3 Muscle-Specific Exercises to Get Cut Between Shoulders and Biceps
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3 Muscle-Specific Exercises to Get Cut Between Shoulders and Biceps

3 Muscle-Specific Exercises to Get Cut Between Shoulders and Biceps
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Updated on August 7, 2025
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You can achieve definition, or cuts, between muscles by regularly weight lifting and performing exercises that target specific muscle groups. Focusing on muscles located closely together, such as the biceps in your arm and the deltoid in your shoulder, may help you create visible definition between the muscle groups.

Nutrition and Muscle Sculpting

Making a few changes to your dietary habits can help you achieve the cut you’re looking for. Begin by limiting foods from your diet that are high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. These types of foods can contribute to unhealthy weight gain, typically in the form of fat, which makes it more challenging to define your muscles.

Incorporate nutritious foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean cuts of meat, to help promote the growth of lean muscle tissue.

 Incorporate plenty of protein into your diet — lean muscle tissue develops from the amino acids extracted from protein after your body metabolizes it.

Meeting your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein is necessary to build muscle. However, if you’re weight training, you’ll need to get more than the RDA.

Use Isolation Exercises to Target the Shoulders and Biceps

For general fitness, compound strength training exercises, which work multiple muscle groups simultaneously in a manner that often mimics real-world motions, are the best approach.

However, if you’re working out to target specific muscles, incorporating exercises that focus on the area you want to define may be beneficial. These are known as isolation exercises. They’re exercises that use one joint and therefore mainly rely on a single muscle group.

That means doing at least three arm- and shoulder-strengthening exercises each time you work those muscle groups, although your biceps and shoulders still need at least a full rest and recovery day between each workout. Be sure to target them on nonconsecutive days to allow rest and recovery. Research has shown that muscle hypertrophy may be dose-dependent, meaning the more exercises you perform in each exercise session focusing on a particular muscle group, the more gains you’ll see.

To break your workout down into separate areas, consider a training split. For example, if you work out four days a week, you may have a day focusing on pushing exercises, one on pulling exercises, one on leg exercises, and a day for full-body workouts.

As your training program develops and you’re looking to target specific muscle groups that may be lagging behind others in terms of hypertrophy, consider adding an extra training day to focus on exercises that target those specific muscles.

On arm and shoulder days, you can supplement biceps and shoulder exercises with complementary exercises, such as triceps dips and push-ups.

Muscle-Specific Exercises

To truly develop the cut between your biceps and shoulders, you need to target both sets of muscles with isolation exercises that focus on each area.

Biceps Curls

Cut biceps start with curls. You can do this exercise from a seated or standing position.

  1. If sitting, sit with your back firmly against the backrest, ensuring your butt, shoulders, and head all touch the bench. Place your feet on the floor. If you are standing, create a solid base with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and abdominal muscles engaged.
  2. Hold two dumbbells at your sides, close to your body, fully extending your arms and keeping your palms facing forward.
  3. Curl the dumbbells up without rotating your wrists and forearms. Touch the dumbbells to your shoulders and hold for one count. Avoid shrugging your shoulders.
  4. Contract your biceps as hard as you can before slowly lowering the weight back down to its starting position while inhaling.
  5. Do four sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

Shoulder Presses

Perform shoulder presses while sitting on an exercise seat with a back support positioned underneath a barbell set on a rack.

 You can also perform them seated or standing, and you can swap the barbell for dumbbells if you prefer.

  1. Set the barbell to a height just below your chin.
  2. Firmly plant your feet on the floor, grasping the barbell with a wide grip and your palms facing forward.
  3. Push the barbell up to remove it from the rack and lower it to the top of your chest. Inhale before your first upward push.
  4. Press the barbell straight above your head until your arms are fully extended. Exhale on the way up.
  5. Slowly lower the barbell back to its starting position. Exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down.
  6. Complete four sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

45-Degree Incline Rows

Studies have found that the 45-degree incline row is one of the most effective exercises for activating the rear deltoids, or the muscles in the back of the shoulder.

 Perform 45-degree incline rows with the following steps:
  1. Start by leaning forward against a bench set at an angle of around 45 degrees. You can also perform the exercise standing by bending forward slightly with a straight back in place of leaning on a bench. Make sure your feet stay on the ground roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing downward. Your arms should be pointing straight down toward the floor when you’re gripping the dumbbells.
  3. Lift your arms as high as you can with your elbows bent while squeezing your shoulder blades together. The upper arms should stay pointing toward the floor throughout the movement.
  4. On reaching the top of the movement, slowly drop the arms back to the starting position. Do four sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

Consult your doctor before starting any exercise regimen or diet, especially if you have any aches, pains, or underlying health problems.

The Takeaway

  • You can achieve defined muscles between the shoulders and biceps through targeted strength exercises and a focus on reducing overall body fat.
  • Key exercises, such as biceps curls, shoulder presses, and 45-degree incline rows, specifically target the areas you want to develop. Performing them consistently is key for optimal results.
  • Nutrition plays a critical role. Aim to incorporate high-protein foods.
  • Consult a healthcare or fitness professional before starting a new regimen to ensure these exercises fit your fitness level and goals, particularly if you have existing health concerns.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Dieter B. How to Clean Bulk - Bulking Up the Healthy Way. National Academy of Sports Medicine.
  2. Comana F. The Second Scoop on Protein: When, What and How Much? National Academy of Sports Medicine.
  3. Hudson JL et al. Protein Intake Greater than the RDA Differentially Influences Whole-Body Lean Mass Responses to Purposeful Catabolic and Anabolic Stressors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Advances in Nutrition. May 2020.
  4. How to Add Isolation Exercises to Your Strength-Training Routine (Shape). American Council on Exercise. October 31, 2022.
  5. Schoenfeld BJ et al. Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. December 14, 2018.
  6. Adams A. How to Personalize Your Bodybuilding Workouts to Your Goals. American Council on Exercise.
  7. Thiefels J. 10-minute Upper-body Workout: Total Arm Burnout. American Council on Exercise. November 17, 2023.
  8. Seated Biceps Curl. American Council on Exercise.
  9. Standing Shoulder Press. American Council on Exercise.
  10. Sweeney S et al. Dynamite Delts: ACE Research Identifies Top Shoulder Exercises. American Council on Exercise.
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Tara Collingwood, RDN, is a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, an American College of Sports Medicine–certified personal trainer, and a media spokesperson. As a sports dietitian, she has worked with the U.S. Tennis Association, the Orlando Magic, World Wrestling Entertainment, runDisney, the University of Central Florida, and numerous professional and amateur athletes. Collingwood is the author of Pregnancy Cooking and Nutrition for Dummies and a coauthor of the Flat Belly Cookbook for Dummies.

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