Shoulders · Bodyweight
Seated Alternate Shoulders Circle
How to do the seated alternate shoulders circle, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit tall on a chair with your arms relaxed at your sides. Raise one arm and draw a smooth, controlled circle through the shoulder, then alternate to the other arm, keeping the motion even and continuous.
- 1Feel your shoulder roll smoothly through its full range
- 2Keep the movement slow and controlled, not rushed
- 3Stay tall through your spine as each arm circles
Common mistakes
- Do not shrug or hike the shoulder up as it circles
- Avoid leaning your torso to swing the arm around
- Do not let the motion become jerky or bounced
Muscles worked
The seated alternate shoulders circle works the front delts, side delts, upper traps, rear delts, and external rotators.
- Front DeltsSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Rear DeltsSupport
- External RotatorsSupport
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Internal RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the seated alternate shoulders circle for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.