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What you need
- Barbell
- Dumbbells
- Exercise equipment
According to nature's intention, men should have harmonious V-shaped figures. Deltoids exercises will help you build broad shoulders. The article describes the most effective movements for working this muscle group. The load on the shoulders can be applied both with free weights and in the simulator. The best options will also help girls - a toned shoulder girdle on the fairer sex looks very attractive.
Front delts: structure of the shoulder girdle
A toned upper body appearance creates strong shoulders. A carefully designed shoulder girdle emphasizes the relief of the arms and highlights the biceps and triceps. Understanding which muscles need to be used during training allows you to determine the correct load and create a rational training regimen. That is why we will consider the structure of the shoulder girdle in order to understand what the load should be and how it can be useful. Still, the physical development of the shoulders is one of the most difficult tasks in the formation of an athletic figure.
The deltoid muscle is the basis for the formation of the shoulder in the front; the trapezius muscle performs a similar function in the back. Considering the structure of the deltoid muscle further, it should be noted that it has a complex structure of three bundles. Each of them has a different area of responsibility (more details in the table).
Deltoid muscle area | What is he responsible for? |
Front bun | Raising your hands in front of you |
Medium bun | Raising arms to the sides |
Posterior bun | Pulling your arms back |
Therefore, the division of exercises into the front deltas, respectively, into the middle or rear relative ones. Conventionally, two groups of exercises can be distinguished:
- Basic. For example, dumbbell press (sitting, standing).
- Insulating. With their help, the necessary muscle group is worked out.
Where to sign up for training to work out the deltoid muscles
A world-class sports club, Gold's Gym supports everyone's decision to become stronger, fitter and fitter. Here you will find comfortable, spacious rooms, attentive trainers and an individual approach to each client, be it a beginner or a professional athlete. Focus on achieving results - and for everything else you can rely on the legendary American club.
If the gym isn't enough for you, Gold's Gym offers a swimming pool, tennis courts, martial arts classes and a variety of workout programs to target every muscle in your body.
Benefits and contraindications
What are the benefits of anterior deltoid exercises?
- They help to form strong shoulders, which visually makes the figure chiseled and athletic.
- The training is useful for both the shoulder girdle and the arms. The forearm and triceps muscles are also involved in the process.
- Developed shoulders are an advantage during bench presses from any position and pulling loads.
- The deltoid muscles significantly influence athletic performance.
- They strengthen the upper body and also participate in functional movements.
Contraindications for exercises on the anterior delts are:
- Shoulder girdle injuries. When to start training, what exercises to include and what working weight to choose is decided by the attending physician.
- Exacerbation of chronic diseases of the spine, which is accompanied by pain. The back and shoulders are inextricably linked. Therefore, when loading the shoulder girdle, it is impossible to avoid the load on the back. And this is fraught with, at a minimum, increased pain.
- Acute period of any respiratory diseases.
Useful tips
- Before you start working out in the gym, you should take care of purchasing comfortable and safe equipment . Outerwear should be comfortable and not cause discomfort. Shoes with flat, stable soles that securely support the foot are allowed.
- When visiting the gym or doing exercises at home, it is worth preparing a small individual towel. They should wipe down used sports equipment.
- To prevent abrasion of the skin on the palms of your hands, you can use sports gloves. During training, girls need to drink up to 1 liter of water. You should take care of its supply before starting your workout.
Execution technique
When performing exercises on the anterior deltoid, you should follow the following general rules and techniques:
- To reduce the load on the back, it is recommended to perform while sitting.
- In order for the maximum load to fall on the shoulders, namely the front deltoids, you cannot swing the body and perform movements by inertia.
- All exercises are performed as slowly as possible, concentrating on technique and sensations, without jerking. Still, the likelihood of a shoulder injury due to negligence is very high.
- Training for the front delts always begins with warming up the joints and repeating the exercise with light weight.
Things to remember
First, you need to pay attention to complex exercises for the shoulder muscles. Single exercises do not produce the same results as complex exercises. Secondly, when performing exercises to gain muscle mass, always choose low reps and heavy weights . When performing the following exercises, you should use any type of weight that will allow you to perform no more than 6-8 repetitions.
Basic exercises
Basic exercises for the front delts are responsible for increasing muscle strength and mass. As a rule, they involve working with weights. Another distinctive feature is that they use not only the front deltas, but also all the bundles to one degree or another.
The best exercises for the front delts from the basic category:
- barbell pull to the chin;
- overhead barbell press;
- overhead barbell press.
Effective exercises for the front delts are listed in the table with detailed descriptions and execution techniques.
