Filling Out Your Shoulders – Part 3 of 4

In the last two weeks we’ve talked about shoulders.  We focused on the traps previously but today let’s talk about the deltoids (a/k/a delts).

What are the delts?  They are the muscles surrounding the joint where your arm connects to your shoulder.  They are involved in many exercises, as well as tons of everyday motion.  Plus, they are a visible part of your physique, from the front, the back, and the side.  For more description, click here.

Many exercises that target the shoulders involve laterals – pivot-type movements that will be described below.  But I can’t stress enough, like I tried in the first installment, that targeting/isolating your shoulders is really only important after you’ve mastered the basic compound exercises like squats, bench press, and deadlifts.

Military Press – Standing

I like the military press since it hits the front and side deltoids, but also involves other muscles because it is a compound movement.   Start with just the bar and no weight until you have mastered the movement.  Here are the basic steps.

1. You can either start this movement with a barbell on the floor, or on a squat rack, with the pins set just below your armpits.
2. If starting on the floor, use a grip just about shoulder width.  Some people recommend a wider grip but I do not recommend that.  This grip recruits the most muscles.  Lift the bar initially like you are doing a clean.
3. If starting on a rack, then still grip the bar at shoulder width.  The bar should be in front of you, below your chin.
4. Your palms at this point should be facing away from you, your thumbs in.
5. Stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart.
6. Start with the bar higher than your nipples but lower than your shoulders.  This will give you the maximum range of motion.
7. Press the bar upward until it is held directly over your head.
8. As the bar passes your eyes, you want to slightly press your chest out during the movement so that the bar’s path of motion ends above the back of your head.  This “chest puff” takes a little practice but is very rewarding once you get it right.
9. Exhale as you press the bar forcefully upward.
10. I suggest that you do not fully lock out your elbows to maintain maximum stress on your shoulders and avoid elbow joint injury.
11. Slowly lower the bar back along the same path, finishing with the bar lower than your shoulders.
12. Repeat this movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Note that our exercise page has seated military presses.  I prefer the standing form, as it recruits more muscles.

Bent Over Dumbbell Laterals

A great lateral movement for the rear deltoids is the bent over dumbbell lateral.  I like standing, bent over laterals much better than the seated dumbbell laterals because the bent-standing position uses more muscles (lower back and abs for stability, plus a stretch load on your hamstrings).  Unless you are in the stages of bodybuilding where you are trying to carefully sculpt particular muscles, you almost always want to do compound free weight training exercises that require multiple muscles.  You’ll release more growth hormones to build more muscle and burn more fat.  The steps:

1. Take two dumbbells with the proper weight (one in each hand) and stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart or slightly narrower.
2. Bend forward so that your upper body is parallel with the floor.   Bend your knees slightly.
3. Your arms should be hanging down directly below your shoulders with your palms both facing inward toward each other.
4. Bend your elbows just slightly and raise your head up so that it is looking forward throughout the movement.
5. Use the strength in your rear shoulder muscles to pull the weight directly out to the sides until the weight is raised just a little bit higher than shoulder level.   Do not let your arms angle toward your butt – it’s best to go straight to the sides, or even slightly forward.
6. Do not use momentum to get the weight up – go slowly, even if that means you have to use a lighter weight.
7. Squeeze for a moment at the point of peak contraction, and then lower the arms back along the same path to the beginning point of the exercise.
8. Repeat this movement for the desired number of repetitions.
9. For great visuals, check out our bent-over lateral exercise page.

Next week we’ll finish out the shoulders with some final deltoid exercises.

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Related posts:

1. Filling Out Your Shoulders – Part 4 of 4
2. Filling Out Your Shoulders – Part 1 of 4
3. Filling Out Your Shoulders – part 2 of 4

Tags: deltoids, shoulders