| It is well known that the ball and socket joint of the | | | | the other hand (both hands are moving at once). The |
| shoulder allows for the biggest range of motion of all | | | | key point here is smooth movement with no swinging |
| the joints in the body. For this reason, you can try a | | | | of the arms. |
| large number of great shoulder workouts to build | | | | The lateral raise, or shoulder fly - you stand with |
| shoulder size and strength. The main muscles involved | | | | dumbbells in each hand, arms at your sides. Palms are |
| are the deltoids (which form the rounded part of the | | | | inwards. Raise the dumbbells upwards and outwards |
| shoulder) and the trapezius muscles (between the | | | | to head height, hold, then lower your arms back to the |
| neck and shoulder, and running down the back). | | | | original position. Again, avoid swinging your arms. The |
| While some trainers say that you don't need to work | | | | bent-over raise, or inverted fly is a seated variation in |
| on your shoulders directly, many people get a lot of | | | | which you sit facing downwards (torso bent) and raise |
| benefit from shoulder workouts, and can see a lot of | | | | the dumbbells so that your arms are parallel to the |
| development particularly in their deltoid muscles very | | | | ground, then move them down again. |
| quickly. | | | | The shoulder shrug - you stand with barbells in each |
| So, what shoulder workouts are good to start with? | | | | hand. With your arms straight and at your sides, raise |
| The Arnold dumbbell press - sit and hold a dumbbell in | | | | the shoulders as high as you can go, then lower them |
| each hand in front of you at shoulder level, elbows | | | | again. This exercises the trapezius muscle. |
| bent and with your palms towards you. Raise the | | | | The upright row - this can be done with dumbbells or a |
| dumbbells above your head, twisting them as you lift | | | | barbell, and also develops the trapezius. (Don't do this if |
| so that your palms face outward at the straight arm | | | | you have shoulder problems or pain.) Hold a barbell |
| position. Lower the dumbbells again to the original | | | | overhand with a shoulder-wide grip or narrower. Pull |
| position. Repeat. | | | | the bar up to the neck, leading with your elbows, then |
| The front raise - you stand with a dumbbell in each | | | | lower again. Repeat. For the dumbbell version, hold the |
| hand, with your palms toward you. Lift one hand | | | | dumbbells with your hands facing inwards, then pull the |
| straight forward in an arc until it is above shoulder | | | | dumbbells up simultaneously to shoulder height. Repeat. |
| height. Lower the dumbbell, and at the same time raise | | | | At the gym, you can also use a cable machine. |