Background Before Data
I have been using Incline Front Raises since July 2024 and it has been a valuable isolation exercise when assisting me in breaking through pressing exercise plateaus. Before I injured my left front delts, I performed them using two dumbbells at a time. Around late November when I was almost done healing it, I ended up injuring my left pec testing my incline press using high reps causing a minor tear which further stalled progress that took a few months to heal. Between November and early February, I ended up doing Machine Shoulder Press on my right side eventually switching to isolations again including Incline Front Raises. Around Mid-February is when I felt comfortable using my left front delts again using lighter weights at first. There was around a 15lb 1 rep max difference between the left and right side in the Incline Front Raises which was kind of humbling, but not a surprise. All of this background story was to explain how I ended up doing this exercise 1 dumbbell at a time and why this ended up being a blessing in disguise and ultimately broke my dumbbell shoulder press plateau; on my right side.
Data from Summer 2024
After a few days of Incline Front Raises, I decided to test my dumbbell front raises. There was two workout sessions that worked the front delts, in between a day of Incline Front Raises (7/16/25) and the Dumbbell Shoulder Press(7/27/25). When testing the shoulder press, I simply decided to double the weight since the IFR (Incline Front Raises) has the dumbbell twice the distance from the shoulder compared to a shoulder press due to it being straight arm versus bent arm nearly 90 degrees. Here’s the data:
| 7/16/24 | IFR | 22.5lbs x 19 reps | 36.9 |
| 7/27/24 | DB Press | 45lbs x 21 reps | 76.4 |
| 7/31/24 | DB Press | 65lbs x 9 reps | 83.3 |
| 8/7/24 | DB Press | 70lbs x 5 reps | 78.7 |
I’m going to select just the top two values since the DB Press is double the weight of the IFR. While considering that there was two sessions before the first shoulder press, the ratio between the DB press and IFR is (76.4/36.9) = 2.07. Before moving to 2025, I just wanted to point out that my previous best when dumbbell pressing 70lbs was only 2 reps and that was before the lockdown.
Data for First Day Back to Using Left Front Delts (2/20/25)
IFR (left side) 15lbs x 22 reps; 25.9lbs
IFR (right side) 30lbs x 11 reps; 41.1lbs
Data for February 2025 and March 2025 related to IFR and DB Press on Right arm
| 2/16/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 10 reps | 40lbs |
| 2/20/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 11 reps | 41.1 lbs |
| 2/25/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 13 reps | 42.9 lbs |
| 3/1/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 16 reps | 46.2 lbs – First exercise |
| 3/3/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 17 reps | 46.9 lbs |
| 3/13/25 | DB Press | 70lbs x 8 reps | 86.4 lbs |
| 3/17/25 | IFR | 35lbs x 8 reps | 43.2 lbs |
| 3/21/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 19 reps | 49.2 lbs |
| 3/24/25 | IFR | 35lbs x 10 reps | 46.7 lbs |
| 3/27/25 | IFR | 30lbs x 21 reps | 50.9 lbs |
| 3/31/25 | DB Press | 70lbs x 11 reps | 95.9 lbs – First exercise |
The (DB Press/IFR) ratio of 3/13 and 3/17 is 2 and the (DB Press/IFR) ratio of 3/24 and 3/31 is 2.05.
All Ratios using DB Press that is doubled the weight of its IFR pair.
- Ratio (7/16/24 and 7/27/24) was 2.07 with 2 front delt sessions in between.
- Ratio (3/13/25 and 3/17/25) was 2 with 0 front delt sessions in between.
- Ratio (3/24/25 and 3/31/25) was 2.05 with 1 front delt session in between.
Analysis
There are a few things to notice. 1) heavy sessions of IFR or the press didn’t affect the rate of progress of high rep IFR (in this case 30 pounds). 2) The IFR session on 3/1/25 most likely would have been 15 reps instead of 16 reps if it wasn’t the first exercise. That day I just wanted to fit in a session of Incline Front Raises right after a 12-hour shift. With that in mind, the recent Dumbbell Press was done first instead of it being after a few exercises, so I possibly could have been 10 reps making the 1RM 93.3. If that were the case, then the (DB Press / IFR) ratio between 93.3 and 46.7 (from 3/24/25) would be 1.997; pretty much 2.
Focusing on finding the right front delt isolation exercise is what I needed to break my previous plateaus. Going from 2 reps of 70lbs, then 5 reps, and now 11 reps. To prove that this was my sticking point, my machine lateral raises got worse compared to last Spring/Summer. Also, my horizontal pressing exercises didn’t get that much better despite the gains in IFR and DB Press which was tested on 3/10/25 – DB Bench Press and 3/27/25 – Machine Chest Press. Also my right pecs aren’t a weak point since I reached a new personal best recently on 3/20/25.
DB Bench Press 75lbs x 11 reps – 102.7 lbs
Chest Press 92lbs x 14 reps – 135.3 lbs
Pec Dec 245lbs x 24 reps – 435 lbs
The only basic conclusion for the time being is that the bench press requires more tricep strength than the shoulder press. Anecdotally, I vaguely remember feeling more stress on my elbows compared to my shoulders. My left shoulder felt more stable when doing the chest press too.
Dumbbell Press to Bench Press Ratio
The common ideal ratio of shoulder press to bench press is .667 or ⅔. The lower the ratio, the higher likelihood that the front delts are the weak point whereas the higher the value, the higher the odds are that either the chest or triceps are the weak point. This is excluding the variables of technique or specific exercise experience. A more recent personal example is from early to mid March using Dumbbell Bench Press (3/10/25) and Dumbbell Shoulder Press(3/13/25) on the right side only. My 1 rep max of shoulder press was 86.4 while the bench press was 102.7. The minor caveats are that I haven’t done dumbbell bench press in at least a decade and that the bench press was more than 10 reps which might have a lower 1 RM at lower reps. The ratio between the two are: .8412. This tells me that my front delts by far are not the weakest muscle group of the pressing exercises.
In the Meantime
I plan on continuing the Incline Front Press with one arm at a time and revisiting this formula once I reach 80lbs for 10 reps and maybe further. My immediate goal is 55.25lbs 1RM or 44lbs for 8 reps with the intention of being able to shoulder press 200lbs.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press = 2 x Dumbbell Incline (30 degrees) Front Raises