What are the shoulder muscles?
The shoulder is one of our strangest and most complex joints.
Many of these muscles attach to our shoulder blade, and double as back muscles as well.
So its not simple to define what counts as a shoulder muscle.
Still, Ill try.
The side (lateral) deltoid, which helps you raise your arm out to the side.
The rear (posterior) deltoid, which helps you pull your arm back.
Theyre called deltoids (delts, for short) because they are in the shape of a triangle.
These are theinfraspinatus,supraspinatus,subscapularis, andteres minor.
Yourtrapezius(traps) andrhomboid minormuscles connect your spine to your shoulder blades.
When you shrug your shoulders, thats your upper trapezius doing most of the work.
Yourpectoralis majorandminor(your pecs) connect your chest to your upper arms.
You use these when youre pushing something away from you, as in a bench press or pushup.
Yourlatissimus dorsi(lats) are back muscles that connect to your upper arm bones.
They pull your shoulders down and back, and help us pull things toward ourselves.
With all that in mind, you might see there wont be a single exercise that hits every muscle.
If you just want a big boulder shoulders look, youll want to give the deltoids some extra love.
For example, bench press and pushups work the pecs.
Pullups and the lat pulldown machine work the lats.
Shrugs work the upper trapezius.
Horizontal pulling movements, like rows, work upper back muscles like the traps and rhomboids.
These may not be shoulder exercises in gym bro lingo, but theyre definitely good for your shoulders.
That saidI get what kind of shoulder exercises youve come here for.
Heres a tri-set (like a three-partsuperset) that hits each of the three parts of the deltoid.
Youll do these exercises, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Do both arms at the same time.
Front raise: Raise the dumbbells up in front of you, with elbows straight.
Stop when your arm is roughly parallel to the floor (so, not all the way overhead.)
Its OK to bend your knees to make this more comfortable.
Now, raise the dumbbells, using your rear deltoid muscles to pull the weights toward the ceiling.
Three rounds of this circuit is a great way to finish off an upper body workout.
(Barbell press anddouble kettlebell pressare my favorites, personally.)
The press works the front and middle deltoids, as well as shoulder stabilizers like the traps and serratus.
Theupright rowalso targets the delts and traps,andit gets the rhomboids and rotator cuff.
Finally, well finish with a little something for the rear delts and other upper back muscles.
Upright row: you might take either a wide or narrow grip on this one.
Keep your elbows above the bar the whole time.
For the barbell, pick a weight it’s possible for you to press for 15 reps or so.
Some people find that upright rows bother their shoulders.
(Up to belly button level is still great.)
