Strong and healthy shoulders are very crucial for all of life’s tasks, especially as we age and begin to lose muscle density. Without strong muscles, we are more prone to shoulder injuries that can make common daily tasks as simple as carrying groceries become painful. To avoid this, one of the best things you can do is to make sure you have enough physical activity which involves your shoulder muscles.
To help you do this, we’ve curated a list of the best shoulder exercises you can do to have an impressive pair of strong shoulders. But before that, let us walk you through a deeper understanding of why you should do shoulder workout regularly.
Why Should I Do Shoulder Exercise?
There is no denying that a pair of sculpted shoulders looks great on everyone. But shoulder training has several benefits beyond the aesthetic.
First and foremost, shoulder exercise enhances posture and strengthens the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint, creating more stability and an overall sturdier body structure. The shoulder joint allows a greater range of movement. When the muscles surrounding your shoulder joint are weak, this movement can become altered, creating instability and often leading to injury.
Keeping the shoulders free from injury means training the rotator cuff (muscles that stabilize the shoulder) as well as the deltoid muscle (the muscle you can see that surrounds the shoulder). The shoulder joint has several key stabilizers that act to keep the shoulder moving optimally, allowing enhanced definition around the shoulder. Training the muscles of the rotator cuff will stabilize the shoulder joint, helping you avoid injuries.
8 Best Shoulder Exercises
The following shoulder exercises are some of the best techniques you can do for bulking up various shoulder muscles. For the best result, you can perform two to six sets of ten, increasing weight, reps, and sets as you build muscle mass. You should also avoid working on your shoulder muscles two days in a row as the body will need time for recovery and muscle building.
1. Pushups
Pushups are the ultimate shoulder workout, and arguably one of the most fundamental ones for both strength and muscle building. Not to mention you can do this essential shoulder exercise practically anywhere without any equipment.
How to do it:
- Get down on all fours and extend your legs behind you.
- Lower your upper body, hold this position for a few seconds.
- Push yourself back up parallel to the floor.
- Repeat.
2. Barbell Overhead Press
This exercise not only works for your shoulder, but most of your body too, which makes it an incredible core strengthener and mass builder.
How to do it:
- Put your feet at the width of your shoulder, and engage your core and glutes as you hold a barbell at your shoulders, palms facing forward.
- Push the bar upward and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the peak.
- Bring the bar back to your shoulder steadily and carefully.
3. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Performing this move in a sitting position allows you to drive more action to your shoulder. With your back and lower body stabilized through sitting, you can customize the angle, wider for more shoulder action or narrow for more anterior deltoid and triceps involvement.
How to do it:
- Sit on a low-back bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level, palms facing forward.
- Keep your head and spine perfectly straight, and lift the dumbbells overhead toward one another.
- Hold this position for a few seconds and then carefully reverse course, and repeat.
- Make sure to keep your core engaged during this movement.
4. Front Raise
To do this shoulder workout, you can use either a weight plate or barbell. But remember not to max out the weight as your have the risk of getting injuries.
How to do it:
- Keep your hands at the height of your hip as you hold the weight in front of you.
- Your feet should be even with your shoulders and keep your core tight.
- Retract your shoulder blades and keep your arms straight as you lift the weight to shoulder level.
- Breathe steadily and lower the weight carefully.
5. Lateral Raise
Lateral raise is one of the most popular and best shoulder exercises, but it can be tougher to master than it might seem. This movement targets the middle deltoid muscles and works exceptionally when executed properly.
How to do it:
- Start in the standing position
- Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, your abs tight, your chest up, your head straight, and your shoulders pinched.
- Hold the dumbbells at either side, retaining a neutral grip.
- Using just your shoulders and arms, raise the dumbbells a notch above shoulder level.
- Hold this position for a moment.
- Lower the dumbbells back to the starting position, slowly, and repeat.
6. Standing Barbell Shrugs
Standing barbell shrugs is an advanced exercise you can save for the end of your overall workout routine. If you’ve just started to do shoulder workout, focus on the basics first before working up to this movement.
How to do it:
- Keep your feet at shoulder-width, bend your knees and pick up the barbell, bringing it to waist level.
- Lift your shoulders up and back, squeezing for about five seconds before releasing them.
- Keep the movements restricted to your shoulders, meaning your arms should be relatively loose and the barbell should only raise and lower very slightly.
7. Pull Up
Pull up is a classic bodyweight exercise used to build muscle and strength in the upper back and biceps, as well as stabilizing strength in the core and your shoulders. To do this movement, all you need to have is a pullup bar, which can be any straight object hanging horizontally that’s strong enough to support your body weight.
How to do it:
- With your hands wider than shoulder width, grip the bar so your palms face away from you.
- Draw your shoulder blades together.
- Engage your core and lift your feet off the floor.
- Pull your chest up toward the bar until your head peeks over it.
- Hold for a second.
- Lower yourself back down into the starting position, and repeat
8. Cable Face Pulls
Cable face pulls are important in creating a well-developed back and rear deltoid muscles. This movement targets your posterior deltoids and trapezius muscles, while also adding further stress to the main components of your shoulders.
How to do it:
- Stand facing the cable machine
- Set the cable framework to around eye height
- Using the rope connection, clutch each end and raise your arms to shoulder height
- Bring your elbows in and pull the cable towards your face
- Hold and tense your back
- Release slowly, and repeat
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