Shoulder exercises The most effective shoulder exercises with dissection, heating and injury prevention
Shoulder exercises The most effective shoulder exercises with dissection, heating and injury prevention
Shoulder exercises are an important exercise, as the shoulder muscle is a small muscle that acts as an auxiliary muscle in most exercises
The versatility and complementarity of shoulder exercises enables you to obtain strong, toned shoulder muscles
In the articles on the site, I also promise you that I provide complete, tested and supported information with the latest studies and research
I will divide the article into several parts, which are the anatomy of the shoulder muscle, then the most important shoulder exercise for each part of the muscle, then how to warm up before shoulder exercises, then how to put shoulder exercises in your training program, then methods of protection from injuries
Anatomy of the shoulder muscle
Although some believe that only specialists know the anatomical details of the muscle
But knowledge of the anatomy of the muscles in general and the anatomy of the shoulder muscle in particular is very important for every practitioner of exercise, especially gym exercises
Your knowledge of the anatomy of the shoulder muscle helps you focus on it during shoulder exercises and imagine the shape of the target part of any particular shoulder exercise and thus good neuromuscular communication that increases the effectiveness of the exercises and thus increases the strength and size of the muscles.
The shoulder is an intricate network of bones, nerves, joints, and muscles
The shoulder muscle is divided into three heads, and they each have a different role
The shoulder area is one of the very complex areas in terms of the number of bones, muscles and joints, and it may need a volume to explain the anatomical details and not an article
Perhaps I did not find much benefit from the detailed explanation, and I tried to make a very simple and brief explanation, and I tried to focus on what I saw is useful for the player away from the complications, which may not interest non-specialists
Anterior Deltoid muscle
Hence its name, it is the front part of the shoulder muscle and extends from the collar bone "located at the top of the chest" to the humerus bone
As shown in the picture at the beginning of the article, it is the part of the muscle adjacent to the chest muscle, "the green colored part"
Lateral Deltoid muscle
This muscle is located in the lateral part of the shoulder
It is the muscle adjacent to the triceps muscle, "the orange colored part"
Posterior Deltoid Shoulder Muscle
This muscle is located in the back of the shoulder
It is the muscle adjacent to the triceps muscle, "the part colored in the mauve color"
Contrary to the convention, the triceps muscle follows anatomically the back muscles and not the shoulder muscle
Best bodybuilding shoulder exercises for every part of the muscle:
The choice of bodybuilding shoulder exercises depends on the study that I used in the article "Chest Exercises". You can refer to it to learn more about the best chest exercises and anatomy.
The most effective chest exercises
The best back exercises with the method of heating the back muscles and anatomy
The order of shoulder exercises is not random, but according to the effectiveness of the exercise and its ability to operate the largest amount of muscle fibers according to the mentioned study and using an EMG device
It should be noted that no shoulder exercise isolates a specific portion of the muscle
But all shoulder exercises target all parts of the muscle with an emphasis on a specific lobe
The best front shoulder exercise
The front lobe of the shoulder muscle is a helpful muscle for most exercises, such as bench press
So you don't have to focus too much on this muscle while choosing a shoulder workout
This does not prevent targeting her with some exercises when laying out your training program and choosing shoulder exercises
Front shoulder exercise pressure in the sitting position Baldampel Seated front dumbbell press
It is the most effective anterior lobe exercise of the shoulder muscle
The front shoulder press with dumbbells occupies the first place in the front shoulder exercises by activating 79% of the anterior lobe fibers of the shoulder
This exercise occupies the second place in the front shoulder exercises in terms of its effect on the front lobe of the shoulder scle with a totathe number of muscle fibers
It is not one of the best anterior shoulder exercises only, but it is considered one of the best compound exercises that work most of the muscles of the body
Where the back muscles work a lot as auxiliary muscles
Also, the core muscles (abdominal and lower back muscles) act as auxiliary muscles to stabilize the upper body during exercise
Seated front barbell press
The front bar shoulder exercise comes in third place by activating 61% of the anterior lobe fibers of the shoulder muscle
The best side shoulder exercise
The lateral shoulder exercise is one of the most important exercises for the shoulder muscle in general
Where the responsible for the shape of the shoulder is considered "shoulder puckering" mainly, which is sought by most players
Emphasis should be placed on lateral shoulder exercises when developing a shoulder muscle training program because this lobe does not have a strong effect during other exercises, unlike the front shoulder muscle, as mentioned.
