3 Great Shoulder Exercises

Posted by admin

Strengthening the shoulder region is very important considering that the shoulders are more susceptible to injury than other muscle groups. This heightened risk of injury is due to fact that the shoulder joint does not rely on the skeletal system for stability, but rather, joint stability comes from the surrounding muscles and ligaments.

Shoulder training plays a major role in not only preventing injuries, but also improving athletic performance and of course, what most of you are interested in - aesthetics. Large, well developed shoulders look good. Profiled below are the top 3 shoulder training exercises.

Shoulder Exercise #1: Overhead Dumbbell Press

This exercise is a must for your shoulder workout routines. The overhead dumbbell press is possibly the best shoulder training exercise for adding lean mass. There are a few variations you can incorporate into your shoulder training routine as well. The exercise can be done while standing up, while sitting on an upright bench or even sitting on the floor. The floor version is done by extending only 1 arm at a time. For the standing and floor-sitting versions, you’ll feel your entire core working to help stabilize the movement.

Shoulder Exercise #2: Lateral Dumbbell Raises

Most people incorporate the lateral raise exercise into their shoulder training routines. The problem is that most people do it wrong and place themselves at a heightened risk of injury. The most common mistake associated with this exercise is elevating the arms too high. When the arms are elevated above shoulder level, the supraspinatus (which runs between the top of the humerus and the roof of the shoulder) becomes impinged. Provided the movement is done correctly, the lateral raise exercise is a great way to strengthen the medial (middle) aspect of the shoulder.

Shoulder Exercise #3: Olympic Bar Push Press

This is a rather unorthodox exercise that targets the shoulders along with a variety of other muscle groups. The Olympic bar push is a highly effective and extremely functional shoulder training exercise as the movement mimics the movement pattern used in various sports. When performing this shoulder training exercise, keep in mind that the angle in which you push the bar upwards greatly influences the level of shoulder recruitment. The greater the upward angle, the greater the involvement of the shoulders.

So there you have it. Three effective shoulder training exercises that you can immediately implement into your program.

Bill Forestell
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/3-great-shoulder-exercises-717339.html