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It’s important to know the best shoulder exercises if you’re looking to build a boulder shoulder. Undoubtedly, shoulders are an important part of the arms and probably one of the most important joints.
Your shoulders help with a variety of compound movements and daily chores. They should be focussed on when you’re trying to build vascular and muscular arms.
Best Shoulder Exercises for Sculpted Shoulders
When you target your shoulders, it’s important to remember that they’re not a big muscle group such as chest or lats.
Therefore, it’s easier to focus on intensity and reps rather than volume. In fact, when you add volume, usually it’s at the expense of effort. It’s better to do more reps with lighter weights since effort and intensity sometimes dominate over volume.
On that note, here's a look at the five best shoulder exercises to get sculpted shoulders:
1) Overhead Barbell Press
The barbell press is one of the most common shoulder exercises you'll find in workout routines.
You need to place the barbell on the squat rack and load it with moderate weights. You should be able to do at least 12 to 15 reps with it.
Push the barbell upwards using your shoulder muscles, and you should feel the pressure on your anterior and lateral deltoids. As it’s a compound movement, it works on the triceps and lightly on the chest.
You can do the same exercise with dumbbells if you don’t want to begin with barbells.
2) Machine Lateral Raise
If you have access to a machine lateral raise, you must use it. A primary reason why a machine is preferable over dumbbells for shoulder exercises is because it allows stability and reduces upper body movement.
Of course, if you don’t have access to the machine, you can do lateral raises using dumbbells or cables. This exercise focuses on your lateral deltoids, which are hugely responsible for your rounded shoulder appearance.
3) Barbell Front Raise
While the lateral raise works on your lateral delts, the front raise works on your anterior delts. You can do front raises with cables or dumbbells as well, but barbells are a variation that can help you switch the exercise.
Moreover, if you use barbells, you’ll be able to work on both shoulders at the same pace, which can help you avoid any form of muscle imbalance.
4) Upright Row
To do upright rows, it’s best to use cables. You can attach a straight bar to the cables and do the exercise. However, upright rows can be done using barbells as well.
Upright rows work on the shoulders and upper back. The two muscle groups from the shoulders that an upright row works on are anterior delts and traps.
5) Face Pull (Reverse Fly)
If you want to have sculpted shoulders, you cannot ignore the rear delts. It’s important to work on all three delts to avoid any form of muscle imbalance.
You can use cables (ropes) for this exercise, or you can use dumbbells. To maintain tension on the rear delts, it’s important to use a weight that enables you to do at least 10 to 12 reps.
Bottom Line
It’s important to understand that when you focus on shoulder exercises, you need to select exercises that can help you develop all three delts. If you ignore one of them, that can lead to muscle imbalance, or your shoulder might not have the proper rounded and muscular appearance you desire.
