When it comes to building up shoulder muscles, most of us think of using machines at the gym and working up a sweat with weights, but it is entirely possible to build up those shoulder muscles at home with minimal equipment.
Your shoulders are made up of three different muscles but the group is commonly referred to as the deltoids. They work by pushing or by lifting something away from your body so exercises using these movements are ideal.
You can try these exercises at home all you will need are a set of dumbbells and you can start your workout.
Related read: 9 Best Adjustable Dumbbells – Top Reviews 2021
The Push-Up
Get into a traditional push-up position with your hands just a bit further apart than your shoulders. Don’t arch your back or lower your hips. Push your chest down to bring your shoulders parallel to your elbows and then push back up again. You may also opt for push-up bars for this exercise. Here’s a guide to the best push-up bars.
The Raised Push Up
This is the same as a traditional push-up but you need to have your feet raised up on a bench or table. Having your feet higher up as you do your push-up will work your shoulders even harder than in a traditional position.
Rotating Push Up
Start in the traditional push-up position again and lower your chest down towards the floor, then return back up to the starting position. Once you get back to the start, turn your body to face a wall and lift up the arm on that side with your ankles touching the floor. Then move back into the start position again. Repeat but this time turn the other way.
The Crawl
Get onto your mat on your hands and feet, with your knees about three inches off the floor, in line with your hips. Move your right hand and left foot forward together a small amount, then put them back. Do the same with the opposite hand and foot. Keep your core engaged and don’t twist.
The Dumbbell Press
Take your dumbbells in each hand and let them rest on your shoulders. Push them both above your head and touch them to each other, then bring them down again back to shoulder level. Do as many repetitions as you can.
The Dumbbell Raise Part 1
Hold your dumbbells against your thighs while standing up and then lift one at a time so your arm is straight and the weight is parallel with the floor. Keep your other arm down by your side. Hold the dumbbell out for a few seconds before lowering it down and then repeat on the other side.
The Dumbbell Raise Part 2
Start in the same position as the first part but this time, lift both arms to the side and hold your dumbbells out to the sides, parallel to the floor. Hold them here and then lower them back down to the starting position.
The Dumbbell Raise Part 3
Sit down and hold a dumbbell in both of your hands out in front of you. Bend forwards and raise your arms out to the sides until the dumbbells are at shoulder height, then lower them down and repeat.
The Dumbbell Shrug
Hold your dumbbells down by your sides and then shrug your shoulders. You should aim to shrug as high as you can and hold that position for a few seconds, before lowering your shoulders down again.
Exercising your shoulders at home can be simple with just a few exercises that you can follow and repeat daily, to help ensure all of those muscles get a regular and effective workout, without the need for anything more than a set of dumbbells.
As you get used to the routines you can increase the weight of your dumbbells or you can increase the intensity of the workouts by doing more reps or adding resistance bands to help make it more challenging.
While traditional shoulder-building exercises would be done at the gym or with a personal trainer, there is nothing to stop you from building on that when you get home by following some of the above routines.
Conclusion
There are many shoulder exercises you can do at home and even just doing activities like digging in the garden and housework, or carrying bags of shopping are all good ways to exercise those shoulder muscles in the comfort of your own home. With just an exercise mat and a set of dumbbells, you can soon tone up those shoulders.
If you want to look and feel great and have strong muscles then you don’t need to rush to the gym, just incorporate a regular shoulder workout into your day and you will soon start to feel the difference and reap the benefits of improving health and muscle strength.
