Strong shoulders are key to sculpted arms and an overall fit look. Plus, they’re essential for upper body strength and the ability to do everyday tasks with ease. You use your shoulders all the time, whether you realize it or not. From grabbing dishes out of cupboards to carrying your kids around and playing sports, strong shoulders are imperative, and without strengthening them, you run the risk of injury. Take a look at our favourite shoulder workouts for women and the benefits of having strong shoulders.
3 Benefits of Strong Shoulders
1. Upper Body Strength
Your shoulders muscles are responsible for maintaining the widest range of motion of any joint in your body. You use your shoulders to do lots of everyday tasks, from passing food across the table to lifting heavy grocery bags to throwing a baseball around in a game of catch. Having a strong upper body is important to your overall fitness and will make everyday activities easier, especially as you age.
2. Reduces Risk of Injury
The shoulder is the most flexible yet most unstable part of the body, so failing to strengthen your shoulders can lead to injury. Your shoulders are required for a large number of sports, such as golf, football, tennis and baseball. They’re also required for day-to-day activities like household chores. Any of these can strain the shoulders if they’re not strong. Building strong shoulders reduces your risk of injury from sports and every day activities.
3. You’ll Up Your Fitness Game
Having strong shoulders allows you to thrive in your workouts. Almost every upper body exercise incorporates your shoulders to some extent, so strengthening your shoulders will allow you to lift heavier weights, enhance your swimming skills and up your golf game.
4 Shoulder Workout Tips and Essentials
1. Variety is Key
Your body adapts to your training and workouts, so at some point the same effort no longer produces the same results. This often happens around the 6-8 week mark of the same routine. To combat this, cycle your shoulder training, going from light to moderate to heavy or substitute different movements and exercises into your routine. Working your shoulder muscles from slightly different angles offers long-term growth benefits.
2. Invest in Dumbbells
If your goal is strengthening your shoulders, it’s a smart idea to invest in some dumbbells. While you can definitely work your shoulders with bodyweight exercises like pushups, dumbbells help accelerate muscle growth, overcome strength imbalances and boost your range of motion. Dumbbells are key for shoulder exercises like the overhead press, front shoulder raise and the upright row, so get yourself a pair stat!
3. Focus on Strengthening Your Rotator Cuff to Prevent Injury
Your rotator cuff consists of muscles and tendons that hold your shoulder in place. The muscles around the shoulder are essential for stabilizing the shoulder joint, which can help in preventing shoulder injuries. Exercises recommended to strengthen the rotator cuff are internal and external rotation dumbbell curls, abduction shoulder dumbbell curls, forward shoulder raises and pendulum crosses.
4. Training Tips
You should aim to do shoulder exercises one to three times per week with at least one day between sessions. Start with light to moderate weights and build up duration and intensity as you get stronger. For example, if you’re doing an overhead press, start with 5 to 10 pounds. If you feel like you could do way more reps, you can start adding more weight. If you couldn’t finish the reps, it means you went too heavy.
3 No Equipment Shoulder Workouts for Women
At Home Shoulder Workout | No Equipment via adidas Runtastic
With so much time sitting and staring at screens these days, this quick no-equipment shoulder workout will help stabilize your shoulder joints and improve your posture. It will get your circulation going and warm up stiff shoulders so you can take on the day ahead! You’ll do exercises like plank to down dog, low side to side plank and elevated pushups.
Arm, Shoulder and Back Workout | Home Workout, No Equipment via Vicky Justiz
This 10-minute upper body workout will help strengthen and tone your arms at home with no equipment. You’ll do awesome sculpting exercises like one arm pushups, table top walk outs, and arm forward crosses. You’ll grow stronger, look fitter and feel amazing.
Arms, Shoulders and Chest No Equipment 15 Min Home Workout via Lilly Sabri
This 15-minute workout may be short, but it’s intense so get ready to sweat! You’ll focus on working your arms, shoulders and chest for a routine that will sculpt and tone. She takes you through exercises like press ups, tricep dips and commandos, and all you need is a workout mat!
4 Dumbbell Shoulder Workouts for Women
10 Minute Shoulder Workout for Beginners via Heather Robertson
If you’re just starting out with dumbbell shoulder workouts, this is the perfect routine for you. It’s great if you’re looking to improve shoulder stability and mobility with exercises like fist pumps, lateral raises and around the world. She sticks to lighter weights and higher reps, which is ideal for beginners!
Dumbbell Shoulder Workout At Home via Caroline Girvan
If you’re looking to sculpt your arms, your shoulders are a must as they provide shape and fullness. This routine includes 8 key shoulder strengthening exercises like Arnold presses, shoulder presses, alternating upright rows and standing press tricep extensions. You’ll do each exercise for 30 seconds each with a 15 second rest in between. Ready, set, sculpt!
At Home Shoulder Sculpt Workout (Tone, Build & Define) via MadFit
On the hunt for an intense shoulder workout? Look no further. This 15 minute circuit was designed to tone, build and define your shoulders with exercises including half and full front raises, upright rows, alternating single arm presses and side lateral raises. It’s pretty killer, so get ready to feel the burn!
Sexy Arms and Sleek Shoulder Workout via POPSugar Fitness
Follow along this quick 5-minute workout when you’re in a rush but still want to get a shoulder workout in. You’ll need 5 to 15 pound dumbbells for moves like halfway bicep curls, kick outs, and sprinting arms. The video ends off with an upper body stretch so you feel amazing afterwards.
Ready for sexy shoulders? Tighten and tone with these awesome exercises that will make you stronger and less prone to injury.