Shoulder Workouts With Dumbells – 3 Great Shoulder Exercises

Dumbbell weights are a bit different from other kinds of free weights and offer more of a workout to your supporting muscle groups. Dumbells offer more of a workout because they are able to focus more tension on your supporting muscle groups. This in turn causes the surrounding muscle groups to work harder than if you were working out with conventional free weights or nautilus machines. 

When surrounding muscle groups are exercised in addition to the main muscle you will achieve superior muscular development. However, dumbbell weights are not for everyone because not everyone's physiology allows them to work out very intensely. I, for example, am unable to perform several abdominal dumbbell exercises because of my physiology. Therefore it's very, very important to start with very low intensity dumbbell weights before going heavy otherwise you could risk very serious and painful injury.

If you think you are ready for some serious shoulder workouts with dumbells, here are 3 exercises to get you started:

1.Seated Shoulder Press – I am not exactly sure why, but this is actually one of my favorite weightlifting exercises. So here's how this works: Seat yourself at the end of a bench and place your dumbbells on your upper thighs (always your upper thighs with this exercise, not on the ground as you want to shorten the distance you need to lift these over your head). Grab each weight so that they are facing left to right not frontward to backward and lift them over your head simultaneously. Now slowly lower each one until it is about one inch away from your shoulder. Rinse and repeat.

2.Shoulder Flys – This is somewhat of a light weight exercise and it is rare that you will be able to do more than 40 pounds in each hand as your regular set, even if you are very strong. This means that if you have never done these before you should probably start off with less than 15 pounds in each hand. Here's how this works: Stand up right and hold 2 weights in front of your chest. Bend over at a 45 degree angle and lift each weight outward in a manner that resembles flying (hence the name “flys”) and then lower each weight to your waist. Rinse and repeat.

3.Shoulder Shrugs– If you are new to this you should only start off with about 40 pounds in each arm. Here's how this works: Stand upright holding each weight frontward to backward. Slowly lift each weight using your shoulders and without lifting your arms. In other words, lift each weight in a “shrug” like fashion. As you lift, make sure you lift in a rolling motion, not just straight up and down.

If your goal is to increase your shoulder muscle mass then you should pick a weight that allows you to do 4-6 shoulder reps for at least 5 sets. 

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5 Tips For An Effective Shoulder Workout Exercise

The truth is that the average bodybuilder doesn't have a clue how their shoulder muscles actually work. Unlike the biceps or triceps, the shoulder muscles are a complex muscle group. By far the most common injury associated with the shoulder are rotator cuff injuries. The rotator cuff is the group of muscles that stabilize the shoulder. Shoulder cuff injuries tend to result from excessive lifting sets, atttempting to lift more weight than you can handle, and from poorly developed opposing back muscles.

Here are a few tips for an effective shoulder workout exercise that will maximize muscle gains and minimize the chance of injury:

1.Balance the training of your upper body. This means that every shoulder pressing exercise should be accompanied by at least one set of rowing. By balancing your pressing sets with complementary rowing sets you will actually help balance the muscles of the shoulder girdle.

2.Limit your lifting sets to no more than 6. Too many sets of a given exercise can actually cause your muscle tissue to deteriorate rather than develop. In other words, you may actually reverse your muscle gains with too much exercise.

3.Take 6 or 7 deep breaths between individual sets. This usually amounts to about 60 seconds between sets and gives your muscles just the time they need to recover before moving on to the next set.

4.Do at least 2 light weight shoulder workouts per month. Light weight workouts increase your muscle stamina and endurance and this reduces the chances of your ligaments snapping during a heavy weight workout.

5.Rotate your shoulder exercises every single time your workout. This means each shoulder workout should be in a different order than the previous workout. Rotating your shoulder exercises causes your muscles to inadvertently work harder which means improved muscular development.

In addition to following these basic tips, don't forget to also eat a balanced diet and sleep at least 8 hours per day. Without enough sleep or food your muscles will be starved of energy and rest which will in turn limit or reverse your muscle gains.

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3 Killer Shoulder Muscle Exercises

Over the years I've experimented with dozens of different shoulder muscle exercises. Some I learned from friends, some I learned by watching others at they gym, and some I read about on the internet. Some of these exercises turned out to be great while others ended up being a complete waste of time. Below are 3 shoulder exercises that, after painful trial and error, I found to be both effective and easy to do.

Lateral raises - To do this exercise you will need to stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees bent slightly downward. Next, you will want to have both of your arms hanging right in front of your body with a dumbbell of appropriate weight in each hand. The bottoms of each dumbbell should be facing front to back.

While lifting the weights away from your body, be sure to inhale deeply. Lift the dumbbell until is at shoulder height. Basically, you want your body to look like the letter “T”. Perform this exercise approximately 4-6 times.

Front Raises – Front raises are actually similar to lateral raises but with a few modifications. Stand upright with your feet at shoulder width apart and your knees bent slightly.As with lateral raises you will want your arms to hang in front of your body but hold the weights lateral instead of front to back. Now simply lift the weights away from your body. Then simply lower the weights and you are basically done with this exercise.

Shoulder Shrugs – This exercise works what are known as the trapezius muscles, which is a muscle located in the shoulder. Start off by standing in an erect, totally relaxed position holding the dumbbell weights at either side of your body. Next, move your shoulders forward while slightly sloping your shoulders downward at the same time. Once you begin, you will want to raise your shoulder as high as is possible and simultaneoulsy back as far as possible.

You can do this exercise as much as 8 times in a single workout assuming you are doing at least 6 reps per set.

If you incorporate these exercises into your overall shoulder workout you should notice substantial improvements in your total muscular development. As with all other muscle groups, always remember to mix up your shoulder exercises with each workout routine.

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