Training: Shoulders

One thing I find attractive in a man's physique is rounded shoulders. When I used to go to a gym in Cebu, I noticed most of the men who do weight training forget the most important part: the shoulders. They focus too much on their biceps and pecs, which in the end turns out to be too big in comparison to their build. For those of you who want to build bigger shoulders, I can give a few tips and tricks without even stepping inside the gym.



Before anything, one should know that the shoulder is a very complicated part of the body. There are several bones, muscles, and tendons that construct the shoulder. Being a ball-and-socket joint, the shoulder allows several movements, which enables you to do many different exercises around it. On the other hand, being a ball-and-socket joint, it is more prone to injury, so any wrong exercises done in the shoulder can cause harm and decrease shoulder mobility.


Tips:
-Always use the back to front approach. Train shoulder muscles starting from the back part of the shoulder and move your way to the front.

-Always warm-up for 5-minutes before any weight training (anything that would raise your body heat up like running on the spot)

- Stretching. It is never overrated.

- High reptition and low weight will give definition ( E.g. 3 x 15 reps) , low repition and heavy weight will give you size ( E.g. 3 x 8).


Dumbells:
*External Rotation: Lay down flat on one side. Start exercise with right arm fully against the right side with the elbow flexed at a 90 degree angle and pinned against the hip. Slowly raise dumbell by rotation the right arm upwards while maintaining a 90 degree angle.


*Shoulder Press: Hold dumbell on each hand, just above shoulder level, with elbows out and palms facing forward. Press dumbells up until they nearly touch your head. Press the weights up until your arms are almost straight. Then slowly lower the dumbells to the starting position.


Cables or Stretch Cords:
*Standing Low-Pulley Deltoid Raises: Stand with your left side facing a low pulley with a single handle. Hold with your right hand. Stand straight up wth your head up. Your right hand should be in line with your groin area of your left side. Raise the pulley in a semicircular motion, arm straight, elbow locked, until your arm is just above parallel to your right shoulder. Lower to the starting position slowly. Finish your reps, then switch arms.

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References: http://www.bodybuilding.com/