Shoulder Muscles Workout

For ages now, the importance of broad and firm shoulders has been spoken of and established. While women swoon over men’s firm shoulders and consider it a necessary requirement in their men so that their heads can be rested whenever required, men, all over the world, go crazy about a woman’s firm posture. Women need not have muscular shoulders, but to have a firm gait and posture, they must work out the shoulder muscles. A toned body may get noticed more if the mid riff is flat, but a regular body when accompanied with square shoulders draws just as much attention. The attraction being one thing, your overall health in later ages also depends upon how erect and correct your body posture is. For serious bodybuilders, the muscles on and around the shoulders are an important work because they are the ones that actually bulge out and help show-off the body. But for people, who are interested in fitness, shoulder muscle building just keeps them fit and ready for graceful aging. Take a look at some of the most common yet effective shoulder workouts.

Shoulder Muscle Exercises

Seated Shoulder Press

Sit straight on a bench and extend your dumbbells directly above your head.
Keep your back erect.
Adjust the bench to form an upright chair that supports your back.
Lower the weights slowly to the sides till your arms are bent 90 degrees.
Now press the dumbbells back up without locking your elbows and repeat.

Lateral Dumbbell Raises

Either stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or sit on the corner of an exercise bench.
Keep your elbows directly below your shoulder joints, while your hands face your body.
Unlock your elbows and bend them slightly, while keeping your chest elevated.
Now slowly spread the arms out to the sides and raise them up.
Push till elbows and weights are parallel to the shoulders.
Now lower the weights slowly and repeat.

Seated Rows Using A Machine

Hold the machine handles and sit down on the pad with your back erect.
Make sure you stabilise yourself by planting your feet firmly on the ground.
Now slowly row your elbows straight back while keeping them in line with your shoulders.
When the arms are erect, pull them back to starting position and repeat.

Military Press

Locate a free weight military press machine in your workout area.
Keep your back straight and firmly inclined against the back rest.
Now hold the bar with your shoulders positioned wide apart.
Slowly lift the bar right above your head till your arms are outstretched.
Hold this position for about 5-10 seconds and then slowly come back to the starting position and repeat.

Side Lateral Raises

Stand straight with your legs spread shoulder width from each other.
Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs and keep your elbows slightly bent.
Now bend your knees a little forward with your back also bent in front at a slight angle.
Raise your arms sideways till they are parallel to the ground.
Hold the position for a few seconds and go back to the starting position and repeat.

Front Lateral Raises

Take the same position that you took for the side lateral raises, but do not bend your back, knees or even elbows.
Raise your arms and lift the weights in front of you as high up as you can.
Hold the arms as long as you can and then bring them back to the starting position.
Try lifting your arms one at a time so as to increase the strain on your shoulder muscles and repeat.

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