Shoulders consist of three heads: anterior (front), medial (lateral), and posterior (rear). By including these shoulder exercises with dumbells into your workout program, you will strengthen all three heads for well-rounded shoulders.
Hold two dumbbells against your thighs with palms facing away and lift them overhead until they come just below your ears, slowly lowering them with control to complete one rep.
Overhead Shoulder Press
The overhead press is an iconic exercise often used by weight lifters to build big shoulders, with moderate to heavy loads used for optimal results. As such, this exercise serves well for hypertrophy training sessions of 6-12 reps, helping prevent shoulder injuries by performing it correctly while strengthening rotator cuff muscles that contribute to overall shoulder health and stability.
The Overhead Shoulder Press exercise targets both your front (anterior deltoids) and middle (medial deltoid) heads of shoulders, as well as rear deltoids, upper back muscles, and triceps. You can perform it using various grips and angles for added variety in your workout while targeting different muscle fibers.
As your strength increases, so can the load you carry and the intensity of each session at the gym. But to start safely and without injury it’s wiser to use lower weight and increase reps gradually over time as your experience with exercise grows.
Though shoulder presses are effective exercises for all fitness levels, proper form must be observed for maximum muscle growth and injury avoidance. Keep in mind that every individual body responds differently; don’t force your way into positions that cause pain or discomfort!
Another essential factor when performing overhead pressing is shoulder mobility; in order to complete a full range of motion and achieve an effective and rewarding workout. If you’re having difficulties, try adding in some scapular wall slides along with regular overhead pressing sessions as part of your regular regimen.
Lateral Shoulder Raise
The lateral raise is an isolated exercise designed to strengthen the middle deltoid muscle. By targeting this area of your deltoid, this movement helps build more visually appealing shoulders than flat ones. Furthermore, the movement makes an ideal component for upper-body supersets or other forms of interval training workouts.
Improper execution of lateral raises can result in shoulder impingement, wherein the rotator cuff tendons rub against each other or against your shoulder blade, leading to pain in your shoulder girdle. Often this happens because your trainer or gym buddy recommended performing internal rotation movement instead of keeping neck neutral and gazing straight ahead when performing this movement. To avoid this scenario, keep neck neutral and gaze forward during each repetition of this move.
When performed correctly, lateral raise can be an extremely powerful shoulder isolation exercise that will enable you to gradually work toward total fatigue while building an impressive physique. However, if it causes discomfort during movement or leans back when performing it, then perhaps dropping weights and trying another version would be best.
Scaption lifts are another variation of the lateral raise, performed along what’s known as the scapular plane. This variation relieves stress on your shoulder joints, providing a benefit for those suffering with tight or sore shoulders and elbows. A study conducted by the American Council on Exercise demonstrated that scaption raises produced similar results as dumbbell lateral raises while more effectively building your deltoids than bench presses! If performing these raises is too much for you to handle yet, try performing dumbbell lateral raises at 30-degree angles instead.
Seated Shoulder Press
Shoulder presses are one of the classic exercises to build larger shoulders. By pressing weight overhead, this move targets multiple muscles of your chest, shoulders, back, arms and core – although barbells may allow more effective targeting of individual parts of the shoulder complex.
Sitting shoulder presses are an effective way to build bigger, stronger shoulders; however, their seated variation offers additional benefits by alleviating some stabilization work and allowing you to push heavier loads than when performing them standing up. Furthermore, sitting makes performing them more comfortable, helping reduce injury risks and perfect your form.
Compared to barbell shoulder presses, seated shoulder press exercises provide greater emphasis on outer deltoids, making this exercise ideal for getting those capped shoulders and deeper “V-taper” upper body definition. Furthermore, since it takes place while sitting, beginners may find this variation easier to learn and master than standing variations.
No matter which version of shoulder press you opt to perform, always inspect your form carefully in a mirror and focus on maintaining good posture and positioning. This will help avoid imbalances between left and right shoulders that could potentially lead to pain and injury later. It is also important to listen to your body: if any discomfort arises during lifting heavy weights, stop early so your shoulders can recover properly before continuing your lifts without first resting first!
Front Shoulder Raise
The Front Shoulder Raise is an isolation exercise designed to strengthen the anterior deltoid muscle (front of your shoulders). This exercise also strengthens lateral and pectoral muscles of the upper chest – an invaluable addition to any upper body workout for those experiencing difficulty with overhead presses and lateral dumbbell raises due to shoulder issues.
Position your feet shoulder-width apart and grasp a pair of dumbbells across your thighs with palms facing inward for a pronated grip, palms facing away from you (a pronated grip). While keeping your back straight and arms extended in front of you, slowly lift the weights until they are in line with or above your shoulders (slowly moving upward). Pause at the top before slowly lowering them back down towards your thighs – repeat this movement for your prescribed repetition count.
Care must be taken when performing front raises as excessive strain may damage or injure the shoulders. If this exercise is new to you, start out using very light dumbbells or no weight at all until you become comfortable with its movement. Furthermore, it is advised that this exercise be completed seated on a bench to reduce risk from rocking back and forth during its movement.
Many people neglect this simple exercise in favor of more complicated ones like overhead presses or lateral dumbbell raises, but front shoulder raises are an integral component of any strength training program. Not only will they enhance the appearance of your shoulders but they will also build your strength to lift heavier weights safely when performing daily activities such as placing items onto shelves at shoulder height.
Wide Shoulder Raise
When working to build larger shoulders, it is essential to target all three heads of the deltoid muscle: anterior (front), lateral (side) and posterior (rear). Pressing exercises such as overhead presses target the front head while lateral raises work on developing bigger shoulders by targeting all three heads at once; wide shoulder raises are an alternative variation on this classic dumbbell exercise designed specifically to make shoulders appear physically wider.
Position your feet shoulder width apart and hold one dumbbell in each hand with palms facing out, palms touching each side of your body. Engage your core and maintain flatness of back while leaning slightly to one side extending off arm until full extension with dumbbell at chin height is reached. Return dumbbell slowly back to starting position for another repetition with controlled tempo taking one second per rep to maximize shoulder muscle recruitment.
Reps of 10-12 per set should be performed. Proper shoulder technique must be observed in order to avoid injury; improper form can increase risk. Be sure to seek guidance from either your physician or physical therapist prior to beginning this or any other strength training exercises.
Shoulder workouts should ideally take place no more than twice weekly to allow sufficient recovery time between workouts and prevent overtraining. As your fitness level and training experience grows, so too should the frequency of your shoulder workouts. In general, compound lifting exercises coupled with lifestyle modifications like diet and nutrition is the most effective way of building bigger shoulders.