Incline dumbbell side laterals
The best side-lobe shoulder exercise, targeting 66% of the number of lateral lobe fibers of the shoulder muscle
Standing dumbbell side laterals
It ranks second in the best side shoulder exercises, as this exercise targets 63% of the lateral shoulder muscle fibers
Seated dumbbell side laterals
Within the best side shoulder exercise, targeting 62% of the total lateral shoulder muscle fibers
You also saw that the difference between the first three lateral shoulder exercises is almost equal in terms of impact
Cable side laterals shoulder flap exercise in a standing position
It occupies fourth place among lateral shoulder exercises, with a score of 47%.
The best back shoulder exercises
Personally, I prefer to focus on the posterior shoulder muscle, as it represents the appearance of the grainy shoulder to me
It is interesting that I remember now when I am writing this article a situation from about 15 years ago I was practicing with a colleague of mine and we used to put the back flutter exercise in the standing position in our program in the desire of my colleague and I was not doing this exercise in my solo exercise due to the difficulty of this exercise
After a short time, I noticed a very noticeable development in the shape of the shoulder muscle, and this was my diligence without knowledge and experience only
After studying the science of training and reading in research, I discovered that it is the best back shoulder exercises
Although many do like me “previously”, the posterior shoulder muscle is very important not only for shape, but also for shoulder muscle coordination in terms of shape and strength, and thus protection from injuries.
Standing dumbbell bent-over laterals shoulder flap exercise
As I mentioned above it is the best back shoulder workout as it targets 85% of the fibers
Seated dumbbell bent-over laterals
It is ranked second among the posterior shoulder exercises, targeting 83% of the muscle fibers of the posterior shoulder
The difference between it and the first exercise is small, so your choice of body position depends on the intensity of the core muscle exercises in your program
That is, more abdominal and lower back exercises should be added when playing this exercise in a sitting position and vice versa, and reduce abdominal and lumbar exercises with a shoulder exercise in a standing position.
Standing cable bent laterals
This exercise comes in third place among the best back shoulder exercises, running 77% of the posterior shoulder muscle fibers
It is interesting to note that all shoulder exercises mentioned in the study are devoid of equipment shoulder exercises
However, in addition to these exercises, you can choose some machine-made shoulder exercises
Here, the best shoulder exercises according to the study have been completed, and we will move to the ideal method to "warm up" the shoulder muscle.
The best way to warm up before shoulder exercises
Spending a few minutes on the process of "warm up" or what is known as heating avoids injury
As I mentioned in the chest exercises article, the goal of warming up is to increase joint flexibility, increase blood pumping to the target muscle, and thus prepare the muscle for exercise.
The heating of the shoulder muscles before starting to exercise is divided into three main points:
Raise the heart rate and thus increase blood pumping to the muscles in general
This occurs through cardio exercise or a combination of cardio and exercise with light weights or body weight
As if you were running light for 5 minutes
You know you've successfully completed this point when you start to sweat and feel an increased heart rate
To find out more details about the cardio, you can visit the link of this article
What are cardio exercises, their benefits and harms
Shoulder joint mobility
Its goal is to prepare and lubricate the shoulder joint to begin shoulder exercises
To achieve this, move your arms in all directions, such as moving the arms in a circular shape, then moving them forward, up and down.
The first and second points can be combined in one exercise as I mentioned in the first point, such as moving the arms with jumping, thus preparing the joint and raising the heart rate at the same time
Do some shoulder exercises with a light weight
You can start by performing the first set of shoulder exercises with a lightweight dumbbell or a barbell without weight, then follow it up with another group with half the weight that you exercise with.
Video of some shoulder warm-up exercises
Pay attention to heating the muscles, tendons and the shoulder joint on all training days, as the shoulder muscle acts as an auxiliary muscle in most exercises.
