to the machine, gripping the bar with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Step forward to build tension, letting the bar hang in front of your thighs.
- Raise the bar straight up in front of you to shoulder height, keeping your elbows nearly straight.
- Lower it back down under control without letting it swing.
Equipment: cable machine, straight bar attachment. I run this for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
This video from Live Lean TV Daily Exercises shows how to perform the standing straight bar cable front raise.
3. Single-Arm Cable Front Raise
Benefits of the Single-Arm Cable Front Raise
Training one arm at a time forces each front delt to do its own work instead of letting your stronger side take over, which happens more often than most lifters realize on the two-handed version. It’s also the easier variation to add a rotation and stretch to, since you can turn your torso slightly away from the machine at the bottom of the rep without a second cable in the way. It’s a useful diagnostic too, since running an even number of reps on both arms will quickly show you if one front delt lags behind the other. I use this for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per arm, either after the heavier bilateral work or as a finisher on its own.
How to Perform the Single-Arm Cable Front Raise
- Attach a single handle to the low pulley.
- Stand with your back to the machine, holding the handle in one hand in front of your thigh.
- Brace your free hand on your hip or a fixed post for stability.
- Raise your working arm straight in front of you to shoulder height. Keep your torso still throughout.
- Lower under control, then finish all reps on that side before switching arms.
Equipment: cable machine, single handle. I run this for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per arm.
This video from SET FOR SET shows how to perform the single-arm cable front raise.
4. Cross-Body Cable Front Raise
Benefits of the Cross-Body Cable Front Raise
This one changes the angle of the raise so your arm travels up and across your body instead of straight up. That diagonal path pulls your front delt through a slightly different stretch than a standard front raise gives you, and it picks up a bit of your upper chest along the way too. It’s a good exercise to rotate in every few weeks once your shoulders have adapted to the standard front raise pattern, since the crossing angle is a stimulus most lifters have never trained. It also doubles as a light warm-up for your shoulder before a heavier pressing session, since the diagonal path takes your joint through a range a straight-ahead raise doesn’t touch.
How to Perform the Cross-Body Cable Front Raise
- Attach a single handle to the low pulley on one side of the machine.
- Stand next to the machine and grip the handle with your far hand, so the cable crosses in front of your body.
- Step away from the machine to build tension, feet staggered for balance.
- Raise your arm up and across your body to roughly shoulder height. Let your front delt lead the movement rather than your shoulder rotating to help.
- Lower back down under control, then finish all reps before switching sides.
Equipment: cable machine, single handle. I keep this to 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per arm, since the crossing angle makes it easy to lose strict form if you go too heavy.
This video from WebFit shows how to perform the cable alternating cross-body front raise.
5. Cable Front Raise with Rotation
Benefits of the Cable Front Raise with Rotation
Adding a rotation at the top of the rep turns a plain front raise into an exercise that also trains your rotator cuff and the stabilizers around your shoulder blade. As your arm reaches the top of the raise, you rotate your palm from facing down to facing up, which adds a small internal-to-external rotation piece most front delt exercises skip entirely. That rotation also trains your shoulder to control the same kind of end-range movement you’d see in overhead sports or reaching tasks, so it carries over beyond the gym. This is the lightest exercise on the list by design. The rotation is the point, not the load.
How to Perform the Cable Front Raise with Rotation
- Attach a single handle to the low pulley.
- Stand with your back to the machine, gripping the handle with your palm facing down.
- Raise your arm straight in front of you to shoulder height.
- At the top, rotate your palm to face up, hold briefly, then rotate it back to face down.
- Lower your arm back to the starting position under control.
Equipment: cable machine, single handle. Stay light here, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per arm.
This video from SET FOR SET shows how to perform the cable front raise with rotation.
6. Cable Shoulder Press
Benefits of the Cable Shoulder Press
This is the only compound lift on the list, and it belongs here because your front delt is the primary mover on any overhead press. A cable version keeps constant tension through the full range and lets you set the handles at whatever height suits your shoulders, which a fixed barbell rack can’t do. It’s also easier on your shoulders than a barbell overhead press for a lot of lifters, since each arm can move on its own slightly independent path instead of being locked to a single straight bar. Use it as your main shoulder press for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps, or drop the weight and add it as a finisher after the isolation work above. If you want more overhead pressing options beyond a cable machine, see our overhead press alternatives guide.
How to Perform the Cable Shoulder Press
- Set the pulleys to about shoulder height on both sides of a dual cable machine and attach a handle to each.
- Stand centered between the pulleys, gripping a handle in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
- Brace your core and press both handles straight overhead until your arms are extended.
- Pause briefly at the top without locking your elbows out hard.
- Lower the handles back to shoulder height under control.
Equipment: dual cable station, two handles. I run this for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
This video from SET FOR SET shows how to perform the cable shoulder press.
Cable-Only Front Delt Workout
You don’t need all 6 of these in one session. Your front delt already gets plenty of work from your regular pressing, so I’d treat direct cable work as a once or twice a week add-on rather than a standalone day. Here’s a session built around 4 of the exercises above, with the straight-bar and rotation variations as swaps you can rotate in every few weeks. Run it after your main pressing work for the day, whether that’s bench, overhead press, or a general push day, so you’re not fatiguing the front delt before it has to help stabilize a heavier lift.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Cable Shoulder Press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Cable Front Raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Cross-Body Cable Front Raise | 2 | 10-12 per arm |
| Single-Arm Cable Front Raise | 2 | 12-15 per arm |
Start with the shoulder press while you’re fresh, since it’s the only lift here where you’re moving real weight. Work through the bilateral front raise next, then finish with the cross-body and single-arm work as burnout sets. Swap the straight-bar or rotation version in for one of the raise slots every few weeks so you’re not training the exact same angle every session.
