Shoulder Strengthening
October 29, 2009 by Chris Sine
Filed under No BS Resources
Properly developed shoulders are every persons dream. Strong shoulders support your neck, back and give you that fuller and stronger look. The shoulders are used daily but many of us do not incorporate the proper shoulder strengthening exercises to hold up to our daily routine and day to day pressures.
When it comes to shoulder muscle development, it’s important to know the right techniques and exercises to build up the muscles. The anterior deltoid, lateral deltoid and posterior deltoid all work together to provide the movement for the arm. The development of the shoulder muscles in the proper fashion is imperative to the arm function. To keep our shoulders in proper health, we need to continue with proper exercises to increase their strength and resistance.
The reasons for building up your shoulders may vary. From strength purposes like pushing heavy objects that have fallen, for health and fitness or to just having big shoulders, sculpting the perfect shoulders takes time and dedication. Some shoulder exercises when done properly allow you to use a lot of weight. By using more weight will cause you to recruit most of your muscle fibers in your shoulders. This is the ultimate way to get faster results.
Here are 7 great shoulder strengthening exercises that will support you in getting those big shoulders that you have always wanted.
1-Barbell front raise – To do this lift you will want to stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly bent. The weight should be raised from a starting position with your hands in front of you and your palms facing your legs. Using your shoulders, raise the weight until it is shoulder height. You can do this exercise with both arms at once or alternate from side to side. This exercise focuses on the deltoid muscles.
2-Lateral Raises – Similar to the Barbell front raises, you start out in the same body position but your arms will now be at your sides. Raise your arms slowly to shoulder level and bring the weights down in front of you with your palms facing each other. The exercise is done perfectly if you form a “T” with your body.
3 – Overhead Barbell Press. This exercise works the smaller parts of your shoulders. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and bring the dumbbells up so your elbows are facing forward and are slightly bent. The weight should be positioned near your shoulders. Lift by pressing the arms overhead without locking the elbows. Do not touch the weights together for this applies unnecessary stress to the elbow joints.
4 – Rear Lateral Raises – Also known as the reverse fly, this is a great way to target the “posture” muscles. This technique may require lighter weights because you are slightly leaning forward. Keep the range of motion smaller because you don’t want to over extend your muscles. From a seated position, with your arms and weights under your knees, lift your arms out to your sides, up to shoulder level. Remember to keep your elbows bent and squeeze after each repetition.
5 – Behind the Neck Press – This exercise can be executed from either a seated or standing position, though being seated helps with your form. The technique itself involves a bar and from a position behind the neck, the bar should be raised until arms are straight above the head and returned to the starting position. This exercise is best done with the assistance of a spotter in case of any problems. If you have access to exercise equipment, the “machine”, is great support in maintaining your form and technique.
6 – Upright Rows – This exercise requires the use of a straight bar. The weight may vary but lighter is recommended until the technique is mastered. You can use either use a Smith Machine, Free weights or Cable to perform Upright Rows. Your grip may vary, depending on the isolation of the muscles. The narrow grip focuses on Trapezius and wider focuses on entire shoulder girdle. But the wider grip allows some cheating movement thereby allowing you to lift more weight. Holding the bar with grip of choice let the bar hang in front of you. Lift the bar and get it as close as possible to the chin using your arms and elevating your shoulders to get that good squeeze in. Keep the bar under control when you are lowering it to the starting position.
7 – Rotating Dumbbell Press – This exercise is performed either from the standing or sitting position and is great to build up the front and side heads to the delts. From the position of choice, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder position with palms facing you. Now push the dumbbells over your head, just like a dumbbell press, but twist them so your palms face forward at the top of the movement. Now lower the weights in the reverse movement.
There are so many more great shoulder exercises but I wanted to start out with the ones that would support you the most. By using these shoulder strengthening exercises and increasing the weight, you too can get those big shoulders that you always wanted.
Remember to use the proper breathing and stretching techniques as you train. Training the No BS Fitness way will keep you fit and happy for years to come.
Chris Sine
Fitness Trainer
E:Chris@NoBSFitnessforLife.com
W: www.NoBSFitnessforLife.com