How to design an integrated shoulder exercise?
I have a personal opinion on this topic related to the selection and design of training programs that designing a shoulder exercise program or training program in general needs a specialist or a person familiar with many things, including what I have explained in this article and some of which needs volumes to explain and understand
Therefore, choosing a pre-prepared training program by a specialist is the best choice as long as you do not have sufficient knowledge to design your training program
The site here provided many training programs such as
Bodybuilding training program for beginners
Neal Hill Y3T Program An explanation of the program principles with an example with pictures
So you can choose one of these programs or search for others until you find the appropriate training program for you that is prepared in advance by a trainer you are sure that he is knowledgeable and experienced
If you have the knowledge and experience to enable you to design a training program, the following paragraph will help you with that
How do you choose the appropriate shoulder exercises for your level of training?
I previously mentioned the best bodybuilding shoulder exercises for every muscle part that you can choose from depending on
- Your level of training
- The number of days you train
- Your program type
- Your choice of other exercises
* Such as core exercises, "abdominal and lower back exercises"
There should be consistency between these exercises and the choice of a shoulder exercise
For example, shoulder exercises while in a standing position will target the abdominal muscles and lower back as auxiliary muscles and thus you will reduce these exercises in your program and you may not need them.
Or choose shoulder exercises in a sitting position next to abdominal and lumbar exercises, although shoulder exercises are preferred and stand up to increase the strength of stability
* And like the bench press exercise at an upward sloping level, a "high bench" in which the front shoulder muscles work a lot, and thus this corresponds to reducing the number of shoulder exercise groups.
* Also some back and bolt exercises work the shoulder muscles, especially the posterior, and therefore the shoulder exercises, especially the back, must be balanced with these exercises
These points are what make some training programs devoid of some shoulder exercises with a strong effect and put less effective exercises and choose the shoulder exercise on the basis of the rest of the other muscle exercises, so you may find in the training schedule a shoulder exercise that has less effect on a specific part of the muscle, but it completes the training load on This part of the muscle is another exercise in which the shoulder muscle acts as an auxiliary muscle
An example of bodybuilding shoulder exercises for popular training programs
Shoulder exercises for beginners
The best shoulder exercise for beginners is the Standing Bar Shoulder Press
As it helps you to increase weights and strength quickly, and thus increase muscle size
You can switch between it and the shoulder exercise standing with dumbbells
In general, I advise beginners to exercise programs for all the muscles of the body in one day and training three times a week
This exercise exercises all parts of the shoulder muscle
I do not recommend machine-based shoulder exercises for beginners unless there is an injury that prevents the performance of shoulder exercises with free weights or difficulty performing the correct performance.
And shoulder exercises can start with devices for a temporary short period to strengthen the shoulder muscle and gradually move to shoulder exercises with dumbbells and free bar
Intermediate and above-beginner shoulders exercises such as the Upper-Lower Program
Intermediate level is someone who has spent 1-4 years of training
The Upper-Lower Program exercises the upper body twice a week
I will choose 2 shoulder exercises for each training day
Relied on shoulder exercises with dumbbells and bar "free weights"
You can increase the number of exercises as your training level progresses and add some shoulder exercises to the equipment
Upper-Lower Day 1
Standing Bar Shoulder Press
Incline dumbbell side laterals
Upper-Lower Day Two
Standing Bar Shoulder Press
Standing dumbbell bent-over laterals
I will talk about the Standing Bar Shoulder Press exercise later and why I prefer to include it in most of my training programs
An advanced shoulder exercise like the Push-Pull-Leg program
Push-Pull-Leg program in which you train 6 days a week and it is suitable for advanced level, ie for those who have spent several years of training "4 years training on average"
You will notice my dependence or preference for shoulder exercises with dumbbells and the free bar without relying on rigid shoulder exercises or using a bench
But you can choose one of the machine shoulder exercises as a type of change or as an increase in the number of groups
Push-Pull-Leg program exercises the upper part 4 times a week and we will divide the shoulder exercises on the four days, such as:
Standing Bar Shoulder Press يوم ال Push A
Incline dumbbell side laterals يوم ال PUll A
Standing front dumbbell raises يوم ال Push B
Standing dumbbell are over laterals يوم ال Pull B.
