Every man wants to have beautiful, pumped up and sculpted shoulders, which are considered the first quality indicator of male strength and confidence. However, constant work and eternal tasks simply do not provide the opportunity to visit the gym at least 3-4 times a week. In these situations, you can do shoulder exercises yourself at home. For this there is a certain basic complex that can be easily used daily.
So how to pump up your shoulders at home? To do this, you need to perform a certain technique, in which the main emphasis is on the upper arms and shoulders.
How to properly organize training taking into account the anatomical features of the shoulder?
It is impossible to talk about how to properly pump your shoulders without delving into the anatomy of the muscles.
The part that interests us in this article is the shoulder joint and the muscles surrounding it. First, let's look at the joint itself and its capabilities:
The shoulder joint is a hinge-type structure (the spherical head of the bone fits into the socket (glenoid fossa) of the scapula). Thanks to this design, the shoulder joint is the most mobile in the human body and has a wide range of motion (rotates in almost any direction).
The movement of the arm is carried out not only due to the joint, but also thanks to the deltoid muscle of the shoulder.
The muscle got its name due to the fact that it resembles the Greek letter delta (Δ) upside down. The deltoid muscle is divided into three heads: anterior, middle and posterior, which are responsible for different trajectories of arm movement.
Your home shoulder training should be based on understanding which deltoid head is working in a particular exercise, so let's look at this in more detail using illustrations.
Flexion of the shoulder from position A to position B occurs due to the FRONT delta beam. Extension of the arm from position A to position B is carried out due to the REAR delta beam. Thus, by moving the arm back and forth in a position parallel to the floor, we alternately engage the front and back bundles.
In the following image, the FRONT head of the shoulder moves the arm from position A to position B, and the BACK head moves the arm back.
In the next image, the movement of the hand from position B to position D is carried out due to ALL THREE bundles (but the back one is slightly involved).
Let's not forget about the incredible mobility of the shoulder joint, which allows it to move in all planes and also perform rotational movements. The FRONT head of the delta not only raises the arm up (flexes), but also supinates (turns inward). And the BACK part not only takes the arm back (extends), but also pronates (turns outward). Both movements can be seen in the image below:
Thus, if the FRONT and MIDDLE heads work simultaneously, then simultaneous flexion and slight abduction of the arm occurs. If the MIDDLE and POSTERIOR work, then extension and abduction.
Shoulder exercises at home clearly demonstrate this type of work:
In this case, the FRONT and MIDDLE heads work:
In this case, the REAR and MIDDLE heads work:
If you are hoping to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells and barbells, then there is only one type of training available to you - push-ups. If you look at the anatomy of this exercise, you can see that no matter how hard you manage to do push-ups, mainly only the FRONT delta bundle is involved. And this is unlikely to give your shoulder a uniformly rounded shape.
Barbell row to the chin
Basic exercise for working the deltoid muscles, mainly the middle fascicle. The trapezius muscles are also involved.
Initial position:
- Stand up straight. The shell is below.
- The grip is straight. The distance between the hands is approximately two fists.
Technique:
- As you exhale, raise the barbell to your chin.
- Hold the projectile in the upper position.
- As you inhale, return the bar to its starting position.
Recommendations:
- Elbows should always be spread out to the sides and raised vertically.
- Keep your back and neck straight, chin horizontal.
- The bar of the bar should rise exactly to the chin, that is, above the shoulders.
- The weight of the barbell should not be an obstacle to proper exercise technique.
How to pump up your shoulders at home and is it possible to do it quickly?
Unfortunately, you are unlikely to be able to build up big shoulders quickly at home. Even if you take into account that you will have a variety of equipment, you will still reach a certain “ceiling” that you can only overcome by training in the gym.
You can find out how to pump up your shoulder muscles yourself, but only a professional trainer, or “mentor,” can give you more practical information. In addition, working with a coach gives you another important advantage - outside assessment. You don't always notice your strengths and weaknesses. Only a coach can guide you in the right direction (especially for those who want to make really high-quality, outstanding form).
