Building Shoulder Muscle

A useful guide on "Building Shoulder Muscle".

Nothing beats wide and broad shoulders. A man with these shoulders is truly awe inspiring. Okay maybe that is an exaggeration but the point is that well built shoulders look good on a man. Arnold wasn’t called an oak just for fun; his shoulders were major contributors to that appellation. While broad shoulders are desirable, building shoulder muscle is a different ball game. This is because the shoulder muscles are often difficult and complex to train. It could be quite difficult trying to stimulate growth in the shoulder muscles. Doing this successfully requires the right set of exercises, weights, routine and of course, the right manner in carrying them out.

Understanding the composition of the shoulder muscles and their functions is important to building them. Basically, the major muscle that enables the shoulder to function is the deltoid muscle. The deltoid is in turn divided into three parts: the anterior deltoid, the middle deltoid and the posterior deltoid. This muscle is basically responsible for the functioning of the shoulder making it the most commonly used upper body muscle. The anterior deltoid functions majorly in the flexion or bending of the shoulder and also in medial rotation. he middle deltoid is responsible for the abduction of the shoulder while the posterior deltoid is responsible for extending and laterally rotating the shoulder.

Exercises for Building Shoulder Muscle

There are several exercises or workouts that can be carried out in order to develop broad shoulders and they include the following:

Shoulder Press: this is often regarded as the most important workout for developing the shoulder muscles. This is because it has an overall effect on the different parts of the deltoid muscle resulting in increased strength and size. There are usually several variations of the shoulder press which is sometimes also referred to as the military press. The shoulder press can be done with dumbbells and also with barbells. The shoulder press with barbells is usually done by sitting on a press bench and after gripping the barbell at the correct length, lifting it over the head by locking the arms. The bar is then brought back to the collar bone level and the whole process is repeated. You can do 3 sets with 8-10 repetitions while resting for 2-3 minutes after each set.

Front Dumbbell Raise: pick a dumbbell in each hand and stand straight. Hold the dumbbells at arm’s length with the back of the hands facing outwards. While still standing upright, slowly lift the right dumbbell by slightly bending the elbow until the hand is slightly above the head, with the hand well stretched out. Pause and exhale while doing this and then slowly bring down the hand back to the initial position. Do the same for the left dumbbell as the right hand is brought down.

Other exercises for building shoulder muscle include: standing dumbbell laterals, seated overhead dumbbell press and standing dumbbell side laterals and they are all helpful in building shoulder muscle.