How to build big shoulder?

Introduction

Many people who engage in strength training have a dream of building large or well-defined shoulders. This is probably because well-trained shoulders play a big role in overall appearance of being fit or strong. It is often said that six-pack abs or well-trained shoulders are a shortcut to looking highly trained. In this article, we will take a closer look at some exercises that one should use to build large or well-defined shoulders.

1. Military press

Military press is a classic in strength training and what most people will try if they put their feet inside a gym. The exercise is performed with a bar, usually with weights on it. The bar is held at chest height and pressed from there over the head. The exercise is one of the '4 big' together with deadlift, squat and bench press, so this is definitely not an exercise you should skip. The exercise targets the trapezius muscle in the upper part of the back, the deltoid muscles in the shoulders, and also the triceps in the upper arm (although it is primarily a shoulder exercise, that it also targets the triceps is more of a bonus). Some things to keep in mind when performing the exercise:

If you bend your back a little backwards, the exercise will target more on the upper part of the chest. It is important to avoid bending too far backwards as it can cause unwanted high load on the spine.

• By varying how wide the grip you have on the bar, you can load different muscle groups to different degrees. For example, a narrower grip will target more on the triceps and front of the shoulders.
• Do not stop the exercise too early when you take the bar down. This can cause wear and tear injuries, and also lead to overloading.
• Military press is normally performed standing, but a variant of the exercise is to perform it seated with back support. If you choose this variant, it is important to keep your back close to the back support at all times. Otherwise, you risk loading your back unnecessarily, not only can this lead to overloading, it also means that you will train your shoulders less effectively.

1. Side raise with dumbbells

This exercise is performed by standing with a dumbbell in each hand with arms hanging down as normal. Then, lift the arms out as if you are going to 'fly', preferably with a slight bend in the elbow to avoid overloading. This is an exercise that will definitely make your shoulders burn. The exercise primarily targets the deltoid muscle in the shoulders. Some things to be careful of when performing this exercise:

• Warm up well, this is not an exercise you want to do with cold shoulders
• Don't take too heavy dumbbells. This exercise is not about lifting the most weight, not only is there a limit to how heavy a lift you can actually do in this exercise, there is also a risk of injury if you are too eager here.
• Keep a slight bend in the elbow to avoid overloading (especially of the elbow joint)

3. T-bar cable pull

The exercise can be performed standing or sitting (we recommend sitting). You hold a cable handle in each hand and cross your arms over each other. Then you pull your arms out to each side so that the back of your back/shoulders are squeezed together. Imagine that you have an orange between your shoulder blades that you are trying to squeeze together. This is an exercise where the focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together is very important. The exercise is great for building big 'angel wings', which is a crucial piece if you want the masculine 'ox-look' that you see in bodybuilders.

4. Pushups

Many people probably think that pushups are primarily an exercise that goes on endurance strength and also mainly hits triceps and chest. However, this is a truth with modifications. Not only do pushups hit the shoulders well almost no matter how you perform them, but you can make grips to make this a super shoulder exercise. The most effective way is to perform the pushups like a vacuum cleaner, where you start high up in a 'dog looking down' (yoga exercise) and then put the weight forward while lowering yourself down. This will burn in the front of the shoulders. If you don't feel like going so aggressively, you can make do with regular pushups with your elbows pressed against your body. With this type of execution of the exercise, the shoulders and triceps will get a good workout. We recommend performing the pushups slowly and controlled, with full focus on the muscle group you want to hit.

Some general thoughts on shoulder training

The shoulder joint is one of the most complex joints in the body. Therefore, you should always take the time to warm up your shoulders before you start training. It is also important to avoid too heavy weights before you know what you are doing. Technique and concentration are keywords when it comes to all training, shoulder training is no exception. One thing we recommend is to vary shoulder workouts, sometimes light weights, other times heavy. The same goes for sets and reps. Remember also that shoulders are a muscle group that is often loaded through other exercises, it is important to always keep this in mind so you avoid overloading. There is no recipe for how to build big shoulders, many different ways lead to big shoulders. This is illustrated by the fact that both basketball players, boxers and weightlifters often have big and well-built shoulders, despite doing completely different activities. The most important thing is to make sure you load the shoulders a lot (but not overloading!), and to make sure you have a good balance between pushing and pulling exercises and between training the front and rear shoulders.