Having sculpted and shapely shoulders enhances a woman's physique. They give the appearance of a smaller waist and hips and add nice proportion to the upper body. There are three major muscles of the shoulders that all need to be trained for ideal shape. These are the frontal deltoids, middle deltoids and rear deltoids. There are specific exercises for each muscle group that allow the shoulders to pop and give a nice rounded appearance.
Guidelines
To achieve shapely shoulders, you need to lift within specified repetition ranges at a certain weight. First, try to build the size of your shoulder muscles. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends lifting a weight that fatigues your muscles within 10 to 15 repetitions for hypertrophy. Do this for four to six weeks. To shape your shoulders, increase the weight slightly and do 8 to 12 repetitions. This will define the muscles, adding tone.
Frontal Deltoids
The frontal or anterior delts are positioned on the front of the shoulders leading into the pectoral muscles. Many chest exercises also work the frontal deltoid as a secondary muscle. The best exercises to target this muscle are frontal raises with either dumbbells or holding a weight plate. Also do pushups on the floor or with your feet elevated on a bench or stability ball. Finally, do incline dumbbell flys on an incline bench.
Middle Deltoids
The middle deltoids are responsible for that nice rounded appearance on the top of the shoulders, often referred to as the "cap." According to Alissa Carpio, B.S. and Certified Personal Trainer, the best exercise for developing size in the middle deltoids are overhead shoulder presses. To add roundness and shape, do dumbbell lateral raises, cable lateral raises and barbell upright rows. If you are unaccustomed to dumbbells, or are looking to increase the weight you lift, use the shoulder press machine first to build stability.
Rear Deltoids
The rear deltoids are usually the most under-trained muscle, because they are not ones you typically see in a mirror. However, your shoulder training is not complete without nice, rounded posterior deltoids. Most gyms and health clubs have a pec-dec machine to utilize in your rear deltoid training. In addition, do bent-over reverse flys and bent-over reverse-grip barbell rows. Many exercises that target the rear delts also work out the back, giving you double the workout.
Considerations
The shoulder, along with the hip joints, are the only joints that can move freely in every direction. This ability also makes the shoulder prone to injury, especially with weight training. Avoid any behind-the-neck shoulder exercises, because they can impinge the joint, possibly leading to injury. If you have any prior shoulder injury, avoid upright rows, overhead presses and straight-out lateral raises, as they too can impinge the joint. Instead, do incline presses and keep your arms in your peripheral vision on your lateral raises.
References
- BodyBuilding.com; The Ultimate Women's Training Guide; Alissa Carpio
- American Council on Exercise: Shoulder Exercises
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning -- National Strength and Conditioning Association"; Thomas R. Baechel, et al.; 2008
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