Exercises for Your Shoulders

The muscles that control the movement of the shoulders allow the arms to move in a variety of ways. Because of that variety of movement, to properly work out the shoulder muscles require a variety of exercises as well.

The Deltoid muscles

The shoulder muscles consist of primarily two groups of muscles, the first is the deltoid muscles. The deltoids or delts as they are called in the gym are made up of three muscles; the anterior deltoid, the intermediate deltoid and the posterior deltoid.

The anterior deltoid is the muscle at the front of the shoulder and when flexed allows the arm to move up in front of the body.

The intermediate deltoid, sometimes called the lateral or middle deltoid allows the arm to lift up the side of the body.

The posterior deltoid lifts the arm to the rear of the body.

Below are some exercises to work out the deltoid muscles.

Seated dumbbell press

The seated dumbbell press is a core exercise that should be a part of any shoulder workout. The great thing about it is that it uses all three deltoid muscles to accomplish the movement.

To do this exercise sit on a weight bench and make sure that your back is straight. You don’t want bad posture doing this exercise. If your bench lifts up to so you can have a back support while doing this exercise, be sure to do it so you can focus on the shoulders and not the back.

Lift a pair of dumbbells so that they rest in you hands at your shoulders. Next lift the dumbbells until your arms are straight, pause and then return to the starting position at your shoulders. That’s it, a simple exercise.

Use enough weight so that you can comfortably do 8-10 repetitions per set.

Lateral raises

This exercise works your intermediate deltoid muscle. This is a popular exercise because of all the shoulder muscles this one gives that pop to your shoulder’s appearance when you stand straight or wear a sleeveless shirt.

To do lateral raises, take a pair of dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Holding the dumbbells by your side, lift your arms straight up like you were spreading your wings. Keep your elbows slightly bent in this movement. Lift the dumbbells until they are slightly above your shoulders, pause and bring them back down to your side.

You do not need to use much weight for this exercise for it to be effective. If you use too much weight you will be tempted to bend forward slightly and jerk the weights up using momentum rather than muscle power. That only defeats the purpose of the exercise.

Resistance band lateral raises

This is the same exercise as the lateral raises with dumbbells. Standing on the band with your feet a little less than shoulder width apart, lift the bands by the handles the same way you would the dumbbells. This is an enjoyable alternative to using dumbbells.

Front raises

Like lateral raises, this exercise can be done with either dumbbells or resistance bands. This exercise specifically targets the anterior deltoid at the front of your shoulder.

To do this exercise correctly, hold your dumbbells in front of you at your legs, palms facing your body. Slowly lift your straight right arm up in front of you until your arm is directly in front of you, slightly higher than your shoulder.

Once you have reached the top of the movement, slowly bring your arm back down to the starting position. Then repeat the same movement with your left arm to complete one repetition.

Do 10 repetitions for a set.

Like the lateral raises, it is better to have good form rather than heavy weight.

Also like the lateral raises, this exercise can be done as easily with resistance bands as with dumbbells.

Resistance band rear deltoid flies

This is a fairly new exercise for me but I find it perfect to work the posterior deltoids.

To do this exercise, attach the resistance bands to the top of a door. Stand facing the door, holding both handles of the resistance bands directly in front of you with outstretched arms.

Next, while keeping your arms straight, move your arms to your sides. Stop when your arms are directly straight out from your sides. You should be able to feel the tightening of your shoulder muscles at that point.

Then return to the starting point to complete one rep.

Do 10-12 reps per set.

The Trapezius muscles

The trapezius muscles are two large triangular muscles in the middle of the upper back that assists the shoulders in movements. Known in the gym as traps, they are easily seen on well developed bodies by the bumps between the shoulders and the head.

There are a couple exercises that are especially good for developing these muscles.

Shoulder shrugs

This is an exercise where you can use a fairly heavy weight and keep proper form. The exercise is simply this, hold a pair of heavy dumbbells at your side and stand straight with good posture. Move the weight by only moving your shoulders in a shrug motion, up and down for one repetition. It’s an easy movement but it really works those trap muscles.

Do 10 reps per set.

Upright Rows

This also is a fairly simple exercise that works both the shoulders and the traps. You can hold either a pair of dumbbells or a barbell in front of you while standing straight. If you are using a barbell, hold the barbell with your hand not more than a foot apart.

Raise the weight straight up until your hands are only a few inches from your chin and then lower the weight to complete one repetition.

Do 10 reps per set.

You don’t have to do all these exercises each time you work out. Mix and match different exercises. As you can see there is a lot of variety in the exercises and the equipment you can use to accomplish your goal.

Pick two or three of these exercises each time you work out your shoulders. Do three to five sets per exercise. Strong shoulders help so much in your daily life.

At one time I lived daily with shoulder pain. With the extra weight I had before I would wake up with shoulder pain from laying on the same side every night because that was the only way I could sleep comfortably.

When I really got consistent with my workouts, I noticed my right shoulder would make popping noise. One reason was probably due to the weight from sleeping on it was causing damage to the joint.

Movement was what I needed. With my weight loss, I can now sleep in more than one position. Also, my workouts have smoothed out my joint and I don’t have that popping sound any longer.

I’m a living testimony to the benefit of weightlifting. I was feeling old with horrible joint pain, but no longer thank God.

I hope the same thing for you. Dedicate yourself to becoming a better you. Strength building is so much more than building muscle, it increases your mobility, protects your joint and improves your mood, plus so much more. I hope you will give it a try.

May you have and wonderful and blessed day.