Performing shoulder exercises with dumbbells allows you to lose weight and involves a large number of muscle groups. In addition to the shoulders themselves as main muscles, the biceps, chest and back, among others, are also affected when carrying out this type of training.
What are dumbbell shoulder exercises?
Shoulder exercises with dumbbells are intended to strengthen the shoulder from all possible points: deltoids, lateral trapezius… They can be performed with machines, with our own body weight, bar or dumbbells.
As in the rest of muscle groups, dumbbells are the method that allows a more personalized training and adapted to our particular needs. Being a weight for each shoulder, the weight to be used can be distributed in a better way, as well as the repetitions and intensity required for each exercise.
In addition, being a small muscle group does not require the performance of too many exercises to avoid falling into extreme fatigue and overtraining. Do not forget how important it is to perform the exercises, such as muscle recovery and possible subsequent contracture.
Benefits of training shoulders with dumbbells
Contrary to what many people may think, performing shoulder exercises with dumbbells is of vital importance. The trapezius is involved in the movement of both shoulders, in addition to supporting the weight of the head. It is also found in the area of the spine. Thus, not training the shoulders causes a loss of strength in this muscle group and a possible imbalance with the head and spine.
Therefore, the most outstanding benefits of exercising the shoulders are the following:
- Strengthen your shoulders and have strong and resistant dolts and traps.
- Good training and good technique will also decrease the risk of serious injury.
- You will get better protection of the joints in the entire shoulder area.
- As with back exercises, a better body posture is also achieved by correcting possible deviations.
- If the training is done using the proper techniques, better alignment of the shoulders will also be achieved.
- The trapezoids are responsible for supporting the weight of our head. A good workout will also have a positive impact on this function.
How to perform shoulder exercises with dumbbells
There are multiple possibilities to perform shoulder exercises with dumbbells. One of the best known is the shoulder press, which, as with other muscle groups, varies its involvement depending on the degree of inclination of the body. The exercise consists of pulling a dumbbell with each arm straight up to the maximum height, and slowly lowering it, after a brief pause at the top, to shoulder height. It can be done standing up, or sitting on a bench. You have to be very careful with the technique. since the back must be completely straight to avoid any type of injury. Another variation of this exercise is the alternate press. In the first two, the dumbbells should go up at the same time. On the other hand, in the alternate, one is uploaded first and then the next. It can also be done standing or sitting on a bench. Another possible variation is the position of the dumbbells. It can be done with the weights perpendicular to the body, or with the palms facing inwards and therefore with the dumbbells parallel to the position of the two arms. To prevent back pain, it is advisable to place a backrest on the bench. In this way, as in the biceps curl, the entire spine is kept straight.
The lateral and frontal elevations are another of the classics, between the exercises of shoulders with dumbbells. To do this, in a vertical position, we will take a dumbbell with each arm and raise them until we are almost parallel with the ground. The front raises are the same movement but rising the arms forward until we are parallel with the ground and return to the starting position. In this type of exercise it is crucial to tighten the abdominals to prevent the back from going backwards and being able to suffer any type of injury. As with the press, both types of lifts can also be done seated or even supported by a bench.
In order to train the deltoids and the rear deltoids, we will perform the corresponding elevations. In one case, with the legs bent and with a dumbbell, starting from between both legs, we will raise the weight until it is parallel to the ground and return to the initial position. Once this movement is finished, we will perform the same exercise with the other arm. In the other, aimed at exercising the posterior deltoid, we will sit at one end of the bench and flex our body to pick up a weight with each hand. From the ground, we will raise our arms to the sides until they are almost parallel with the ground, and we will return to the starting position. It is especially important to maintain the arch of the elbows to avoid possible subsequent injuries.
For the rear deltoids we can also perform stretched lateral raises. With a completely stretched position on top of the boat we will take a dumbbell with each arm and reach a position almost parallel to the ground, and we will slowly return to our position, watching the degree of opening of the elbows to centralize the work in the deltoids and not helped by another muscle group. Without changing your body position, we’ll perform the rear deltoid circles. With a weight in each arm and with both attached to our hips, we will move our arms forward until they enter our field of vision and we will return to the starting point.
The most effective exercises for the shoulders
We will finish our training standing up. Along the same lines as the previous exercise, it is also possible to perform flies for the front deltoids. We will take a dumbbell with each arm and place it in front of our thighs. From here, we will raise both arms to the shoulders and continue raising them until both arms are fully stretched. Shoulder exercises with dumbbells also affect the back and vice versa. Therefore, to train the shoulders you can also perform exercises such as rowing. With a weight in each hand, we will raise the arms until they are parallel with the ground, and the elbows form a 90-degree angle with the arm. Remember the importance of keeping your back straight throughout the journey to avoid possible injuries.
Shrugs are also very popular. However, you have to take care of the technique. It is very easy to gain weight quickly and, therefore, lose your focus and perform the exercise poorly. With two dumbbells in your arms, the execution is as simple as shrugging your shoulders as if someone doesn’t know the answer and returning to the starting position. Subsequently, the upper press consists of placing two dumbbells in the arms at shoulder height with the knees arched. From here, we will pull the dumbbells up in a straight line until we fully extend the arms and return to the starting position.
By flexing the legs, we can also perform the crouched rear deltoid row. As if it were chest flies with rope, we will take a dumbbell in each arm and maintaining a right angle we will raise the dumbbells up and slowly return to the starting position. There are multiple dumbbell shoulder exercise options. Don’t forget the importance of stretching.
