Concentrated Shoulder Exercises

The shoulder is comprised of three distinct muscles, the anterior (front), lateral (side) and posterior (rear) deltoids. There are exercises that focus on each individual muscle, allowing them to be isolated and trained separately. Front and side raises, along with reverse flys, each work a distinct shoulder muscle. Combining all three exercises can build a strong set of shoulders.

  1. Front Raises

    • With your arms hanging in front of you, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing your thighs. This is the start position. Keeping your elbow locked, slowly raise your right arm in front of you until it is parallel with the floor. Pause for one second and slowly return to the start position. This is one repetition. You may alternate your arms every repetition or set. However, you may raise both arms at the same time.

    Side Raises

    • Start with your arms hanging at your sides, with a dumbbell in each hand and your palms facing inward. This is the start position. Keeping your elbow locked, raise your arm at your side until it is parallel with the floor. Your palm should be facing down. Pause for one second and slowly return to the start position. This is one repetition. Like front raises, you can do this exercise with one arm at a time or both arms simultaneously.

    Rear Flys

    • This exercise is more difficult, but it does isolate your rear deltoids very well. Sit on the end of a weight bench with your feet together. With each hand, grab a dumbbell with your palms facing inward. Bend 45 degrees at the waist to move into the start position. Maintaining a slight bend in the elbow, lift the dumbbells up and slightly outward until your upper arms are parallel with the floor. Your lower arms should be slightly below shoulder level. Pause for one second and slowly return to the start position to complete one repetition.

    Considerations

    • Dumbbells are not absolutely necessary to concentrate on individual shoulder muscles. These exercises can be duplicated with cables and other gym machines designed to isolate each shoulder muscle. You may be surprised to find at first that you cannot use very much resistance, but this is normal. Keep your focus on form. Use the correct amount of resistance so that you always maintain proper form.

      For each exercise, do three sets, with 10 to 12 repetitions in each set. This workout can be performed two to three times per week with at least one full day of rest in between workouts.

      For an advanced workout, consider drop sets. For example, begin a set with a 10 pound dumbbell and complete repetitions until you reach muscle failure. Then, immediately pickup a lighter dumbbell and again complete repetitions until muscle failure. Drop sets are challenging -- you will feel their effects for hours and you may be sore the following day. Drop set workouts should be done no more than once per week.