If you have sloped shoulders or weak arms, than strength training for your shoulders should be part of your weekly routine. With just a few simple exercises, you can get your shoulders in shape in no time and improve your silhouette. Here are three easy exercises for toning your shoulders.
Push-ups
When I say push-ups, I don’t mean just the type of push-ups you do on the floor. Doing push-ups in a vertical position against a wall can help your shoulders even more. Place your feet shoulder’s width apart, facing a sturdy wall. Put your palms against the wall as you would if you were doing push-ups against the floor. However, you will not only push up against the wall, but hold that position for about 3 seconds. If you just do push-ups against the wall without holding, you aren’t as likely to improve your shoulders and triceps. Do 10-15 reps and 2 sets a session three times a week to feel those weak arms and shoulders putting on some strength.
Military press
You can do these with just some free weights you have lying around or with cans. To determine how much weight you need, you will need to test different increments out before you start. If you want to build muscle, you need to find a weight you can do a bicep curl with for only about 8 times before tiring. If you want to just tone your muscle, you need to be able to do at least 10 before tiring. Make sure you will not be doing any more than 15 comfortably or the weight you are using is too little.
To do this exercise, hold a free weight firmly in each hand. Hold your arms at a ninety-degree angle, with your hands towards the ceiling. Lift the weights at the same time, straightening your arms to reach for the ceiling, and bring them down again to the same ninety-degree angle. Do not lower your arms until you have done about 8-10 of these for full effectiveness in working out your shoulders. If you are doing this right you will feel a slight ‘burn’ in your shoulders. You should do at least two sets of these per session three times a week. This is one of the best exercises you can do for your shoulders, so do it consistently for results.
Side Raises
This exercise will be felt in your shoulders and your triceps in particular. You might want to use a little less weight for this exercise than you did for the last one. For example, if you used 10 lbs for the military press, than you should use only about 8 lbs for this one as it will put more strain on your arms. Hold the weights firmly in both hands, starting with your arms falling straight against your side. Slowly lift the weights at the same time until your arms are straight in both directions; it is sort of like a flying motion. Do this exercise up and down very slowly so as to focus on your muscles and prevent injury. You may want to do this for less than 10 times the first week you try them, as you will need to get used to it before increasing the reps comfortably. Try to do two sets of these a session three times a week.
Although these are simple exercises, they will greatly increase the strength in your shoulders and your posture when done consistently. Even if they are a little difficult in the beginning, stick with it and you’ll be glad you did.
