Three-Way Combo Shoulder Exercises

Your shoulder muscles are a mix of fast twitch and slow twitch fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers take control of strength and power moves -- just right for lower repetition workouts. Slow twitch fibers respond better to lighter weights and higher reps, notes coach Menno Henselmans on SimplyShredded.com. Work both types of shoulder muscles by incorporating a three-way exercise combo into every workout.

  1. Front Raise to Clean and Press

    • The clean and press on its own is a combo exercise, as it combines two moves -- the clean and the press. Strength coach Marc Perry of Built Lean recommends performing this move with dumbbells. Starting with the dumbbells at your sides or in front of your thighs, lift them quickly up to your shoulders. Squat down slightly as you catch them, then forcefully press both overhead. To turn this into a three-way move, add front raises in to pre-exhaust your shoulders. Perform 10 front raises with the dumbbells, then go into your clean and presses for as many reps as you can manage with good technique.

    Plate Raise, Side Raise, Press

    • This move combines three challenging shoulder exercises, each working in a different plane of motion. Hold a weight plate in both hands and perform 10 to 15 front raises. Put the plate down, then grab a pair of dumbbells and perform 10 to 15 lateral raises. Stick with these dumbbells and perform 10 to 15 overhead presses. By the time you get to the presses, your shoulders will be extremely fatigued, so there's no need to go heavy. To maintain form, sit on the edge of a bench for the whole combo; standing makes it too easy to use the body's momentum rather than muscle.

    Upright Row to Arnold Press to Bent Over Raise

    • Hold a pair of dumbbells just as you did for the clean and press, but lift them slowly up to shoulder-height and pause. Bring your elbows in toward the midline of your body so your palms are facing your chest, and press the dumbbells overhead, turning your hands 180 degrees as you go. In the top position, your elbows should be locked out and your palms facing forward. Lower the weights all the way down, bend forward and perform a bent-over raise to complete one repetition. Aim for eight reps in total.

    Shock Your Shoulders

    • Hit your shoulders twice a week if you want them to grow, advises David Sandler, senior director of education and performance at the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Your shoulders get worked when you train your chest, so put in one three-way shoulder combo exercise at the end of a chest workout. Complete a second shoulder-focused workout each week, in which you perform two heavier exercises, such as standing barbell presses and machine lateral raises, for four sets of six to 12 reps each. Follow that up with three rounds of a combo exercise using lighter weights. Focus on feeling the muscles as they work and use slow, controlled tempos.