We know warmer weather is making its way out for the year here in the Midwest… and just because “sleeve and hoodie season” is on the way, doesn’t mean we can’t keep making those arms look good. Specifically our shoulders, who doesn’t love the look of that capped shoulder?
So today, I want to give you 5 of the best shoulder exercises to help get you to that look. But first, let’s go through the most popular muscles of your shoulder.
You have your deltoid ... and your rotator cuff muscles, which are the more inside structure.
Deltoid: The deltoid is broken up into three separate parts. The anterior (front) deltoid, the lateral (medial) deltoid, and the posterior (rear) deltoid.
The anterior deltoid has the primary function of shoulder flexion. Which is raising your arms forward.
The lateral deltoid is in charge of shoulder abduction. Which is raising your arms to the side of your body.
The posterior deltoid main movement is transvers abduction. Which is bringing your arms in straight out in front of you to straight out the side of you.
Rotator Cuff: Your rotator cuff consists of 4 different muscles. The supraspinatus, subscapularis, infraspinatus, and the teres minor. Your rotator cuff is more internal but can play a huge role in proper form and balance during these shoulder workouts.
The supraspinatus sits at the top of the shoulder and helps with rotating and lifting your arm.
The subscapularis sits at the front of your shoulder and helps with keeping your arm outstretched away from the body.
The infraspinatus helps rotate your arm.
The teres minor is at the back of the shoulder and helps with turning and rotating the arm.
Here are my 5 favorite movements:
OH PRESS - This can be performed in many ways. Seated or standing, with a barbell/dumbbell/cables/or with bands, can also be done one arm, both arm, or alternating
ARNOLD PRESS - This can be performed seated or standing, typically with a dumbbell but a kettlebell can work too. You can also do this one with one arm, both arms, or alternating arms.
FRONTAL RAISE - It’s easy to sway with this one… so I like to do it seated and really focus on staying as still as possible. I’m a personal fan of using dumbbells. You can also try standing with a cable or bands as well. You will want to start with lighter weight with this exercise.
LATERAL RAISE - This one is a money maker on making your shoulders look wider, broader, and over all giving them that “pop”. Pro tip: the wider your upper body looks, the slimmer your waist will look. This is mostly done standing with dumbbells, but you could also try seated and using a single cable as well. It's normal to have to start light with this one and work your way up in weight over time!
FACE PULLS - This one is typically done standing with a rope attachment on the cables. Usually you’re using both arms but if you want more emphasis on one side you can do a single arm with a handle attachment.
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I want to leave you with a couple more points on what makes a "good" workout.
- An effective workout doesn't have much to do with the exercises you're performing ... and everything to do with the effort you give (any workout plan "works" if you're giving your best effort)
- Form & execution of your workouts matter much more than the weight you're using (work on your form first, then add weight)
- Make sure to track your progress & work to improve (add an extra set, rep, more weight, etc. ... progression creates results)
- If you're not eating properly, your workouts really don't matter (make sure your diet reflects your goals)
I'd also suggest starting with a 1-2 set warm-up, then 3-4 sets of each movement you do ... and shoot for somewhere between 8-12 reps. You should also struggle to get the last couple reps ... don't just go through the motions. That's a big part of seeing results!
But if you pay attention to the points above, and implement some of the workouts I mentioned ... there's no doubt you have some of the best looking arms at the pool this summer.
As always, if you need some extra help with ANYTHING health & fitness related ... just stop into your nearest S2 location!
Our Certified Personal Trainers & Sports Nutrition Specialists will be more than happy to help make sure you're set.
*This article was written by Sage Schuman who is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
