If you’re on a bodybuilding program and trying to gain muscle in your upper body, working out the right shoulder will be important. The shoulder muscles make up a large portion of the upper body, thus increasing the size in this area will make the back wider overall, thus giving you a nice V-taper that so many in the bodybuilding world are after.
When it comes to the shoulders, there are three main heads that come into play – the lateral deltoid (side), the anterior deltoid (front) and the posterior deltoid (back). Some of the shoulder exercises you do in your upper body workouts will work all three heads, while others isolate just one head, really working it to the max.
Below are exercises you should consider when building a solid upper body workout designed to build muscle.
shoulder press
The shoulder press is often considered the ‘king’ of all shoulder muscles because it allows you to press a lot of weight, thus leading to optimal strength and muscle gain. When it comes to your ability to build muscle, using as much weight as possible is often the best way to go, so exercises that allow you to do so should make up the bulk of your workout plan. Should be made
While doing shoulder press, you should see that you do not start arching your back, as this will cause you to experience back pain.
Also, you should never lock your elbows at the top of the lift as this will again put too much stress on the joints.
You have the option of going either in front of or behind your head when doing a shoulder press. Both are good exercises to include, but because of the intensity of the lift, only one variation should be included in every workout you do.
lateral lift
Another exercise that’s a good choice to incorporate is a lateral raise, which primarily targets the lateral triceps. Again when doing this, you should really make sure you keep your back straight at all times, as some people will fall out of alignment when the barbell starts to reach 90 degrees with their body.
Some people will start to bring the weight up more than 90 degrees when doing this lift, but note that unless you are very strong and advanced, you should only keep it at 90 degrees or so. However don’t use a weight so heavy that you are only reaching 45 degrees (from the side of your body) because then you will not be getting the full benefit of the lift.
You’ll get the most out of this exercise if you pause at the very top and then lower for a quick second, as this will really test the strength of the muscles to hold the weight up, and ensure that you’ll be able to complete the lift. Not using speed for.
Tea
Finally, the last exercise you should do as part of your shoulder workout is the ‘T’. This is similar to a lateral raise, only it will also work the front deltoids. To do this, you’ll lunge outward, hit 90 degrees, then reach forward to bring the weights to the front of the shoulders, all while keeping them upright in the air.
Once the dumbbells are in front of the body, you can lower the weight back down to the body to complete the rep.
So, next time you are doing shoulder workout, make sure to have these exercises in place. Many people will also include the front and sometimes the rear lateral if they want to further develop those ends of the shoulder muscles.
Regardless of your set-up though, make sure the shoulder press is included because it’s the optimal exercise when it comes to building muscle.
Source by Shannon Clark
