I Must Grow These Shoulders

Unfortunately, I’m not one of those lucky gals who have amazing arms with nicely toned, lean, perfectly seen side delts, triceps, and capped shoulders. Oh, I would kill to have those, as they look amazing in tank tops or when you have the fuller lower body that I have. When we see women who are out of proportion, meaning the upper body is smaller than the lower body or the upper half is too big and needs to be streamlined so it matches the lower half, it’s because they either lack upper body development or carry their weight in their arms and need to tone up and shed the fat before they get a glimpse of what could be. Either way, we all want a great set of shoulders to complement our physique, and that’s what I’m going to show you today. I’ll give you a look at what I do to streamline my shoulders and get them looking competition ready.

We all need upper body strength in order to operate effectively in our everyday lives. For example, you need to carry things, pick things up and put them down, pick up your kids, and just be self-sufficient in everything you do while meeting the demands of work, family, and personal life.

Ideally, it’s best if you belong to a gym; that way, you have more options of machines so that you can do different variations of specific exercises. But if you don’t, no worries; all you will need is a chair and dumbbells of various weights. I would recommend buying dumbbells between 5 and 30 pounds.

Luckily for you, all but one of these exercises can be can be done at home with those dumbbells, so there should be no excuses.
Start with a weight that feels heavy but with which you’re able to finish the set and increase the weight as you go. Make sure you have good form, as that will make all the difference in how you work the muscle.

As for how much weight to use, everyone’s fitness level is different. The correct amount of weight will make your muscles either fail or become fatigued. If you’re looking to tone your muscles and increase muscular endurance, you’ll want to use the amount of weight that will make your muscles fail within 12 and 20 reps. If you want to add mass, use heavier weights that will make your muscles fail within 6 and 12 reps. The best rule of thumb for shoulder exercises, and any strength exercises, is to start low and add weight as needed.
I usually do 4 or 5 sets of 8 to 15 reps, and the last set I do until failure. I like doing these exercises in supersets of two, going from push to pull and compound to isolation. I take minimal rest between supersets, and I always finish every last set to failure. So if you’re up for the challenge, give my workout a try. You will have those shoulders burning.

Dumbbell shoulder press: Push, compound, works shoulders and triceps
Superset
Seated bent-over flies: Pull, isolation, works shoulders

Dumbbell upright rows: Pull, compound, works traps and shoulders
Superset
Side lateral raises: Push, isolation, works shoulders

Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows: Pull, compound, works lats, shoulders, and biceps
Superset
Front Dumbbell Raises: Push, isolation, works shoulders

Arnold Presses: Push, compound, works shoulders and triceps
Superset
Pull-Ups: Pull, compound, works lats, biceps, and mid back

Battle Ropes: Push, compound, works shoulders, chest, and forearms

EXERCISE NOTES
Dumbbell Shoulder Sress: Start with dumbbells at shoulder level and push them to the overhead position, then return to the starting position in a controlled manner.

Seated bent-over flies: Sit at the end of a bench, with feet together, dumbbells behind your calves, and palms facing each other. Bend at the waist while keeping your back straight; keep your torso forward and arms bent at the elbows. Lift dumbbells straight to the side until both arms are parallel to the floor, squeeze at the top, and lower them. Repeat.

Upright Rows: Begin with your arms down, holding dumbbells in front of your thighs, and pull up to under your chin, leading with the elbows. Hold the contraction and lower them. Repeat.
Side lateral raises: Begin with your arms and dumbbells at your sides. Slowly raise your arms to the side until they reach shoulder height, lead with your elbow, then slowly lower to starting position. Repeat.

Bent-over dumbbell Row: Slightly bend at the waist, keep your back arch neutral, and don’t round your back. Let your arms hang at the sides toward the floor. Slowly draw your elbows up toward ceiling and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Lower in a controlled manner to starting position. Repeat.

Front dumbbell raises: This exercise targets the front of your shoulders. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with a dumbbell in each hand and in front of your body; lift slowly until the dumbbells are in level with your shoulders. Keep your arms straight and don’t swing while lifting the dumbbells up.

Arnold Press: This exercise is a great one for overall shoulder development; it hits the front and side delts along with your traps. You can do this either standing or sitting. Think of this exercise as a shoulder press with a double twist as you will be rotating the dumbbells as you press up and down. Start by holding the dumbbells close to your shoulders with your palms facing in. Rotate your palms outward as you begin to press up. When you reach the top of the movement, hold, then lower back down to the start position. Rotate your palms back inward as you slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.

Pull-Ups: This exercise is key for a shapely back and shoulders. If you have access to an assisted pull up machine, you can use that; otherwise, a pull-up bar is fine.

Battle Ropes: This exercise is killer; it will make your entire arm burn. For this, you will need a heavy rope, anchored at its center. Stand about 20 to 25 feet away, depending on how long the rope is. Take an end in each hand. Basically, what you want to do is raise one arm to shoulder level as quickly as you can while alternating arms in rapid succession. Continue alternating left and right while whipping the ropes up and down as fast as you can

Keep in mind when training shoulders that it’s essential that you stabilize both your shoulders and your core to prevent injury. I also recommend that you perform these exercises standing up, as that creates a greater caloric burn than lifting while sitting. Training your shoulders is fun and is a definite must if you want a strong, shapely, and symmetrical physique. Not to mention, great shoulders look fabulous when wearing that little black dress. So ladies, give these exercises a try, and when you mix this with a well-balanced diet, cardio, and a full body weight training program, your shoulders will be looking strong and sexy in no time.

Until next time, happy training, Muscle Insider!