The primary muscle of the shoulder is the deltoid, which consists of the front, or anterior deltoid, the middle, or lateral deltoid, and the rear, or posterior deltoid. All three muscles need to be exercised in order to achieve the appearance of large and toned shoulders. The biceps and triceps muscles are the major muscles of the upper arm, and together with the shoulders, define the whole arm. For muscle growth, the National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends to lift heavy weight where your muscles fatigue between eight and 10 repetitions. If you can lift 10 repetitions with ease, increase your weight by 5 lbs. Work each muscle group once or twice per week on nonconsecutive days. Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise program.
Shoulder Press
The shoulder press involves lifting dumbbells or a barbell straight overhead. Start holding the weight in your hands next to your head so your palms are forward and your elbows are bent at 90 degrees. Press the weight up over your head so your arms straighten, then lower them back down to starting position. Karen Sessions, bodybuilder and fitness expert, explains that the shoulder press is the best exercise to build size and definition in the deltoids and should therefore be incorporated first. Be careful with this exercise if you have shoulder pain or previous shoulder injury, as the lifting motion can impinge the muscles in the joint and cause further damage.
Raises
The raise, sometimes known as a fly, works all three sections of the deltoid, because it can be done as a rear raise, a lateral raise or a front raise. To do a lateral raise, hold the dumbbells in your hands and lift your arms straight out to the side of your body until they are parallel with the ground, then slowly lower. In the front raise, bring your arms straight out in front of you. In the rear raise, bend over about 45 degrees, let your arms hang straight down, and raise them out to the side so they are now targeting your back and posterior deltoids.
Biceps Curls
The basic biceps curl is the best exercise to specifically target the biceps. You can use a barbell, dumbbells, cable machine or resistance bands. It is beneficial to vary the equipment to keep the exercise interesting and the muscle from getting used to one method. Hold the weights in your hands with your elbows bent at 90 degrees with your palms facing up. Slowly lower the weights so your arms are almost straight, then contract the biceps and curl the weights back up. You can also do this exercise with your palms facing each other, called a hammer curl.
Triceps Extension
Any exercise where you straighten your arms against a given resistance works the triceps. These can be on a cable machine, with dumbbells or barbells. One variation is to do them lying on a flat bench holding dumbbells in your hands with your arms straight overhead. Bend your arms so you lower the weights to either side of your head with your elbows still pointing up. Straighten the arms back up to finish with weights straight up in starting position.
References
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; Thomas R. Baechel and Roger W. Earle; 2008
- CriticalBench.com: Tips for Building Shoulder Muscle
- BodyBuilding.com: Five Star Arm Workouts
Member Comments