These Are Two of My Favorite Shoulder Strengthening Exercises.

Your shoulders are an important part of your body to work on on strength training days, whether you’re looking for a more muscular appearance or just a better ability to, say, stuff a suitcase into an overhead compartment. Read on and I’ll tell you where the shoulder muscles are, what they do, and what exercises work them best.

What are the shoulder muscles?

The shoulder is one of the strangest and most complex joints. Instead of two bones forming a hinge structure, we have multiple bones that fit together to form a joint, including the scapula or scapula.

There are muscles on the front and back of our shoulder joint, as well as muscles below and above it. Many of these muscles attach to our shoulder blade and also serve as back muscles. So determining what is considered a “shoulder” muscle is not easy. Still, I’ll try. The muscles we commonly call shoulder muscles are:

• The anterior (front) deltoid muscle , which helps raise the arm in front of you.

• Lateral (lateral) deltoid muscle , which helps raise the arm to the side.

• The posterior (posterior) deltoid muscle , which helps move the arm back.

These three muscles sit like a cap on the top of your shoulder, for example, where your shoulder pads would be if you were wearing a 1980s power suit. They are called deltoids (deltas for short) because they are shaped like a triangle. Each of the three sections has an attachment point at the front, top, or back of the shoulder, and all three attach to approximately the same point on the shoulder bone.

Besides the deltoids or deltoids, some other shoulder muscles include:

• The rotator cuff , which includes the four muscles that connect the humerus (humerus) to the shoulder blade. These are the infraspinatus , supraspinatus , subscapularis and teres minor muscles . They help you move your shoulder in all directions and get their name because they surround the joint like a cuff.

• The trapezius (“traps”) and rhomboid minor muscles connect the spine to the shoulder blades. When you shrug, your upper trapezius does most of the work.

• The pectoralis major and minor muscles (your “pecs”) connect your chest to your shoulders. You use them when you push something away from you, such as when doing a bench press or push-ups.

• The serratus anterior muscle connects your shoulder blades to your rib cage, helping you move your shoulders forward and stabilize them when you hold something overhead.

• The latissimus dorsi (“lats”) are the muscles of the back that connect to the bones of the shoulder. They pull your shoulders down and back and help us pull things towards us.

Considering all this, you can see that there will not be one exercise that will hit every muscle. If you just want to make your shoulders look bigger, you may want to give your deltoids a little more attention. But if you also want your shoulders to function well in all movements, you need to do a variety of upper body exercises.

For example, bench presses and push-ups work the pectoral muscles. Pull-ups and the lat pull-down machine work the lats. Shrugs work the upper trapezius. Horizontal pulling movements, such as rows, work the upper back muscles such as the trapezius and rhomboids. These may not be “shoulder exercises” in gym lingo, but they are definitely good for your shoulders.

However, I understand what shoulder exercises you came here for. I’ll share some of my favorite exercises that work the deltoids that you can add to your next upper body routine. Each of these exercises can be done in circuits, so you’ll get a lot of reps done in a short time.

Best Shoulder Exercise for Beginners

Of the two exercises I’m telling you about today, this one is easiest for beginners to master. But there is no need to give it up when you become more advanced; This is the standard oil shoulder program for lifters of all levels.

Here’s a tri-set (like a three-part superset ) that targets each of the three parts of the deltoid muscle. You will perform these exercises while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Do both hands at the same time.

• Forward Raise : Raise the dumbbells in front of you with your elbows straight. Stop when your arm is roughly parallel to the floor (i.e. not completely overhead).

• Lateral Raise : Raise the dumbbells out to the sides as if you were a bird (slowly) flapping its wings. If necessary, you can bend your elbows or keep your arms slightly in front of your body rather than straight out to the sides.

• Rear Delt Raise (also called Reverse Fly ): Bend your hips so that you are leaning forward with your chest toward the ground. You can bend your knees to make it more comfortable. Now lift the dumbbells, using your rear deltoids to pull the weights toward the ceiling.

Use the same pair of dumbbells for all three exercises and don’t lower the weights until you’ve completed all three. Use a weight that will allow you to do 10 to 12 reps on the first exercise and then aim for the same number on the rest, but don’t be surprised if your shoulders get tired and you might only be able to do 10 and then eight. Once you’ve completed all three exercises, lower the dumbbells and rest for a minute or two before doing the next round.

Three rounds of this circuit is a great way to complete your upper body workout.

Best Shoulder Workout for Functional Strength

Lateral raises are a favorite of bodybuilders, but if you’re focusing on shoulder strength for overhead lifts, you’ll probably want to add some form of overhead press to the mix. (Personally, I prefer the barbell press and the double kettlebell press .) Some compound rowing movements are a great way to complete the circuit, so if I only have 10 minutes to finish a shoulder exercise, that’s what I do.

The press works the front and middle deltoids, as well as shoulder stabilizers such as the trapezius and serratus muscles. Vertical rows also target the deltoids and trapezius, as well as the rhomboids and rotator cuff. Finally, we’ll finish with something for the rear deltoids and other upper back muscles.

Before you begin, gather your equipment: a barbell that you can place on a rack and a long, thin resistance band.

• Overhead Press : What it sounds like: Stand up, grab a barbell from the rack and press it overhead. I start with a strict press (without bending the knees), but you can also press the barbell when the strict presses become hard.

• Standing Row : You can use either a wide or narrow grip for this press. Hold the bar at hip level and then pull it up the front of your body as if it were attached to the zipper of a sweatshirt. Keep your elbows above the bar at all times.

• Band stretch : Hold both ends of the resistance band in front of you with your arms straight, angled slightly upward so the band is at eye level. Spread the band so that your arms are out to your sides and the center of the band touches your upper chest.

For the barbell, choose a weight that you can perform for 15 reps or so. It’s okay if it’s an empty bar or one of those fixed-weight barbells that many gyms have on a rack next to the dumbbells. When you repeat a circuit and your shoulders start to tire, you may only be doing five reps by the end.

Some people find that vertical rows irritate their shoulders. If upright rows aren’t fun for you, try widening your grip on the bar and not pulling it too high. (It’s still fine up to the navel level.)

I like to set a timer for 10 minutes and do as many sets as possible in that time, resting no more than necessary—usually about 30 seconds pass between my last pull of the band and the first press of the next round.

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