The number of repetitions and sets in shoulder exercises
The number of groups is 3-4 or more, depending on your training level, and you can start with 3 groups, monitor recovery and progress, then make a decision to increase groups or not
The number of iterations depends on your goal of training
Reps 1-6 will focus on muscle strength as well as part of the muscle gain
Repetitions 8-12 aim for muscle mass, meaning gaining more muscle
Repeats of 15-20 or more aim to increase endurance
The three axes must be varied, either by changing the program every 6-12 weeks, or following one program targeting the three axes
How do you predict the likelihood of a shoulder injury?
You must ask yourself these questions
- Do you move your arms normally, or do you feel pain when moving your arms?
- Do you feel your shoulder might dislocate when moving your arms or during shoulder exercises?
- Do you feel consistency in the strength and size of your shoulder muscles with the rest of your muscles, or do you see that your weights in shoulder exercises are inconsistent with your weights in the rest of the exercises, such as the chest, for example?
Perhaps this practical application is stronger than these questions
Do the Dumbbell Side Lying External Rotation and calculate the weight that enables you to do 8-12 repetitions correctly
The weight you exercise for this exercise should be 10% of the weight you carry in the bench press
That is, if you are practicing bench press with 30 kg dumbbells, you should be able to carry 3 kg dumbbells and perform 8-12 repetitions of the Dumbbell Side Lying External Rotation exercise.
If you cannot do this, the shoulder muscles are not strong enough and are not aligned with the rest of the muscles
Thus, the likelihood of a shoulder injury is high and you should review your training program and your performance of shoulder exercises and adjust the warm-up period
This exercise is very suitable to include in your workout program as a pre-workout warm up
How to protect the muscles, tendons and the shoulder joint from injury
I will try to collect as many pathogens as possible to avoid them
Proper performance of shoulder exercises
Pay attention to proper performance of all exercises, not just shoulder exercises
You should watch videos of all your exercises before performing them and memorize them well
Personally, I upload videos of all my exercises to my phone to review performance before exercise
Also, you can photograph yourself during the exercise, watch the video, and compare it with the correct performance of the exercise, to reach the ideal performance for your exercises
A comprehensive exercise library for all gym exercises is being prepared as a reference for the correct performance of all exercises.
Warm up well before starting shoulder exercises
I mentioned in the heating section that 5 minutes you will avoid injury and therefore you must take good care of the heating
Choose shoulders exercises appropriate to your level
It is known that the shoulder muscles are small muscles such as the biceps and triceps
Thus, a shoulder exercise equal to the back or chest exercise cannot be performed in a number of sets
If you exercise the chest with 15 sets a week, you can exercise the shoulder 6 sets a wee.
Some minor adjustments to your training program
There are some exercises that place a large load on the shoulder and can be replaced by others that are less loaded on the shoulder, such as the upward-facing bench press, which can be replaced by the flat bench press with an inverted grip and the less burden on the shoulder and the upper, affecting the upper chest muscle
I talked about this exercise in my previous article on chest exercises, which I mentioned earlier
Add some exercises that help reduce shoulder pain, such as the prone extension exercise
There is a study that this type of exercise helps protect the shoulder and back muscles from injury
Nutrition and its relationship to shoulder exercise and injuries
I always follow the principle that anything random without counting will get random results
That is, your eating without accounting for calories or the food content of nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber, and even drinking water without being counted may cause you a lot of problems.
Your diet is not measured, and if its ingredients are all healthy, far from processed foods, it may not suffice to meet your nutrient needs.
I will tell a situation that summarizes this matter. A swimmer came to me to design a diet for him with the aim of improving his performance. When asked about his history in practicing sports and his injuries, he mentioned to me that he had suffered twice “tendon infections” in less than three months. I asked him for a calcium analysis, and the result came as I expected a deficiency. The calcium content is a major cause of weakness in the tendons, muscles and joints and thus increases the likelihood of injury
This deficiency is despite consuming dairy products and we all know that dairy products are rich in calcium
But when you follow a diet that is not measured, it may "not necessarily" happen that a deficiency of a nutrient occurs, which leads to a problem in the body in general.
