BUILDING MUSCLE MASS: SHOULDERS

The muscles in the shoulder that we will be focusing on are the anterior, middle and posterior deltoids. Your shoulders are incorporated into almost every upper body workout in some way, so you want to be sure to pay attention to them. Building up your shoulders not only will increase your strength in other areas, but they also help to shape your physique in a major way. Your shoulders are linked to your back, chest and arms, increasing the size and definition of the shoulder muscles will make your arms and chest look bigger and help to define the back muscles and traps.

Front Lateral Raise

The front lateral raise is a very simple workout and in my opinion one of the most effective. Grab your dumbbells and hold them in front of your body with your palms facing in. Then raise your hands-- keeping your arms straight-- to a horizontal position, be sure to keep your posture straight, you don't want to sway your body and end up using momentum to throw the weight up.

Figure 1 © Jordan Kinney

Figure 2 © Jordan Kinney

Light Weight

4 sets
12-15 reps
30 sec rest

Side Lateral Raise

Same concept as the front raise just out to the side instead.

Figure 4 © Jordan Kinney

Figure 3 © Jordan Kinney

Light Weight

4 sets
12-15 reps
30 sec rest

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

You can do the shoulder press standing or sitting, some people prefer to do them sitting in a chair or something with back support, this helps to maintain the proper upright posture needed. If you are sitting be sure to keep your back upright, you don't want to start sliding or sinking in the chair as this will cause the movement to turn into more of an incline chest press.

Figure 5 © Jordan Kinney

Figure 6 © Jordan Kinney

Medium Weight

4 sets
10-12 reps
40 sec rest

Upright Rows

Upright rows are a very effective exercise for the anterior and middle deltoids. You can do this exercise with a cable machine, dumbbells or a straight bar/EZ bar. You want to hold your weight against the front of your body, raise it straight up to about the top of your chest or your chin. Depending on if you have any joint problems in your shoulder you can stop with your elbows at an even horizontal level, otherwise you can bring your elbows as high as you can while maintaining your grip at chin/chest level.

Figure 7 © Jordan Kinney

Figure 8 © Jordan Kinney

Light Weight

4 sets
12-15 reps
30 sec rest

Medium Weight

4 sets
8-10 reps
40 sec rest

Military Press

Military press can be done with a bench bar, curl bar or the EZ bar. You can vary the grip from a slightly wider than shoulder width, to a narrower inside grip. You can either sit down or stand, keep your back straight and bring the weight from your upper chest to a full extension over your head.