Exercise | Muscle group | Description | Execution technique |
Barbell row to the chin | Front deltoids, triceps and biceps (to a lesser extent) | The exercise is performed both with a bar and dumbbells. During execution, it is necessary to monitor the natural position of the wrists in order to remove excess stress from them. The goal of the workout is to raise your shoulders parallel to the floor or slightly higher; there is no need to touch the bar with your chin. | - The barbell is grasped with a grip slightly narrower than the shoulders. - The arms are slightly bent at the elbows. - The barbell is lifted up using the muscles of the shoulder girdle. It is important to try to exclude the triceps and biceps from the work process while lifting. |
Overhead press | Lateral and anterior delta bundles | The barbell chest press concentrates the load on the front deltoids. During the exercise, the position of the torso should be strictly perpendicular to the floor. And the arms with the barbell are in the same plane as the body. Correct execution of a barbell press (from the chest) involves moving the elbow slightly forward. | - The exercise is performed while sitting, the barbell is on the chest. - The starting position involves shoulder blades brought together and the chest extended forward. - The barbell press until the arms are straightened is performed with a simultaneous slight tilt of the head forward. - The barbell is lowered to the starting position and the press is repeated. |
Bench press | Lateral and anterior deltoids | The exercise helps build muscle mass and engages the front and side deltoids. Correct execution requires a stationary position of the body without arching in the back. | - Starting position - sitting, the barbell is on the shoulders. - The shoulder blades are brought together. - The grip is slightly wider than the shoulders. - The barbell is squeezed over the head until the arms are fully straightened. - Then the barbell is lowered to the base of the neck and the exercise is repeated. |
Exercises with dumbbells and barbell presses allow you to load the front deltoids. The distribution of the load on the muscles of the shoulder girdle depends on the working weight, grip method and execution technique. By including basic and isolating exercises in your training, achieving results is much easier.
Wide grip bent over row
This is the second great exercise for the rear delts. The technique is in many ways similar to the bent-over barbell row for training the back muscles, but there are still differences. You need to take a grip wider than your shoulders and pull towards your collarbones. The elbows will look strictly to the sides of the body.
So, when we figured out the most effective exercises, it’s time to create several training complexes for deltoids.
Isolation exercises
What is special about isolation exercises?
- They accentuate the load by loading a specific muscle bundle.
- Forms muscle relief.
- They are included in a comprehensive training for the shoulder girdle, performed after the basic ones.
The main exercises of this group:
Dumbbell lateral raises
Performed while standing. The elbows are bent, but only slightly. The dumbbells are lifted through the sides until the shoulders become parallel to the floor.
An important point is that the elbows should look up, the hands should be rotated so that at the extreme point of movement the thumb is below the little finger.
Raise and lower your arms with dumbbells slowly. Paying attention to your hands. They should remain bent at the elbows.
Seated dumbbell press
The exercise is similar to the barbell bench press. The key point is a fixed position of the body during the entire exercise with dumbbells.
Dumbbell Front Raises
Lifts are performed while standing. Dumbbells are placed with your palms facing you. When raising your arms with dumbbells, your elbows are slightly bent. The uppermost point of raising the arms is parallel to the floor. The technique of performing the exercise involves smooth movements without jerking or the participation of the torso, which allows you to focus the load on the front deltoids.
Arnold press
If you want to get as big as Arnold Schwarzenegger, consider adding the Arnold Press to your delt workouts. This exercise is named after the famous politician, actor and, of course, the coolest bodybuilder!
- Hold dumbbells in each hand at shoulder level. Make sure your elbows are bent and your palms are facing your body;
- In one smooth motion, spread your elbows out to the sides, turning your hands palms forward;
- Press the dumbbells overhead. Arms should be straight and biceps at ear level;
- Stay in this position for a while and return to the starting position;
- Repeat.
Approaches: 3.
Reps: 10-15.
Rest: 1 minute between sets.
Basic mistakes
It is necessary to include exercises on the anterior delta of the shoulder in your training no more than once or twice a week. Compliance with technique is the key to successful and effective training. To prevent the process of gaining weight and creating an athletic figure from dragging on for years, common mistakes should be avoided. Let's look at what beliefs interfere with effective training and mislead novice athletes. This is necessary to avoid mistakes and achieve visible progress in the muscles of the shoulder girdle.
Mistake #1. Thinking that all overhead presses are no different. If you carefully studied the technique of exercises for the anterior deltas, you noticed that the load changes depending on the position of the elbows and hands. The entire shoulder girdle is included in the work.
Mistake #2. Back deflection during seated bench press. To handle heavy weights, athletes often ignore proper body positioning when lifting dumbbells or bench presses. This can lead to spinal injury and disc herniation.
Mistake No. 3. Relaxed position of the arms and elbows while raising and spreading the arms. This violation of the execution technique leads to a shift of the load from the front deltas to the triceps.
Mistake No. 4. Violation of the split structure. Chest, shoulder and triceps workouts are almost seamless. There is no need to separate them into different days. You shouldn’t do them one after another (for example, chest on Monday, deltoids on Tuesday, triceps on Wednesday). If you decide to share the load, give it a rest (2-3 days) so as not to overload the deltas.
Mistake #5 : Impaired range of motion. Often, athletes ignore the gradual increase in working weight and perform effective exercises for the anterior deltoids with too much weight. This advance does not allow you to follow the execution technique and changes the range of movements. All this leads to a complete load on the muscles.
Modes
It’s quite simple to work out all types of shoulder muscle fibers in one workout. You just need to understand for yourself that the intensity (which in this case means the weight of the weight) should be maximum at the very beginning, when the muscles are not yet tired, and decrease gradually towards its end. That is, the working weights in the exercises, relative to the maximum possible, decrease with the duration of the training.