Building strong, well-developed shoulders will not only help improve the appearance of your physique, it will allow you to be stronger on many other exercises as well as more resistant to shoulder injury, assuming balanced muscular development of the shoulder. If you wish the muscles to show more, you need to work on lowering body fat, as definition is purely a function of the amount of fat covering the muscle. There is no range that will allow you to build muscle and tone. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
Press, Press, and Press Some More
The basis for building strong shoulders is pressing, whether or not you do it standing, seated, with a wide grip or with a close grip. This exercise allows you to use the most weight, which will stimulate the largest muscle fibers to grow. You will not progress well using little weights. If you want big results, you need to press heavy. This will not only develop your shoulders, but your triceps as well. Heavy overhead pressing also activates the clavicular head of the pectoralis major, often called the "upper pec" and musculature of the upper back for stability while performing this exercise. Before the advent of powerlifting in the 1960s, the standard question when discussing strength was "How much do you press?"
Lateral Raises
A good exercise for the lateral head of the deltoid, or the muscle on the outside of your shoulder, is the lateral raise. This involves simply holding a dumbbell in each hand while standing in place, with your knees slightly bent, and your hands at your side. Raise the dumbbells until your arms are parallel to the ground, then lower them under control to the starting position. This exercise can also be performed with your elbows bent.
Work the Posterior Deltoid
The posterior head of the deltoid is critical for far more than appearance. This muscle stabilizes the joint under load, such as when executing a bench press or military press. Do not just train the muscles you see in the mirror, train the supporting musculature. This muscle can be trained with bent over lateral raises, which are executed in the same manner while leaning forward. For a more strict version of this exercise, perform it while lying face down on a bench.
Work the Upper Back
The trapezius muscle covers much of the upper back, and is responsible for not only initiating many pulling-type movements, but helps stabilize your shoulders while executing a task. The muscle may be worked by shrugging, which means holding a barbell in your hands with your arms hanging down, then simply shrugging the shoulders upward. Do not bend your arms nor rotate your shoulders while performing this exercise.
The Rotator Cuff
The rotator cuff is the subject of much discussion, most of it related to injury. It is a group of four muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis which are responsible for the stability of the shoulder joint as well as the rotation of the upper arm. The problem arises when a great deal of pressing is done, which works the internal rotators, and and not much is done for the external rotators. This results in an imbalance which, over time, results in disrupted function of the shoulder joint, and can result in no small amount of pain.
Exercises for the External Rotators
While there are a variety, two basic variations of an external rotation exercise should serve you well. For the first exercise, hold a light dumbbell in your hand with your arm extended to the side. Bend your elbow until your forearm is pointing at the ceiling, then rotate your arm forward until your forearm is parallel to the ground, then return to your original position. The other version involves holding on to a cable attachment that is on one side of your body. Start with your arm hanging down, then bend your arm until your forearm is parallel to the ground. When you are in this position, allow the resistance of the cable stack to pull your arm out to the side. Your upper arm should not move other than rotation in position. Then return to your original starting position. Take a few minutes each workout to ensure the health of your shoulders, and you will continue to make progress.
References
- Pubmed: Electromyographic validation of the muscles deltoid (anterior portion) and pectoralis major (clavicular portion) in military press exercises with open grip.
- Pubmed: Participation of the deltoid (anterior portion) and pectoralis major (clavicular portion) muscles in different modalities of supine and frontal elevation exercises with different grips.
- Pubmed: Influence of different ranges of motion on selective recruitment of shoulder muscles in the sitting military press: an electromyographic study.
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