Muscle of the Week - Shoulders

Hi everyone!  I want to start something on this page.  What I’m going to do is pick a muscle or muscle group of the week.  I’ll list some common exercises, reasons as to why we should workout these muscles or groups, and common functions with these groups.  I know what you may be thinking…there’s only so many muscle groups, so this will be over in a few months or so?  Ahhh, see I’m already a step ahead of you.  I’ll be cycling through muscles and muscle groups again, but each time I’ll offer a few different exercises to change things up for you.  So with that being said, I know you can’t hardly contain your excitement, the muscle group of the week are the shoulders, more specifically, the deltoids.

The deltoids have three main sections: anterior (front), medial (middle), and posterior (back).  Their main function is to help lift the arm up to the front, the side, and the back, and to press overhead.  Other muscles are also involved in these movements, which I will cover in another session.  The most important thing to keep in mind when working the deltoids is to work all parts evenly.  The reason I say this is that the anterior deltoid tends to get overworked a lot.  If you think about it, the majority of the things we do is in a forward motion: reaching for something on the shelf, working at a computer all day, driving your car...all utilizing the anterior deltoid.  Because of this overuse of the anterior deltoid we can develop bad posture.  Bad posture can be created by the overstretching of the posterior deltoid and tightening of the anterior deltoid.  The back is stretched and weak and the front is so tight.  Not to mention we tend to carry a lot of stress in our shoulders, which only adds to the problem. 

The deltoids are a pretty important muscle group, yes others are as well, but they play a big role in our daily activities that we do.  But one thing I would like for you to keep in mind is that the deltoids are reasonably small in comparison to other muscles, so I would like to stress that lighter weight should be used until you build up some mass to these groups, especially when using dumbbells in a lateral motion.  And if mass is not what you’re looking for and you’re just looking to tone, then you will be just fine using lighter weights with higher repetitions.

Now I will offer some exercises to hit each of the three areas, the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids.  For these exercises I will focus on using dumbbells and I will also attach a link to each exercise (just click on the exercise)  in case you have any questions on how to properly do them and it will have a video demonstration of these exercises.  Ok, now let's work some shoulders and check back next week for the new muscle of the week!  Have a great day everyone!

Anterior Deltoid Exercise:  Standing dumbbell press (3 sets  8-12 reps)

Medial Deltoid Exercise:  Dumbbell lateral raise (3 sets  8-12 reps)

Posterior Deltoid Exercise:  Seated Bent–over rear delt raise (3 sets 8-12 reps)

 

Photo: muscle&fitness.com