Anterior DeltoidClavicular Part of Deltoid

shouldersPars clavicularis musculi deltoidei

The anterior deltoid is the front third of the shoulder muscle, running from the collarbone to the upper arm. It raises the arm forward, and it works on every press you do.

Anterior Deltoid highlighted on an anatomical figure, from the front.
Where it sits, from the front.

This is the part of the shoulder you can see from the front — the rounded mass between the collarbone and the arm. Its fibres run from the outer end of the collarbone down and outward, which means they pull the arm forward and up.

Raise your arm straight in front of you and this is what does it. It also pulls the arm across the body and turns it inward, which is why it works hard on a bench press even though nobody thinks of a bench press as a shoulder exercise.

That overlap with the chest is the important thing to understand about it. The anterior deltoid and the upper chest attach close together and pull in nearly the same direction, so almost every pressing movement trains both. It is the most-worked part of the shoulder by a wide margin, and the part least likely to need anything added.

Training notes

Overhead pressing is the direct movement, and it is worth doing for reasons beyond the front delt — it is the main lift that asks the shoulder blade to rotate through its full range. But as far as this muscle is concerned, a program with regular bench pressing has already covered it.

Front raises are the isolation option and are rarely necessary. If bench press, incline press, dips and overhead press are all in a program, adding front raises is adding volume to the part of the shoulder that already has the most.

The imbalance worth watching is front-to-rear. A well-developed anterior deltoid alongside an untrained posterior deltoid is the most common shoulder pattern in a gym, and it comes from doing more pressing than pulling. The response is more rear delt and upper back work, not less pressing.

Anatomy

Origin
  • Anterior border of the lateral third of the clavicle
Insertion
  • Deltoid tuberosity of the humerus
Actions
  • Flexes the arm, raising it forward and up
  • Horizontally adducts the arm across the front of the body
  • Internally rotates the humerus
  • Assists abduction of the arm
Innervation
Axillary nerve (C5–C6)

Exercises

Antagonists

Synergists