Introduction Shoulders are an important part of the body to exercise, both from the point of view of health and from the point of view of looks. Whether you are an athlete or someone that just wants to look better, big and strong shoulders definitely contribute positively to your overall goal. This article will list some of the best shoulder exercises around right now for people. You must work your shoulders to be good at chest or tricep exercises. Each of these muscles need to be worked out in isolated exercises such as those listed here and as group exercises, i.e. workouts that involve multiple muscles being engaged at the same time. As with our previous articles on this (Best Bicep Exercises , Best Ab Exercises, Best Trap Exercises, Kettlebell Workouts ) we are keeping the exercises to what can be done easily at home with adjustable dumbbells , resistance bands or no weights at all.
For these iso shoulder workout routines we recommend doing 6-8 sets and if using resistance 8-10 reptitions for muscle growth or 10-12 reps if trying to get lean toned muscle. For those doing weightless routine do as many as you can until it burns and then do 3 more.
Shoulder Press (Weightless, Dumbbell and Exercise Band)
The shoulder press was the first truly mainstream exercise routine developed for the shoulder and it has remained the best exercise to perform for working the shoulders. It is just as good for the advanced workout technician as it is for the beginner that is looking for more shoulder strength and this makes it a cherished exercise for the shoulder muscle enthusiast. It is an exercise central to most shoulder workouts as well because it works the entire shoulder in some way. The focus is the central deltoid muscle as well as the triceps, but the entire shoulder does get a workout when you do a shoulder press or any of its variants.
Another reason that the shoulder press is universally executable is because there are many options for you to do it. For example, if you are a total beginner and find that you have trouble with the exercise even without resistance, there is nothing to prevent you from doing it weightless. Just use open palms instead of closed fists clutching dumbbells and you can get the exact same exercise workout. By the same token, you can use dumbbells, exercise bands or just about any other method of resistance that you can think of when you are executing a shoulder press.
In order to execute this exercise, all you have to do is hold your hands at eye level with your arms bent slightly at the elbow. Keeping your back straight, simply move your hands upwards, keeping your arms in the same vertical line so that you stretch your arms out. Then you just bring your arms back to the same bent at the elbow rest position and continue for the number of reps that you have earmarked for that particular set. Shoulder presses are easy to do, simple to perfect in terms of getting the technique right and as effective as any other shoulder exercise out there. This triple attack of excellence is what makes them number one on our list of the best shoulder exercises.
Pike Press (Weightless)
The Pike Press remains an excellent routine as it requires no weights. I do highly recommend using push up bars or something that elevates your hand location a few inches off the ground to get a deeper press. Begin this workout as if you were doing a standard pushup, hands about shoulder width. Now bring your feet closer to your hands so that your rear end is pointing high into the sky and you are in a V position. Next get on your tip toes and put your head down towards the ground with arms locked/straight. From this position you will go down until the crown/top of your head touches the ground then press back up to a near locked arm. Always maintaining a V position and keeping on your tip toes. This workout will get you a very good burn but be extremely cautious, once fatigues, stop so you do not fall on your head and injure your neck/head. Arm Raise (Weightless, Dumbbell and Resistance Band)When it comes to the shoulders, anything that works the outer parts of your arm and the upper back will also strengthen the shoulders at least indirectly. It would be irresponsible therefore to have a list of shoulder exercises without putting forth an exercise that helps you strengthen that entire part of your upper body. The arm raise can do just that and its ability to work the shoulders as well as the upper arms and back makes it the perfect complement to the shoulder press. For that reason, it makes it into the number two slot on our list.
In order to do an arm raise, you need to start with your hands at your sides with your palms open and against the sides of your body. Then, simply raise your arms outward to each side of your body, stretching them until your shoulder and your arm are both parallel to the floor and your arms are at a right angle to the rest of your body. Hold momentarily before bringing them back down. Once you have done that, repeat for the number of repetitions that you have planned.
The great thing about the arm raise, which is also sometimes referred to as the lateral raise, is that just like with shoulder presses you have the maximum amount of choice imaginable when it comes to selecting resistance to use with your exercise. This means that you can use the open palm method mentioned in the previous paragraph in a weightless exercise or you can take it to the next level and add dumbbells or exercise bands in order to put some more resistance against you when you are doing the actual exercise.
Front Raise (Weightless, Dumbbell and Exercise Band)
The front raise is a slight variation on the lateral raise. Essentially, this raise is designed to target a slightly different part of the shoulder muscle in order to allow you to do both lateral and front raises and remove presses from your workout altogether. Both lateral and front raises are great complements to the shoulder press however, so you can choose the one that feels better or is more challenging for you depending on your level of proficiency with these types of workouts.
In order to do a front raise, all you need to do is start from the same rest position as with lateral raises. Instead of having your palms inward and against your sides however, they should face backwards towards the rear of your body. From that position, doing a front raise requires you to bring your arms up until they are parallel to the floor, stretching your shoulder in the process. Note that this is essentially the reverse of the bicep curl movement, which makes sense since it is designed to work the muscles on the other side of the upper arm (i.e. the shoulders and the triceps).
As with the previous two exercises, you can do the exercise weightless or with your preferred choice of resistance. The choice is ultimately yours.
Extensions (Weightless, Exercise Band)Extensions require you to start with one hand bent at the elbow and your hand close to your chest. From that position, you want to extend your hand outwards, straightening your arm and ending off with your arm parallel to the floor and the palm area of your hand facing outward. Do these exercises one arm at a time for a more focused result. Additionally, it is recommended that you use either weightless or exercise band resistance for this exercise, as dumbbells have a tendency to cause injury amongst people at early stages of workout proficiency.
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 , on 07-07-2009 14:04
Great Exercises! I do this and drink a lot of water, eat fruits and take a good diet supplement. Been working well. |
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