1. Face Pulls
2.
Barbell Shrugs
3.
Band Pull Aparts
4.
Military Presses
5.
Pushups
6.
Rear Delt Flyes
7.
Face Pulls, Part
Deux
8.
Seated Dumbbell
Presses with Rotation
9.
Arnold Presses
10. Reverse Pec Deck Flyes
1. Face Pulls
The face pull helps to strengthen your rotator cuff muscles. To do a face pull, grab a resistance band or set of dumbbells and stand in front of a cable machine. With your arms extended, lean away from the weight stack until you feel tension on both sides of your shoulder blades.
Now bend at your waist while extending your arms out to either side with palms facing down. Keep your shoulders parallel to one another and avoid rotating or rolling them forward or backward.
As you perform each rep, think about keeping your shoulder blades pulled together; imagine pinching an apple between them throughout each rep. Shoot for 3 sets of 15 reps per day, which will help to further develop and strengthen those important scapular stabilizer muscles that are crucial to shoulder health.
2. Barbell Shrugs
Barbell
shrugs are a very effective way to build shoulders. You do not need to use a
lot of weight, but you do need to concentrate on building your traps (the
muscles at either side of your neck). Focus on feeling these muscles working.
Bring your shoulders up and back as far as possible, then lower under control
until your arms are nearly straight. Repeat for one set of 12 repetitions,
using more weight if you can handle it.
The most effective shoulder exercises for men involve training both your front and back muscles. Barbell shrugs work your traps, which are important to protect your shoulders from injury. This is particularly important if you play sports such as football or rugby. Front raises will build up your anterior deltoids (the muscle at either side of your shoulder). For best results, use dumbbells rather than a barbell because it’s easier to concentrate on lifting just one arm at a time with dumbbells.
3. Band Pull Aparts
Pull apart is one of those highly effective exercises that you can use to stretch and strengthen your shoulders at the same time. The basic pull apart involves standing upright with a resistance band placed between your hands. Your arms should be extended away from your body with each arm holding an end of resistance band. Move both of your arms inward towards each other until you feel a slight stretch in your shoulder muscles, then slowly return to starting position.
4. Military Presses
Whether
it’s in a CrossFit workout or at a machine in your local gym, military presses
are one of the best ways to work your shoulders. This move is ideal for
building strength and getting broad shoulders. With proper form, you can also
avoid common injuries. To do them correctly: Stand with feet shoulder-width
apart, lower weights to sides of the torso, palms facing inward; press up until
arms are straight overhead with elbows slightly bent.
T-bar rows: You can do these two ways, either at a machine or with dumbbells. Stand facing a high pulley machine with feet shoulder-width apart, holding weights in each hand.
5. Pushups
Pushups
are great shoulder exercises. Sure, they're best known as a chest exercise, but
that doesn't mean you can ignore your shoulders. In fact, doing so is a
mistake! Neglecting your shoulders in favor of your pecs will result in an
unbalanced upper body, making it tougher to perform compound chest exercises
like pull-ups and dips as well as everyday activities like reaching up high or putting
on a jacket.
Skip pushups altogether and you'll also miss out on one of the best weight loss exercises around—it's hard to find an exercise more efficient at burning calories! If you're just starting with pushups—or haven't done them in years—start with a basic pushup (feet together) and progress from there.
6. Rear Delt Flyes
The
best way to gain strength in your rear delts is with rear delt flyes. These targets both upper and lower fibers of your rear delts and are a great mass
builder for these muscles.
The technique to perform rear delt flyes is exactly as it sounds: you are going to be doing flyes but behind your back. It’s important that you focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together as you raise and lower your arms.
7. Face Pulls, Part Deux
Face
pulls—which work a number of shoulder muscles, including your anterior
deltoids, middle delts, and rear delts—are also incredibly effective at
building overall shoulder size. If you want to increase your traps’ mass and
improve their overall shape and appearance, face pulls are a must-do exercise.
In fact, many bodybuilders use face pulls as a finishing exercise for their shoulder workouts because they’re so effective at building overall size and adding definition to individual muscles. In other words, if you want big shoulders and round traps, make sure you include face pulls in your programming.
8. Seated Dumbbell Presses with Rotation
Get
Ready to Add Serious Size and Strength! : This exercise combines two of our
favorite shoulder exercises: seated dumbbell presses and dumbbell side raises.
If you’re looking to add some serious size and strength to your shoulders, then
you’ll want to make sure that you’re including these exercises in your routine.
To get started, grab a pair of dumbbells and sit down on a flat bench with your feet placed firmly underneath you. You’ll want to place your elbows on top of your knees with your wrists in line with your elbows. This will help to keep a tightness in your upper back which will allow you to use more weight while keeping control of it.
9. Arnold Presses
Arnold presses are excellent shoulder exercises because they allow you to work both your front and rear deltoids at once. They’re also easy to do and don’t require much in terms of equipment or space.
To perform an Arnold press, you’ll need to use dumbbells. Start with your arms down at your sides and raise them up until they’re in line with your ears, palms facing forward. At that point, turn your hands so that they face behind you as you lower them back down to your sides. As you do so, squeeze both shoulder blades together as hard as possible at either top or bottom of the movement.
10. Reverse Pec Deck Flyes
The
Reverse Pec Deck Flye machine is similar to regular pec deck flyes, except that
you pull your elbows down in front of you. This puts more emphasis on your
shoulders and less on your chest, making it a great exercise to really target
your front delts. The reverse pec deck flye is also a great way to finish off
your shoulder workout. Make sure to squeeze those muscles tight at peak
contraction!
Remember to squeeze your shoulders together at
peak contraction, and aim to bring your arms out in front of you about 90
degrees. To make sure you hit your delts, focus on pushing those elbows down.
If you can’t find a reverse pec deck flye machine, then do standing dumbbell
reverse flyes instead.
