The shoulder muscles are called the deltoids, which consist of a front, or anterior; middle, or medial; and back, or rear. For an effective and balanced shoulder workout, do an exercise to target each of the three parts. Dumbbells allow you to do exercises such as front raises, lateral raises and lying rear delt rows to exercise all the sections of the deltoids.
Dumbbell Front Raises
Front raises performed with dumbbells utilize the front portion of your shoulders. The exercise is done standing so you can get a full range of motion in your shoulder joints. The arms start straight in front of your body with your hands resting on your quads. A dumbbell is held in each hand with the palms facing you. The elbow joints should be soft, so relax or bend them slightly, just enough so that you are not locking your elbows. This is your starting position. Raise your arms straight in front of you up to shoulder level until the arms are parallel to the floor. Stay standing up tall without rocking your body weight back onto your heels or arching your lower back. Lower your arms back to the starting position with control.
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Dumbbell lateral raises target the medial deltoids, though the front and rear deltoids work in conjunction. This is a simple exercise that involves nothing more than lifting your arms up to your sides like a bird flapping its wings. To perform the lateral raises, stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. Place your arms at your sides and grab a dumbbell in each hand. The arms are straight with a slight bend in the elbow and the hands are rotated to face inward. Engage your shoulders by raising your arms to shoulder height at your sides. Return your arms down against your body to complete a lateral raise. The shoulders should be pulled back throughout the exercise. If you allow your arms to move forward, then you will use more of your anterior deltoids.
Dumbbell Lying Rear Delt Row
The rear delt row exercise targets the muscles in the back of the shoulders. An exercise bench is needed for this exercise. Lie face down on the bench holding the dumbbells. Let your arms hang toward the floor so they are perpendicular to the bench. Your palms should face toward your legs. Next, pull your shoulder blades together and bend your elbows as you raise your arms toward the ceiling. The forearms remain perpendicular to the floor. Then, straighten the arms forward again to finish one repetition.
Member Comments
tyciol April 13
The choice of terminology here is inconsistent. It says front/anterior and back/rear. The opposite of anterior is 'posterior'.
I also find medial a bad choice of words here for the middle fibers. You could just as easily call it lateral. This depends entirely on what plane we're referencing its position to. The middle delts are lateral relative to the median/sagittal plane and they are medial to the front/coronal plane.