The shoulder area contains many muscles and tendons. However, there are really only two muscle groups specific to the shoulder. One group is the rotator cuff, made up of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. The other group is the deltoid, which has three heads: anterior, posterior, and lateral.
External Rotation
The rotator cuff is primarily responsible for the rotational movement of the arm at the shoulder joint. The simplest way to work the external rotators of the shoulder is to use a resistance band. Anchor the band just above waist height and grab the handle from across your body. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees and tuck the elbow into the rib cage and hold it there throughout the exercise. There should already be some tension on the resistance band. Keeping the shoulder and elbow still, rotate the arm outward, using the upper arm as the point of rotation. Repeat the same number of reps on the opposite arm.
Internal Rotation
Internal rotation is equally important to keep the rotator cuff strong and to help prevent injuries. Again, anchor the tubing slightly above waist height. Bend the elbow to 90 degrees and grab the handle with the elbow tucked into the rib cage. Instead of starting with your hand across your body, you will finish here. Start with your arm externally rotated and pull inward across the body.
Lateral Raise
The lateral raise is the quintessential deltoid isolation exercise. This exercise is primarily for the deltoids, but the rotators are used for the first few degrees of range of motion to lift the arm out from the sides. Stand up straight with the shoulders down and back and hold a pair of dumbbells in each hand with palms facing your body. Lift the weights up directly away from you until your arms are in line with your shoulders and your body and arms make a "T" shape. On the way down, stop the weights at about 30 degrees and start the lift again. This will keep the focus on the deltoids and eliminate the rotator cuff from the exercise.
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