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10 Best Shoulder Exercises
Push-Press
Why it’s on the list: This press allows you to load up more weight, and do more reps, than just about any other overhead exercise, making it a great way to unlock new shoulder growth. It’s rightfully considered a bit more of a whole-body movement than a pure shoulder move, since your lower body, core, delts, triceps, and upper pecs are all involved. This isn’t always a bad thing! Compound movements like this engage a great deal of muscle mass and boost muscle-building hormones better than movements that don’t. It’s a favorite of bodybuilders who are looking to build strength and athleticism in the offseason, like in Steve Cook’s shoulder and arms workout.Push-Press Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: This doesn’t need to be an “every workout” move. When you do use it, perform it first in your workout, after warming up well, for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps. Stop each set before fatigue causes your form to crack.
Military Press
Why it’s on the list: Like the push-press, this is a challenging full-body lift. It was once contested as a powerlift, and with a barbell, remains a popular lift for setting ambitious strength goals. But research has shown that dumbbells elicit a greater degree of muscle activation, even if you can’t lift quite as much total weight. Pro tip: Be sure to maintain a neutral hip position and learn how to brace your core to protect your lumbar spine. If you spend all of your time injured, you’ll miss out on the gains! Military Press Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: After a thorough warm-up, choose a challenging weight, but not one so heavy that you break form. Classic rep schemes like 5×5 for muscle and strength are great. For more pure size gains, go for sets of 6-8 or 8-10 where the last one is a struggle, but you’re in no danger of failing the rep.Rear Delt Row
Why it’s on the list: What the heck is a row doing in an article about shoulder exercises? Remember, rowing movements don’t just work the “back,” they involve the rear delts to a significant degree, as well. And experts like physical therapist John Rusin, creator of the BodyFit resource Unstoppable: The Ultimate Guide to Training Through Injury, believe that a key to shoulder health is rowing twice or even three times as much as you press. One more point in favor of rows, particularly on an incline bench: a 2014 study found that in addition to hitting the rear delts as well as flyes, they activated the middle delt significantly better than dumbbell shoulder presses, cable lateral raises, and even barbell upright rows. This makes it a no-brainer for creating a time-efficient shoulder workout.Rear Delt Row Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: As part of a shoulder workout, do this immediately after press variations for sets of 8-10, or as a final high-rep movement for sets of 10-12 or more.
Seated Dumbbell Press
Why it’s on the list: Swapping out the barbell for dumbbells on overhead presses works each side independently, which is great for balanced development. The range of motion is also a bit longer, which can help maximize muscle growth. Pressing in a seated position also removes the lower body, allowing you to focus squarely on the shoulders. Seated Dumbbell Press Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: Do it first in your workout for solid, heavy sets of 6-8 reps. Going heavy? Have a spotter help you get the weights into the starting position and give you a spot (or even a forced rep or two) as you push toward failure.Seated Barbell Press Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: Do these first in your workout and use challenging weights for sets of 6-8 reps. That’s how bodybuilder Lawrence Ballenger starts his Boulder Shoulder workout before moving on to lighter lifts.
Upright Row
Why it’s on the list: Upright rows have a reputation as a shoulder destroyer, but like anything, it’s all about how you perform them. As personal trainer Jimmy Peña explains in the article, “How Wide Should My Grip Be on an Upright Row,” don’t take a close grip, which can internally rotate your shoulders. Instead, take a wider grip where your upper arms go directly out to your sides. The science backs this up, too. A wider grip has been demonstrated to both significantly increase delt activation and also minimizing the biceps’ role in the movement. You can also perform these one arm at a time to get the same effect. Upright Row Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: Even though it’s technically a multijoint movement, don’t do this exercise first in your workout. Do it after your presses for 8-10 reps per set, in supersets with front raises, or as a burnout move at the end of your routine.Arnold Press
Why it’s on the list: Yes, this is just a dumbbell press with some rotation added in. Why give it a separate callout? Because the namesake of the move was definitely onto something! Research has shown that the staple move of old-school muscle-building programs like the Blueprint to Mass hits both the front and medial delts more than other dumbbell press variations. Plus, many lifters simply find it more friendly to their shoulder joints. That’s a big one-two punch.Arnold Press Variations for Shoulder Development: In your workout: These are great first in your workout, or second after a more basic overhead press. Consider pyramiding up in weight and down in reps for 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6, like in the 3-Move Shoulder Builder workout.