Muscles

Anterior Deltoid

Exercises that target the anterior deltoid, grouped by whether they stretch or strengthen it.

Content last reviewed: 2026-07-18

The anterior deltoid is the front head of the shoulder muscle. It flexes the arm forward and assists inward rotation, and it is heavily used in pressing and reaching in front of the body.

In rounded-shoulder posture and press-dominant training it can become short and overactive, adding to the forward pull on the shoulder and crowding the front of the joint. Balancing it with rear-shoulder and mid-back work keeps the shoulder centered.

The fix is less about stretching the delt directly and more about strengthening the posterior shoulder and scapular retractors while opening the chest. See the shoulder exercises.

Anterior Deltoid — anatomical illustration
Anatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.