Muscles in and Around the Shoulder

​​Even though men and women have the same groups of shoulder workouts they may be a bit different. First, we need to break down the muscle groups in and around the shoulder.

There are two muscle groups of the shoulders called the extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic muscles begin at the torso and connect to the bones in the shoulder.  The intrinsic muscles begin above the upper scapula and clavicle. Intrinsic muscles connect with the humerus. Both of these groups of muscles include more specific muscles. These muscles include the Trapezius, Latissimus Dorsi, Levator Scapulae, and Rhomboids.

There are at least 15 different exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles. Be sure to practice a warm-up before your shoulder workouts as this helps you to avoid injuries. Listed are the top ten exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles. Remember to breathe slowly and deeply. Always finish each exercise slowly.

  • Standing Barbell Shrugs

This exercise targets the neck and shoulder by keeping the exercise movements to the shoulders slowly.

  • Barbell Overhead Shoulder Press

This exercise is to build muscle mass and strengthen the shoulders. It is important to do these exercises carefully, slowly, and steadily.

  • Front Raise

You can use a barbell or a weight plate for this routine which targets the anterior deltoids. You will experience pain with this routine. However, this exercise creates a healthy pain.

  • Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

This exercise targets the deltoid at the anterior, lateral and posterior deltoid areas. This exercise requires good balance and coordination.

  • Bent-Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise

This exercise targets your mid deltoid and works out your entire body. You can do these exercises while seated or standing while bent over.

  • Reverse Pec Deck Fly

You need a pec deck machine to do this exercise which targets posterior deltoids.

  • Dumbbell Lateral Raise

This is a traditional lateral raise that targets the middle deltoid muscle.

  • Push Press

This exercise is for seasoned weight lifters. It is good to start with a weight bar and as you become acclimated to this routine, you can add weights to the bar.

  • One-Arm Cable Lateral Raise

This exercise targets the middle deltoids by causing sufficient tension.

  • Reverse Cable Crossover

You will need a cable machine to do this routine. You can slowly increase the weight as you finish each set.

In Conclusion

Shoulders are very active and mobile so it only stands to reason you need to shoulder workouts of the muscle groups that support your shoulders.  Do you practice poor posture and are not aware of your poor posture? Those who work in the digital technology world has a habit of hunching forward. This constant poor posture weakens the muscles that support the shoulders. These make shoulder exercises increasingly important. Recommendations are doing shoulder exercises at least twice a week.