5 Best Shoulder Exercises for Men Using Barbell

Understanding the best shoulder exercises is important. You must focus on building boulder shoulders if you want to give your arms a muscular appearance. Arm development is incomplete if you do not focus on the shoulders.

The shoulders have three heads - anterior, lateral, and rear delts. Aim to develop all three delts with equal intensity and volume to activate all the muscles along with boosting them for growth and strength.

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Best Shoulder Exercises Using Barbells

While the best shoulder exercises can be done with dumbbells and cables, the barbell variation allows you to add significant volume and pressure to the muscle group.

Additionally, barbell exercises enable you to use a heavier weight, as both shoulders support the weight at the same time. On that note, here's a look at the five best shoulder exercises using barbells for men:

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1) Barbell Shoulder Press

The most common barbell shoulder exercise is the barbell press.

You need to engage your core muscles for this exercise, which means the barbell press works on the shoulders, triceps, and abdominal muscles.You can do barbell presses while standing or seated, and both are beneficial for the shoulders.

Find the guide to doing barbell presses here.

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2) Barbell Landmine Shoulder Press

Landmine exercises are a different genre, but this barbell variation allows you to exercise unilaterally.

Adjust the barbell to the landmine machine, and lift it using one shoulder at a time. Moreover, focus on engaging the anterior and lateral delts for the entire exercise. I’s important to not use an extremely heavy weight; instead use this exercise to fix any muscle or strength imbalance.

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3) Barbell Upright Row

While an upright row isn’t recommended for everyone, it’s an exercise that can help activate and work the rear delts.

Upright rows can be done using dumbbells and cables, with the barbell variation being the riskiest. Ideally, you should do upright rows using cables before moving to free weight.

Be careful about the weight you use. Don't use a weight that's impossible to control and can pull you downwards with a jerk, which can lead to serious injuries.

You can find the guide for doing upright rows here.

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4) Z-press

Z-press is a variation of the barbell shoulder press; you need to sit on the floor for this exercise.

Sit straight on the floor, and extend your legs in front. Hold the barbell near your shoulders, and begin doing shoulder presses. While you’re engaging your shoulders, it’s important to engage the core muscles. The core muscles provide you with the balance and stability you need to complete the exercise.

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5) Push Press

Push press is an advanced compound movement. To do a push press, you need to take on more than the weight you use for shoulder press.

Unrack it, and hold the barbell near your shoulders. To push it, first move slightly downwards by bending your knees. From there, use the body’s momentum to push the barbell overhead.

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Bottom Line

The best shoulder exercises can mold and build your shoulders only when done properly and in moderation. Use a mixture of compound and isolation exercises to build the shoulders. Moreover, don't ignore nutrition, especially protein, when you are aiming to build muscles.