Shoulder (Deltoid) Anatomy
Your deltoid covers the whole shoulder and has three separate heads that don’t always work together. The anterior (front) head is the one every exercise on this page targets, and it starts on the front third of your collarbone before inserting on the outside of your upper arm bone. Its main job is flexing your shoulder, which just means raising your arm up in front of your body, and it also assists internal rotation of your arm and helps drive pressing exercises like the bench press and overhead press.
The lateral (middle) head sits on top of your shoulder and lifts your arm out to the side, and the posterior (rear) head sits on the back and pulls your arm behind you. All three heads share the same insertion point on your upper arm bone, but they’re trained by different exercises since each one pulls your arm in a different direction. Because the front head crosses the front of the joint while the other two sit over the top and back of it, an exercise like the front raise can isolate it fairly cleanly, while a lateral raise or rear delt fly barely touches it at all.
Your front delt also gets help from your pec major during pressing exercises, since both muscles cross the front of the shoulder joint and drive your arm forward together. Your rotator cuff, especially the subscapularis, adds stability during any raise or press by keeping your upper arm bone centered in the shoulder socket while the bigger muscles handle moving the arm through space.
If your front delts are lagging behind the rest of your shoulder, our grow underdeveloped front delts guide covers programming beyond just this exercise list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I train front delts with cables?
Once or twice a week is enough for most lifters, especially if you’re already benching or pressing overhead 2 to 3 times a week. Your front delt gets a lot of indirect work from those lifts, so piling on 3 dedicated cable sessions on top of that is more likely to leave you beat up than to speed up growth. If your bench and overhead press volume is low, or your front delt is genuinely lagging, you can push toward 2 sessions a week without much risk.
Can I build my front delts with cables only?
Yes. Your front delt grows from load and tension over time, and it doesn’t care whether that tension comes from a cable, a dumbbell, or a barbell. A cable keeps tension on the muscle more consistently through the range than free weights do, which makes it one of the better tools for isolating the front delt specifically. The one thing cables can’t replace is heavy compound pressing, so if your gym only has a cable station and no barbell or dumbbells, the cable shoulder press above is your best substitute for real strength work.
Cable front raise or dumbbell front raise, which is better?
The cable version keeps tension on your delt at the bottom of the rep, where a dumbbell goes slack. The dumbbell version is more accessible if you don’t have a cable station, and it lets you use a neutral grip that’s easier on some shoulders. I’d use the cable when you have access to one and save the dumbbell version for when you don’t. See our front delt dumbbell exercises guide for that side of things.
Do I need direct front delt work if I already bench and overhead press?
Probably less than you’d think. Your front delt is already a prime mover on the bench press and overhead press, so a lot of lifters get all the front delt size they need from those two lifts alone. Direct work like the exercises on this page is more useful once your front delts are visibly lagging behind your side or rear delts, or when you want a joint-friendly way to add volume without more heavy pressing. It’s also worth adding if your shoulders bother you on heavy presses, since lighter cable work can build the muscle without the same joint stress.
What rep range works best for cable front delt exercises?
10 to 15 reps per set covers most of what you need here. The front delt is small relative to your chest or back, and it responds well to moderate loads with a strict, controlled tempo rather than maxing out on low reps. Save the heavy, low-rep work for your compound presses and use the cable shoulder press as the one exception on this list.
Why do my shoulders hurt during cable front raises?
Usually it’s raising your arm past shoulder height, which shifts the stress from your delt onto your rotator cuff and can pinch the tendons under your shoulder blade. Stop the raise once your arm is roughly parallel to the floor, and if it still bothers you, drop the weight and check that momentum isn’t swinging the cable up for you.
Should I train front delts before or after my chest and shoulder pressing?
After. Your front delt is already working hard during bench press and overhead press, so pre-fatiguing it with isolation work first will just cut into how much weight you can move on the lifts that matter most for overall strength and size. Save the cable front raise variations for the end of the session, once your main pressing work is done.
Final Thoughts
If you only have time for one of these, go with the cable front raise or the cable shoulder press, since they cover the two ends of the spectrum, a strict isolation exercise and a heavier compound lift. The straight-bar, single-arm, cross-body, and rotation variations are there for when your shoulders adapt to the basics and you need a new angle to keep making progress. Your front delt is already working hard on every pressing day you run, so I wouldn’t add more than 2 of these exercises to a single session. Rotate through the list over a few months instead of trying to run all 6 every week. If you’re chasing a specific weak point, like a stalled overhead press or a front delt that looks smaller than your side delts in the mirror, start with the exercises that load the muscle heaviest, the cable shoulder press and the straight-bar front raise, before adding in the lighter isolation and rotation work.
References
- Kenhub: Deltoid muscle, origin, insertion, innervation, and function
- StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf): Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Deltoid Muscle
- ACE Fitness: Dynamite Delts, ACE Research Identifies Top Shoulder Exercises
Other Muscle Groups Exercises
If you enjoyed this post, check out our other collections of the best exercises for each muscle group below.