At home, you can do shoulder girdle exercises - master the exercises if you are a beginner, do stretching, learn to feel your muscles. This will be an excellent basis for moving on to more serious training in the gym.
Below we will tell you about the correct technique for exercises with dumbbells, which you can easily master at home.
Preparing for training and the difference between men's training and women's training
Well, now let’s move on directly to the practice of pumping shoulders with dumbbells at home.
Naturally, you will need equipment for training. The simplest and most affordable option is dumbbells. It is desirable that these be paired dumbbells in a certain weight range:
For women:
- 1.5 kg;
- 3 kg;
- 5 kg.
For men:
- 5 kg;
- 10 kg;
- 15 kg.
The best option for exercises with dumbbells on the shoulders for men is collapsible equipment. These dumbbells are designed like a barbell with interchangeable discs, so the weight can vary for your convenience.
Are there differences in shoulder workouts for women and men? In fact, no. In terms of technique and types, shoulder exercises for women and men will not be any different, but the set of these exercises can be completely different.
Thus, some women who naturally have a developed shoulder girdle prefer isolating exercises that develop the front and rear heads of the deltas, which makes the shoulders more rounded, but does not broaden them significantly. Some exercises that involve the maximum average head can help the deltoids grow wider. This option is ideal for girls with a wide waist who want to narrow it visually by expanding the shoulder girdle, buttocks and hips.
Also, regarding preparation for home workouts for beginners, remember the basic rules:
- Don’t chase the scales, but try to practice your technique;
- In exercises, work slowly and at full amplitude - this will allow you to feel the target muscles and improve the neuromuscular connection;
- Be sure to include basic exercises in your program - this will allow you to develop strength and increase weights in the future, which means you will progress in shape.
Do not forget that before each workout, a warm-up is carried out, which will allow blood to flow to the target muscle group and warm up the joints and ligaments.
Bent over side dumbbell raises
This is an isolation exercise that works the back of the deltoids.
Initial position:
- Stand up straight, take the projectile in your hands and lean forward at an angle of 45 degrees.
- Lower your hands with dumbbells down.
Technique:
- Take a deep breath. Raise the dumbbells to the sides, trying to lift them as high as possible.
- Smoothly return your hands to the starting position while exhaling.
Recommendations:
- At the end point of the exercise, the front of the dumbbells should be slightly tilted forward.
- Keep your back straight, slightly arched at the lower back. Rounding your back can cause injury.
How to pump up your shoulders with dumbbells at home - the best exercises
Well, now let’s move on directly to what exercises to pump up your shoulders at home?
First of all, these will be exercises with dumbbells, and, in general, a beginner should not bother with anything more. Dumbbells will allow you to work out all the deltoids and are a truly effective and efficient option for pumping up your shoulders.
Don’t forget that the best exercises for a guy that will help you build up your shoulders quickly are the basic ones! Focus on them to develop strength and be able to increase working weights.
Below we will describe all the exercises in more detail; you will learn how to pump up your shoulders with roundness, as well as how to make them visually wider. Be sure to pay attention to the anatomy of the technique in order to understand how a certain type of load affects the heads of the deltas.
So, the best shoulder exercises with dumbbells:
- Press standing or sitting;
- Arnold Press;
- Lifting or spreading through the sides;
- Lift or swing in front of you;
- Lifting or bent over swings;
- Lifting or pulling to the chin;
Dumbbell press standing or sitting
Type of exercise: multi-joint.
Load area: the shoulders swing due to the contraction of all beams (heavy load on the middle and front head).
Features of the technique: depending on the angle of rotation of the forearm, the load can shift from the front deltoid to the middle one, and vice versa. So, if you sit straight and your forearm is parallel to your body, then the emphasis is transferred to the middle delta (you can strengthen this emphasis by turning your palm as far as possible towards the ceiling). If you sit tilted back, your forearm moves about 15 degrees from parallel to the body, and the emphasis is transferred to the front deltoid. You can also place emphasis on the front deltoid by placing your arms and shoulders in front of your body and pressing movements in front of you.
