Shoulder training is the best way to widen your back and create a V-shape. Strengthening the shoulder joint is necessary for pull-ups, push-ups, all kinds of barbell presses, as well as for performing exercises for the arm muscles (primarily triceps).
To pump up your shoulders, you need to work out the deltoids and trapezius muscles from different angles – for which exercises with dumbbells are great. However, it is important to remember that the shoulder joint is one of the most fragile – that is, the correct technique for performing exercises is necessary.
How to build your shoulders?
The muscles of the shoulder consist of three bundles – anterior, posterior and lateral. Each of them is responsible for performing a certain type of exercise. For example, the front of the middle beam performs the pressing functions, the back of the middle beam and the rear delta are responsible for the traction functions.
Since the middle delta has the most volume, it is she who, as a rule, is given priority in training. The basic exercise in this case is the standing press – it can be performed both with a barbell and dumbbells. In turn, dumbbell layouts develop lateral deltas.
Also, the muscles of the shoulder are associated with the muscles of the upper back and the trapezius muscles. That is why proper shoulder training should be based on varying exercises and working out muscles from different angles – in addition, on the right combination of training days.
Shoulder training strategy
The main shoulder exercise is the barbell or dumbbell vertical press. Also, for mass training, the pull of the bar to the chin and the alternate lifting of the dumbbells are effective – they develop the rear and middle beams of the delts, making the back wider. Plus, swings and lifts to the sides give the shoulders roundness and volume.
When training the shoulders, special attention should be paid to the study of the traps and muscles of the upper back – their work is closely related to the work of the delts. The best exercises for this will be swings with dumbbells, performed with a feeling of involving the traps and bringing the shoulder blades together at the top of the trajectory.
Best shoulder exercises
The most effective exercise for pumping your shoulders and increasing strength is the bench press . This exercise is one of the five multi-joint basic exercises that are important for the complex development of the muscles of the whole body.
Proper technique involves keeping the abs in conscious tension – which will help balance the load. Raising the bar is carried out on the exhale, during the movement, the triceps look forward. In addition, the shoulder joint should be in the joint bag – you should feel that the shoulder has support.
How to train your shoulders correctly?
A shoulder exercise program should combine both a barbell and dumbbells. The main advantage of exercises with dumbbells is the ability to focus on the symmetry of the muscles – that is, to evenly develop the deltoid muscles. Standing barbell presses increase mass, and dilutions create volume.
In this case, the best exercise to increase the volume and mass of the muscles of the shoulders is considered to be the pull of the bar to the chin. By developing the back and middle bundles of delts, it quickly makes the back visually wider. The wider the grip of the bar, the more load is transferred from the traps to the delts.
The effectiveness of the rod pull to the chin exceeds the various lifts of dumbbells in front of you and to the sides. A variation of the exercise is the alternate lifting of dumbbells to the chin. Take dumbbells in both hands, but pull only one to the chin. The second dumbbell should act as a balance and counterweight for a better distribution of the load on the muscles of the shoulder girdle.
The program
It is better to leave the pumping of the shoulders for the second half of the workout in the gym – the strength exercises of the first part of the training will prepare the joints for stress. The workout itself should consist of a standing chest press and 2-3 isolating shoulder exercises with dumbbells (for example, dumbbell chin rows and dumbbell side raises).
Vertical dumbbell or barbell shoulder presses are performed in 3-4 sets of 7-10 repetitions with a preliminary warm-up of the joints. Each isolating exercise is performed in 2-3 sets and 10-15 repetitions with an average working weight. Shoulder training is recommended no more than 2 times a week.
1. Seated Dumbbell Press
The advantage of training shoulders with dumbbells (compared to exercises with a barbell) is the variability of the grip. For example, if the dumbbells look at each other, the load on the shoulder joint is reduced. Among other things, the bench press can include various rotations.
2. Dumbbell Front Raise
Exercise for training the anterior bundle of the deltoid muscles of the shoulders. Dumbbells are recommended to be lifted alternately – it is easier to control the technique. Also, make sure that the press is tense, and the body does not sway. At the top of the trajectory, the arm is parallel to the floor – do not raise the dumbbell higher.
3. Lifting Dumbbells To The Chin
The best exercise for the shoulders, increasing their volume and giving roundness. In addition, your trap muscles and muscles of the upper back are involved in the work.
4. Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Exercise for the lateral bundles of the deltoid muscles. When performing, the thumb looks down, and the shoulder joint is fixed in one position.
5. Mahi With Dumbbells
The body during the exercise is slightly tilted forward, the shoulders are lowered as low as possible – imagine that the trapezius muscles are pressed against the back.
Supersets and Dropsets for Shoulders
A superset is a combination of two different exercises by alternating their performance. The shoulder muscles respond extremely well to this training strategy. It is recommended to combine the pumping of the front and rear deltas, as well as two exercises for the middle part of the deltas. In addition, as an advanced training technique, you can use trisets, working through all the deltas in one intensive approach.
A drop set is a decrease in working weight and an increase in the number of repetitions from approach to approach. In each approach, up to 20-25% of the weight is dropped, in total 6-8 sets of the exercise are performed without a break. The drop set and the associated pumping is the best way to end a shoulder workout. and, as a rule, each dropset workout is performed on different bundles of deltas.
Shoulder muscle training should be based on a combination of heavy vertical presses (for example, a barbell bench press) and isolation exercises with dumbbells, performed with average weight and with perfect technique – this will both develop the deltoid muscles evenly and minimize the risk of injury (the shoulder joint is one of the most fragile).