Three Simple Workout Strategies to Sculpt Your Shoulders

Incorporating these three simple strategies will undoubtedly help you achieve the sculpted shoulders you desire. Proper form, nutrition, and recovery time remain additionally essential to maximize gains from these simple, yet effective shoulder workout suggestions.

Balanced Building
For postural, as well as functional purposes, a balanced approach to training the three heads of our shoulder muscles emerges as a critical component to achieve lean, toned shoulder muscles. A three to four movement dumbbell raise/row circuit accomplishes this feat masterfully. The four movements are:
1) Lateral Raise: Raise the dumbbells from your side, up to a T formation.
2) 45-Degree Raise: With the dumbbells facing inward, raise them, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
3) Front Raise: With the dumbbells facing your thighs, raise them together straight in front of you.
4) Upright Row: Start in the same position as the front raise, only lead with the elbows high and "row" them up to underneath the chin. For best results, begin with a comfortable weight and perform 8 to 12 reps of each movement with minimal or no rest.

Push and Pull
Incorporating both pushing and pulling shoulder movements will undoubtedly increase functional strength, while expanding range of motion in your upper body. My favorite simple "push" exercises are overhead presses with dumbbells, performing each set with a different grip. The three grips are standard (palms facing forward), neutral (palms facing inward), and underhand (palms facing towards you). To balance out the "push" exercises, I suggest a similar three-grip "pull" approach on the lat pulldown machine. For each set, pull the bar down to the sternum, controlling the movement all the way up and all the way down. The three "pull" grips are standard (palms forward, make a touchdown signal and that is where your hands should be placed), close grip (palms forward, shoulder-width apart), and underhand (palms facing towards you, shoulder-width apart).

Two for One Training
Oftentimes, we train our shoulders secondarily, while focusing primarily on another muscle group. Any pushup, plank, or dip movement puts either a concentric or isometric demand on our shoulders, as we train our bodies to support themselves or functionally move across various planes of movement. Introducing elements of instability and movement progressions with these body-weight exercises recruits, stimulates, and strengthens new muscle fibers to respond to the new challenges, allowing us to avoid training plateaus and further define our shoulder muscles in the process. Suggestions for plank and pushup progression have been discussed at length in my previous articles, "Upper Body Basics for the Beginning Exerciser" and "Instant Chest Classic: The Definitive Pushup Guide."