Arnold press
Type of exercise: basic.
Load area: the entire delta is involved (when you rotate the forearm, the back head is activated).
Features of the technique: pumping your shoulders with dumbbells in the Arnold press is quite difficult. The main feature of this exercise is that you can engage the rear deltoid while rotating your forearm. A mandatory nuance is to move the arm from a position in front of you to a position on the side of the body, simultaneously with the rotation of the forearm.
It will be quite difficult for a beginner to “feel” the work of the deltas in this exercise for the arms and shoulders, especially with regard to the back head. So it is recommended for beginners to start with a regular bench press.
Dumbbell raises or lateral raises
Type of exercise: isolation.
Load area: the entire delta is involved, but the emphasis is on the middle one.
Features of the technique: in this shoulder exercise, it is advisable to keep your arms with dumbbells straight in order to maximally engage the middle delta. But, an option is allowed when the arms are bent at the elbows, which additionally turns on the front delta (if desired, you can turn on the front delta by turning your arm inward when lifting). To work the middle beam in isolation, you need to keep your palms strictly parallel to the floor. Lifting the projectiles is carried out strictly with the shoulders, without swaying the body.
Lifting dumbbells or swinging in front of you
Type of exercise: isolation.
Load area: the middle and anterior deltas are involved, with an emphasis on the latter.
Features of the technique: according to the classical scheme, the exercise is performed with straight arms, palms facing the floor. But for maximum isolation of the front beam, your hands can be turned palms up. To make this technique more convenient, you can pick up one dumbbell in your hands, lifting it as if you were scooping up water.
Swings are great for isolating individual bundles, but if you answer the question whether you can pump up your shoulders only with swings, the answer will be ambiguous. Why?
Remember when we said that basic exercises are essential to developing shoulder strength? So, by performing only swings and giving an isolating load, you will lift working weights very slowly, accordingly, getting less return from training and less muscle growth.
Dumbbell raises or bent over swings
Type of exercise: isolation.
Load area: the middle and posterior muscles of the shoulder are involved, with an emphasis on the latter.
Features of the technique: according to the classical scheme, tilted swings are performed from a position of the torso “parallel to the floor” with straight arms. To make it easier, you can bend your elbows slightly. Make sure you grip and tilt your torso so that your shoulder maintains a position “perpendicular to your torso” even during movement. If you are doing the exercise for the first time, it may be difficult for you to swing with both arms at the same time. So it is possible to perform the exercise with one hand.
If you want to build broad shoulders, then be sure to combine bent over swings with dumbbell raises to the sides.
Lifting dumbbells or pulling to the chin
Type of exercise: multi-joint.
Load area: the middle and front deltas are involved, with an emphasis on the middle, depending on the position of the hands.
Features of the technique: pulling with dumbbells at home is performed according to the same scheme as with a barbell. The advantage is that you can spread your arms out to the sides as much as possible so that your shoulder moves in the plane of your torso. If you move your shoulder out of the plane of your body and make movements in front of you, you engage the front delta as much as possible.
Pulling allows you to make your shoulders more rounded, but requires the correct technique, as it also works well on the trapezius. If the technique is violated, it can pull most of the load onto itself.
Shoulder training program at home
What's the best way to lift your shoulders at home? If you're a beginner, incorporate shoulder exercises at home into your training split along with muscle groups such as your back and/or legs. If you've been training for a long time, you can devote an entire workout to deltoids.
As for the training program, it will look something like this:
First day:
- Dumbbell press standing or sitting;
- Dumbbell raises to the sides;
- Dumbbell rows to the chin;
- Swing dumbbells in front of you.
Second day:
- Arnold Press;
- Bent-over dumbbell swings (rear deltoid);
- Dumbbell press standing or sitting;
- Dumbbell raises to the sides.
We perform 3-4 working approaches in the range of 8-15 repetitions.
Answering the question of how to build broad shoulders at home, let’s say that to do this you just need to do as many basic exercises as possible! For beginners, it is advisable to start with a classic standing or sitting press, since the Arnold press will be quite difficult for them in terms of execution technique.