Comforts
Taking care of rest is very important to avoid shoulder injuries
Rest is divided into several sections:
Rest between shoulder exercises:
Each form of shoulder exercises requires a certain period of rest. Compound exercises “shoulder standing in the bar and squats, for example” require a higher rest time than isolation exercises such as shoulder exercises with dumbbell
Days off from shoulders exercise:
That is, how many times per week you do shoulder exercises and take a rest day to exercise again
It is not possible to do shoulders exercise on a daily basis, as the shoulder muscle is a small muscle and also acts as an auxiliary muscle in most of your exercises.
Therefore, you must choose a suitable training program for your level so that the injury does not occur
This is an article you can refer to about muscle recovery, or what is known as recovery
The Ultimate Guide to Muscle Recovery and the Supplements that Help it
The final part of rest is sleep.
Paying attention to the number of hours you sleep as well as the quality of sleep is important for muscle recovery, which avoids injury
And I wrote an article here on Fitness.com about how to get the most out of sleep
The optimal number of hours of sleep and 7 tips to improve sleep quality
Some common questions about shoulder exercises
I receive thousands of messages via the site's e-mail. Certainly, I do not have time to read them all, but I will answer the most common questions.
What are the best shoulders exercises for girls ?
Everything I mentioned in the article is suitable for both men and girls
But as a result of the widespread culture in the Arab world, where few girls do sports in general
Which causes but muscle weakness due to lack of effort and the use of modern technology where comfort
Rarely do I find a girl who has muscle mass consistent with her weight and height, and to know this, you can do a weighing analysis using an incipient device.
The InBody is a device that is now commonplace in drugstores and large gyms
Albandi gives an indication of the weight of fat, muscles and water in the body
Most of the girls I have dealt with in training and nutrition are usually under "below normal" for their muscles.
Hence, I prefer to start with shoulder exercises for girls with dumbbell shoulder exercises
Because it is possible that they will not be able to hold the bar without putting on weights, but for shoulder exercises with dumbbells, you can start with a few weights and gradually increase the weights.
Standing front dumbbell raises shoulder exercises
As I consider it the best shoulders exercises for girls, then as the exercise progresses, you can add some more shoulder exercises or use the bar.
What is the difference between standing and seated shoulders exercises?
The difference is that standing shoulder exercises activate the core muscle more than the seated shoulder training
Besides, the shoulder standing exercise activates the muscles responsible for stability of the body
Also, standing shoulder exercises more affect the shoulder muscle as a whole and for a specific part of the shoulder muscle
There is a study that compared standing and seated shoulder exercises
As a result of the study, the shoulder muscle, "the three parts of the shoulder muscle", was activated more in a standing position
NB:
The study talks about the entire shoulder muscle and not a specific part of the muscle, so the other study that I mentioned in the comparison between shoulder exercises for each part of the muscle mentioned the preference of some exercises in the sitting position over the exercise in the standing position
Thus, exercises for each part of the shoulder muscle can be relied upon when there is weakness in one of the parts, or combined with an exercise standing shoulder with a bar or dumbbell
The best shoulder exercise is standing exercise, but with correct performance and with no injuries that prevent you from doing these exercises in a standing position
If you prefer to exercise in a seated position, you should include core exercises appropriately in your training program.
" Although I prefer a standing position for a shoulder exercise, this depends on your training program. "
Is it better to exercise shoulder dumbbells or bar?
The same study that you mentioned in the first question showed that a shoulder bar exercise is better at a point of carrying 10% higher weights in the exercise.
Carrying higher weights enables you to periodically increase loads and consequently larger shoulder muscles and greater strength
The shoulder dumbbell exercises improve the shoulder muscles in a better way than the shoulders exercise bar
Whereas, the shoulder dumbbell exercise helps to activate the More Stabilization Muscles, stability requirement
We conclude from this that it is necessary to diversify between shoulder exercises with dumbbells and shoulder exercises in the bar to obtain the advantages of each, as I mentioned in the examples of the shoulder exercise at the beginning of the article.