Every gym goer wants big shoulders
and the big exercises like presses and raises are going to help you get them.
but if you're only doing presses and raises you could be missing out on potential gains.
shoulders work across many different angles which is why fit media's top trainers
recommend mixing it up with different exercises from one workout to the next,
taking familiar exercises and changing the angle
and finding new ways to work each of the three key shoulder muscles
so here are our top 10 recommended exercises you can use for a more effective shoulder workout.
on a regular raise you'd aim to get the weight up level with the shoulders.
maximum resistance is at the top. so to get there you have to use lighter weights.
but here's a variation that'll let you go with a heavier weight these partial
side lateral raises just work the bottom half of the movement
allowing you to use a heavier weight,
ideal at the start of your workout, firing up the whole shoulder especially those middle delts
capping the shoulder for that 3D look
next traditional front raise would be done standing.
but by using an incline bench you can Target the front delts, with a better range of motion
than the standing version isolating the muscle
and the bench helps stop you swinging
you can use the incline bench to Target rear delts. this is an incline Y raise
laying face front on an incline bench using the arms to create a Y shape with the body
directly targeting the back of the shoulder not so heavy with the weight taking care not to swing
aiming for a good squeeze at the top of the movement
cable side lateral raise is a popular exercise to hit middle delt
but by changing the movement you can also target the rear delt
coming down in front of the body then up and behind
concentrating on that full range of movement.
cables have the added advantage of giving constant resistance across each rep
also for rear delts, reverse machine fly taking the usual pec deck machine and facing in
using the handles for resistance on the rear delts
elbows slightly bent, again with constant resistance from the machine
another exercise for rear delts now. bent over dumbbell raise, standing,
knees slightly bent, taking the dumbbells out and to the sides
rear delts are a lagging body part for many trainers
because front delts get plenty of work as the supporting muscle on chest day
which is why today's list includes a good number of rear delt exercises
to help you balance your shoulders for a full round look
that bent over dumbbell raise we've just shown you can also be done on the bench like this,
but not a lot of trainers use the rowing option on this exercise
using a slight adjustment to the movement. we know rows are typically
used for lats and middle back but here the angle lets you target rear delts
with a pronated grip, dumbbells in line elbows out not tucked in
squeezing from the delts not the shoulder blades
moving to the cable now these are face pulls.
pulley at the bottom body upright bringing the Rope up past the forehead
you can use a bit of external rotation here
as long as most of the work is coming from the rear delts
another exercise that works the shoulder from multiple angles - Arnold press
it's a famous exercise because it was championed by Arnold himself
but it's not used as often as you'd think
dumbbells start together in front of the chest. as you come up you also twist out
and into a pressing movement keeping control on the way down as well as on the way up
allowing you to hit all three key shoulder muscles in one movement
finally a great finisher working all parts of the shoulder with six ways
light dumbbells going out to the sides down side front up front side and down.
a great way to burn out your shoulders at the end of your workout
so which is your favorite shoulder exercise?
let us know in the comments below. there's many more shoulder exercises on fit media's
free exercise database and check out the link for
expert advice on how to fix the most common mistakes in shoulder training