Warm-up
Here are the simplest and at the same time the best warm-up exercises for the shoulders. Each point is performed for at least 2 – 3 minutes:
- start by tilting your head in all directions and gradually move on to rotation;
- raise and lower your shoulders up and down as much as possible;
- rotate your joints in a circle in both directions with your arms down;
- this is followed by rotation of the arms with maximum amplitude forward, backward and counter rotation;
- You need to finish by jumping while simultaneously rotating your arms bent at the elbow.
Correct execution and distribution of exercises for individual deltoid muscle groups is very important. Usually, amateurs pump up their front delts. The most favorite bench press for most athletes is the bench press. The anterior bundle is fully involved here.
The central beam works with a vertical barbell press (whether standing or sitting), and it is best used with isolated dumbbell lateral raises.
The rear beam is pumped when pulling the weight towards oneself; most often they work while sitting or bending over. Beginners do not like these loads; as a result, within a year, deformation of the upper belt line occurs, and some, with correct posture, get the visual effect of stooping.
How to build huge shoulders in the gym - the difference from home workouts
Obviously, working out your shoulders in the gym is much easier and more interesting! The "arsenal" of exercise equipment boasts great variety and functionality. To give you an idea of this benefit, let's get down to the basics - what stimulates muscle growth?
The volume of the shoulders and any other muscles increases in a linear relationship: physical activity, stress → microtrauma of muscle fibers → restoration and increase in volume.
What does it take to get this “stress”?
- Increase in working weights;
- Changing the number of repetitions and approaches;
- Changing the amplitude of movement;
- Combination of different types of load (supersets, etc.);
- Introduction of pre-fatigue.
In the gym, you can change the type of load much easier and more often and, accordingly, pumping up your shoulders more powerfully will be easier for you than pumping your shoulders only with dumbbells .
Another important advantage is the presence of like-minded people and motivation. When training in the gym, you are constantly in the sports “get-together”, improving your knowledge, receiving additional motivation and simply having fun.
Additional gym arsenal for working out the shoulders
We have already started talking about a larger “arsenal” of the gym for working out the deltoids, so we will pay more attention to this issue.
In addition to exercises with dumbbells on the shoulders, you have access to such a universal equipment as a barbell. The barbell gives a basic load to your deltoids, and, unlike dumbbells, the weight of the projectile can be as large as possible.
By adding an incline bench press to the barbell, you get another multifunctional piece of equipment.
By changing the backrest angle, you can shift the emphasis from the front deltoid to the middle deltoid on the bench press. So, you can pump the anterior shoulder muscle in a semi-lying position, tilting the back slightly back.
In addition to the barbell, in the gym you will find a lot of exercise machines with which you can isolate your back as much as possible while pumping up your shoulders. Various bench press machines also have a preset range of motion, which allows you to focus less on technique and more on the neuromuscular connection.
For those who have already mastered the barbell and dumbbells perfectly, and are simply tired of the monotony, there are block exercise machines. How to pump up your arms and shoulders? You can use only blocks or combine the load of blocks with dumbbells. But we'll talk about this some other time.
And now we will present you a list of exercises for pumping up the shoulders, which are the most popular and effective:
- Barbell press standing or sitting;
- Bench press;
- Barbell row to the chin;
- Smith machine press;
- Presses in specialized simulators;
- Lifting a barbell or swing in front of you.
Now let's look at the technology.
Barbell press from a standing or sitting position in front of you
We have already talked about how to pump up your shoulders at home using a similar exercise. So, the barbell press is not much different from the dumbbell press.
Type of exercise: basic.
Load area: the entire delta is involved, but the emphasis is on the middle and front.
Features of the technique: the press is performed standing from the chest. If you work with heavy weights, it is better to take the projectile from the racks. In other cases, the projectile is lifted from the floor with one jerk. If your elbows are down and your palms are turned up as much as possible, then the middle deltoids are working as much as possible. But if you turn your elbows slightly upward, as if you were going to squat frontally, then include the front shoulder bundle into the work as much as possible.
