Bulletproof Your Shoulders: The Best Exercises for All Levels
A new follower on Instagram asked me "what are some good moves to train shoulders? I'm looking to switch things up"
Talk about a question for the taking. I love these kind of questions because there is enough direction to give a good answer but yet enough open air to add some nuance
So what exercises would I do?
If I had some bum shoulders that didn't love pressing movements I would absolutely do landmine overhead presses. This variation keeps the axis of the movement in front of you and has you pushing the weight on an arc making it pretty 'joint friendly'. The landmine set up can be done pretty easily by using a barbell with a towel wrapped around the base of it...if you have the landmine unit, great, but isn't absolutely necessary.
If I had shoulders that moved pretty good, I'd dominate kettlebell presses. Something that is unique about the kettlebell is that the movement starts in a rack position against your chest. To press the bell overhead you fully rotate the arm which adds in some awesome joint stability and mobility of the shoulder and scapula. Plus, kettlebells are just awesome.
A few other honorary mentions?
This side plank with a shoulder raise is a huge bang for your buck exercise. It hits the shoulders in a great plane of motion and also makes side planks a 'rep' counting movement instead of counting for time. That's ALWAYS a win.
The TRX is a game changer. This 'Y' raise is an awesome movement that targets the rear delts and upper back. Plus, you're holding a quasi-plank the entire time keeping your hips and abs locked in from swaying.
Last one on the honorary mention list is the classic dumbbell raises, but combined in to this 'sweep'. I like the sweeping action as an easy way to increase the time under tension and really drive home the muscles in the shoulder.
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