It’s not easy to get shoulders that can stretch out a T-shirt so much. The front, middle, and back delts make up most of the muscles in the upper body. Because they allow you to move in many directions, you need to use the right shoulder exercises to train them. In order to do that, you need to work concentrically, isometrically, ballistically, and overhead and sideways.
Personal trainers Josh Holland, Eric Emig, and Jesse Jones share their best shoulder exercises that will get you the strength and shape you want. They also include some core and chest exercises for good measure.
A good shoulder workout focuses on building power, flexibility, and the ability to do different things. Building strong shoulders can help you do better in sports, fix bad posture, and make everyday things easier, like pushing heavy doors or bringing food.
What Are the Muscles in the Shoulder?
The deltoids, trapezius, rotator cuff, rhomboids, and serratus anterior are some of the muscles that make up the shoulder. The deltoid is the shoulder’s main muscle. It has three heads: the anterior, the lateral, and the posterior.
The anterior deltoid is in charge of pushing up and out, the lateral deltoid helps you lift your arms out to the side, and the posterior deltoid is very important for shoulder extension.
1. Pike or Handstand Hold
To do it, stand with your back against a wall and put your hands on the floor in front of your toes. Then, walk your feet up the wall into a pike position while keeping your back and arms straight and your head between your knees. Step up the wall and bring your hands close to it to make it harder. Then, stand with your back to the wall and your hands on the wall. Start with 15 seconds of any pose and work your way up to a minute.
How it works: When you do isometric exercises, you have to hold them and not move a muscle. This tests your endurance in a very gentle way. Holland really likes this one because it shows good shoulder movement and muscle stability. In other words, this means being able to lift things above your head.
2. Arnold Press
Get a set of heavy dumbbells or a band with handles. Hold the weights in front of your face with your arms bent 90 degrees and your palms facing you. Stand with your knees soft. Slowly spread your arms out so that your elbows are straight out and your hands are facing out. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Lift your arms up and do a military press. Then, switch the order of the moves. That’s one rep.
How it works: The spinning shoulder press, which Arnold Schwarzenegger made popular, works your front and side deltoids as well as your rotator cuff. Emig says Arnolds are great because they work the muscles in a lot of different ways and give you a great stretch at the bottom. With good form and a slow drop of the weight, they will make your shoulders burn!
3. Plate Circles
Get a weight plate and stand with your back against a wall. Hold the plate at your waist to begin. Slowly draw a circle as big as you can with both arms straight out to the side, up over your head, and back around to your waist.
Why it works: “This move contracts the deltoids all the way through, which gives you a great burn and pump,” says Emig.
4. Lateral Raise with Rotation
Start with your hands on your hips and dumbbells in your hands. Make sure your palms are facing the ground and your hands are straight up and out to the side. Turn your arms around so that your hands are facing up. Turn around and go down.
Why it works: Holland says that adding the spin works on and develops the shoulder rotators. When he does this, he likes it to be heavy, so he suggests using 25- or even 30-pound dumbbells or resistance bands, which make the whole range of motion very tight.
5. Bent Over Single-arm Cable Laterals
In order to do it, bring the wire car all the way down. Put enough weight on it so that it’s hard to do 12 reps. Stand on your side so that your body is straight across from the machine. Bend down at the waist and use the hand that is farther away to grab the handle.
While keeping your back flat and your knees bent, pull the wire out and away from the machine until you reach full range of motion. Do not let your waist twist. As you bring your arm back to the starting position, slowly control the weight. After every 12 reps, take a minute to rest. Then do 10 reps, rest, 8 reps, rest, and so on.
Why it works: This move separates the back deltoid and gives it a huge stretch for full-range growth. Another great thing is that the heart is kept stable.
6. Jab and Cross Punches
How to do it: Stand with your non-dominant foot forward, like a boxer. Raising your dukes to your chin, jab with your less-used hand and cross with your more-used hand. For one minute, keep going quickly. Then, take a 30-second break and start again. Do it up to four times. Too simple? Put in some light weights.
Why it works: The jab and cross punches will help you even if they don’t hit their mark. A good punch is made by working together with your hips and core to create speed and power. However, the shoulders control the path of the action.
7. Push Press
Set up a dumbbell that is as heavy as you can handle for 12 reps. Slowly roll your hips back and bend your knees. Then, suddenly lift your body off the ground and press the barbell above your head. Bring the weight back to where it started. In one minute, do as many reps as you can. After one minute of rest, do it again, and again, up to four times.
Why it works: Adding a power factor to the overhead press lets you lift heavier weights. This also gives you more control on the lower part of the move as your strength grows. Jones likes to do this shoulder practice a lot.