Bench press from a standing or sitting position from behind the head
Type of exercise: multi-joint.
Load area: the middle delta and the front delta are involved, with an emphasis on the latter.
Features of the technique: performed from a standing or sitting position. Hold the barbell with a wide grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, so that your forearms are parallel to each other. You need to press the projectile straight up, without swinging or moving it forward or backward at the peak point.
The overhead press is a rather traumatic exercise for pumping up the shoulders, so it should not be performed by beginners.
Raising the barbell or pulling it to the chin
Type of exercise: basic.
Load area: the middle and anterior deltas are involved, with an emphasis on the first.
Features of the technique: the load from the middle delta to the front one shifts due to a change in the position of the arms - they should be spread strictly to the sides, moving in the plane of the body. If you move your arms forward, the front delta takes the load. Also, your arms may extend too far forward due to a too narrow grip.
To develop shoulder strength, perform this basic exercise for 8-10 reps per set with maximum weight.
Smith machine presses
Type of exercise: basic.
Load area: load on the front and middle deltas, with an emphasis on the first.
Features of the exercise technique for developing shoulder muscles: the execution technique does not differ from the classic chest press. But thanks to the Smith's limited plane of motion, your technique will be more precise—you won't be swinging and moving the bar forward or backward. If you perform the exercise while sitting, you can change the emphasis from the middle deltoid to the front by changing the tilt of the back (the back leans slightly back).
Presses in the simulator
Typically, the gym is equipped with various types of exercise equipment for pumping shoulder muscles, which are ideal for beginners. The simulator already has a predetermined range of motion, which “evens out” your technique and allows you to focus on sensations.
Type of exercise: basic.
Load area: middle and anterior delta.
Features of the technique: the technique is very similar to the classic bench press. To maximally engage and isolate your shoulders, do not hold the handle of the machine, but push with your open palm. Also, such exercise machines do not always have an adjustable back (usually it is tilted back). As we said earlier, tilting the backrest back shifts the emphasis from the middle deltoid to the front. And since in most people the anterior delta is already well developed, I would like to shift the emphasis to the middle one. To do this, you just need to sit on the simulator in reverse - facing the back. This will keep your torso perpendicular to the floor.
Lifting a barbell or swinging in front of you
Type of exercise: isolation.
Load area: front beam and middle, with emphasis on the first.
Features of the technique: an excellent exercise for swinging the shoulders, which allows you to maximally load the front deltoid. The barbell is held with a straight grip, pressed against the hips. The projectile is lifted with straight arms to a position “parallel to the floor.” By the way! By lifting the barbell above your shoulders, you put additional stress on the rear deltoid.
Bench press
This is also basic training for developing the shoulder girdle. Performed in a sitting position.
Initial position:
- Sit on a sports bench.
- Bend your back slightly.
- The grip is wide enough.
Technique:
- As you exhale, press the projectile upward. Your arms should be completely straight.
- As you inhale, lower the barbell behind your head.
Recommendations:
- The press should be performed without jerking. Slow and smooth.
- Alternatively, you can perform the exercise by lowering the barbell alternately to your chest and behind your head.
Video of our shoulder workouts - advanced version
If you want to know how to build huge shoulders, we recommend that you watch the workout video from the Fit Magazine team! Our program is an advanced option and will be of interest to experienced athletes who want to diversify and add a little “pepper” to their loads:
Want to learn more about shoulder exercises? Then we advise you to follow the link! Another training session from our team awaits you, as well as many nuances and secrets that will help you achieve great results.
You will receive the following information:
- How to pump up your shoulders quickly with dumbbells and barbells;
- How to perform basic and isolation exercises correctly;
- How many approaches and repetitions to do;
- You will also learn some “tricks” of doing the exercises.
Our training is a clear example of how cool it is to train as a team, not only with your friends, but also with people who understand you and help you improve.
Nuances and our training program
For your convenience, we will outline our training program so that you know how to properly engage in bodybuilding at an advanced level
