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Shoulder Exercises
The
shoulders are among the most important parts of the body in both
appearance as well as function. You should always pay special attention
to these muscles and if they are not well developed you will experience
quite a lot of inconvenience not to mention potential health problems.
What Do
You Know About Your Shoulders?
Before
finding out how you can strengthen the shoulder muscles, you need to
know a little about the anatomy of this pack of muscles. The shoulder
joint is formed with the humerus or the arm bone and the glenoid socket
where it fits into place, like a ball and socket. This is one of the
most movable joints of the human body. There is a device that measures
the range of the movement of the shoulder, which is called a goniometer
or an arthometer. Normally speaking, your shoulder should be able
to rotate externally and internally at 90 degrees, be extended at 45
degrees and abduct 150 degrees.
Some
Common Mistakes When Doing Shoulder Exercises
When one
takes up bodybuilding, or even the more casual exerciser looking to get
into shape, you generally tend to concentrate on the internal rotation
of the rotator cuff muscles. This results in acute imbalance and
instability of the shoulder muscles. A training regimen needs to pay
attention to the external rotator cuff movement and muscles as well.
If you find
that your progress in building mass is hindered, this means that you are
concentrating on the anterior deltoids and neglecting the posterior and
medial ones. Since the body cannot stay imbalanced, it stops the
progress when the imbalance becomes palpable. Turn your attention to the
remaining deltoids and you will immediately see an improvement.
There are
many exercises that are considered best for bodybuilding that can
actually cause harm to the shoulder muscles, if you are not careful, so
keep these exercises in mind when working out your shoulders.
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Bench press – This is one
of the most popular exercises used to build up your chest muscles.
When you do these exercises, you normally let the weight touch your
chest before lifting it up again. When you do this, you bring the
entire weight upon the shoulder muscles compressing the rotator
cuff. When such a move is repeated over a period of time, it can
result in an inflamed rotator cuff and a weak anterior deltoid. When
doing bench presses make sure that you are not bringing the weight
down fully upon your chest, press back up before you reach your
chest.
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Lat pull downs – Do not
do these exercises behind the head because this impacts the rotator
cuff negatively. These exercises should be done with the bar being
pulled in front of the head, pulling the bar towards the sternum
bone. When practiced behind the head, the problems that will arise
from the pinched shoulder muscles will far outnumber the benefits of
the exercise.
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Military press – This
exercises too, as the lat pull downs are best done in the front
instead of the back. The best results will come when the lower back
is immobilized and you use dumbbells to work out the scapular
muscles. Avoid pulling it in the front since this can cause an
inflamed rotator cuff and weak neck muscles.
-
Upright rows – When you
do these exercises, ensure that your shoulder is does not move more
than 90 degrees as such movement directly affects the rotator cuff
and deltoid muscles. The best results from these exercises are when
the movement is stopped at 90 degrees as this prevents adding extra
pressure on the shoulder muscles.
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Lateral dumbbell raises –
Understand that the amount of pressure exerted on the rotator cuff
when you raise your hands at abut 90 degrees is about 90%. This
means that the brunt of the weight falls upon the rotator cuff
muscles, while the target is the lateral deltoid. The result is that
instead of building you are destroying the shoulder muscles. Done
wrong, this is one of the most dangerous exercises you could ever
do.
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