Here are the Best
Shoulder Exercises to Perform...

to help you achieve that 'toned look' to your shoulders!

Here are the best shoulder exercises to perform in order to create that highly desirable 'toned look' to your shoulders as you burn fat and lose weight. In this article we will also cover why these exercises should be included in your shoulder workout.

By performing these exercises just once a week, you will be amazed at the results you can achieve! When each shoulder exercise is performed as recommended in conjunction with a suitable nutritional plan and supplementation program, in a very short period of time your shoulder muscles will have great definition as well as impressive strength.

Why Are Certain Shoulder Exercises Included?

Each individual shoulder exercise has been selected because it fulfils one or several of the following criteria:

It targets at least one of the 3 heads of the shoulder muscles

It works the shoulder muscles through a significant range of motion (ROM)

It allows you to put stress on the shoulder muscles beyond their normal capacities

The shoulder exercise may help to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles inside the shoulder joint

It may be used by both beginners or advanced people

It targets at least one of the 3 heads of the shoulder muscles
The shoulder muscles have 3 heads: the front (anterior), the side (lateral) and the rear (posterior). Each of these heads has a different function/ action in order to move the arm in space.

For example, the front fibres of the shoulder muscles pull the arm forward and upward when standing normally. These fibres also pull the arm towards the mid-line of the body when the arm is horizontal to the body (horizontal adduction). This means they assist the chest muscles in performing this pressing or pushing action. The lateral fibres pull the arm away from the body, directly out to the side and the posterior fibres pull the arm backwards when standing normally or pull the arm away from the midline if the arm is held horizontally.

However, changing the orientation of the arm in space during a movement may change the head that is being worked. For example, if you lift your arm out to the side of your body during a lateral raise you will work your lateral head of the shoulder muscles if your palm is down. However, if your palm is facing forwards you will tend to work more of the anterior (front) deltoid.

Furthermore, changing the orientation of your body in space will also change the stress being placed on the shoulder muscles. For example, if you stand upright and lift your arms out to the side (with palms down), you will work the lateral head of the deltoids (shoulder muscles). If, however, you lean forward and perform the same movement, you will put a greater emphasis on your rear (posterior) deltiod.

The shoulder exercises in your shoulder workout should be chosen because they incorporate one or several of these functions/ actions of the shoulder muscles and therefore, targets the different heads of the shoulders, maximising the stress being placed on the shoulder muscles.

It works the shoulder muscles through a significant range of motion (ROM)
By working the shoulder muscles through a long range of motion you will be able to work a greater number of muscle fibres. By working the maximum number of musle fibres you can stimulate maximum muscle growth. Of course, partial reps may be used at the end of a set as an advanced technique of overload to put additional stress on the targeted head(s) but as a general rule, working through a full range of motion for the majority of the set is best.

It allows you to put stress on the shoulder muscles beyond their normal capacities
In order to get the best results from your shoulder workout it is essential that you use exercises that allow you to stress the shoulder muscles as much as possible. This simply means incorporating the principle of progressive overload. If you are training at a gym it is very easy to incorporate progressive overload by simply using heavier dumbbells or barbells or by adding more weight to the pin-selector machine.

The principle of progressive overload is discussed in greater detail along with many other training principles in the article titled, How to Structure Your Workouts For Maximum Weight Loss.

Progressive overload will stimulate continual muscle growth to occur. However, it is important to remember that muscle growth may not necessarily occur simply because so many other factors come into play in order to allow muscle growth. Nevertheless, stimulating muscle growth is important in order to prevent muscle loss as you lose weight.

The shoulder exercise may help to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles inside the shoulder joint
By using more free weight exercises (barbells and dumbbells) you will force your shoulder joints to become more stable. This means the rotator cuff muscles will come into play more and will become stronger too, which translates into stronger shoulder joints. Stronger shoulder joints means that you have less chance of getting a shoulder injury in the future.

It may be used by both beginners or advanced people
It is important that the shoulder exercise you choose to use in your shoulder workout may be performed by both beginners and advanced people alike. This means that a wide variety of people can benefit from the specific shoulder exercise. Of course, the exercises may be slightly different but the movement being performed is essentially the same.

For example, beginners may perform shoulder presses with a machine, intermediate people with a barbell and advanced people may use dumbbells. The progression from machine to free weights requires more stabilisation of the shoulder joint and is therefore a more difficult movement to perform, however, these shoulder exercises offer greater benefits from a muscle-stimulating and shoulder-strengthening point of view.

Here are the best shoulder exercises to perform:

Shoulder Press

Lateral Raise

Upright Rows

Bent-over Lateral Raises

Front Rows

There are many slight variations of each of these exercises. For example, most of them can be performed with a machine, cables, a barbell or dumbbells. There may also be slight differences in the performance of the movement too. However, these are the basic shoulder exercises that should be performed if you want to achieved defined and toned shoulders.

If you would like to discover how to perform each of these shoulder exercises correctly, I recommend getting a copy of Weight Lifting For Beginners.

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