How To Get A Wider Upper Body

Time to turn on airplane mode

Let’s get right into it. You’ll want to focus on two main areas: the shoulders, particularly the lateral deltoid, and the lats/teres major. The shoulders are responsible for your width in an absolute, measurable sense, while the lats/teres contribute heavily to the “look” of width even if it’s not as quantifiable.

The side of the shoulder is best built up with a combination of overhead pressing movements, isolation work for the side deltoid and some rear delt work as well. Contrary to popular and incorrect belief, the shoulders have seven heads in total, not three.

Pressing exercises are a must because even if you isolate just the lateral deltoid, you’ll still want to have front delt development, and pressing exercises are king for this area.

Barbell overhead presses are excellent. They can be done for a variety of reps, though if interested purely in hypertrophy, I suggest 5 reps and up.

Z press is another great option. For many people, it takes stress off of the lower back and prevents cheating. Moderate reps (5–10) work well here.