6 Best Shoulder Exercises to Do at the Gym

The best shoulder exercises are most probably found only at the gym. Although yoga, Pilates and bodyweight exercises work out the shoulders, the best shoulder strengthening exercises are done at the gym.

Shoulder exercises are essential to maintaining a healthy body. When the shoulders are strong, you reduce the risk of training-related shoulder injuries. Aside from the obvious aesthetic benefits, having strong shoulders also makes it easier to lift heavy objects, play sports, interact with children, avoid injury while working out, and lift your arms overhead.

Best Shoulder Exercises to Do at the Gym

There are many shoulder workouts you can do at the gym to strengthen your shoulders. Some of the best shoulder exercises will work out most of the shoulder muscles with a variety of different movements. If you're short on time, check out these shoulder exercises that take only 10 minutes.

Here's a look at six best shoulder exercises to do at the gym:

1) Barbell Overhead Press

Strong shoulders are important to prevent injuries (Image via Pexels/Andres Ayrton)

It's one of the best shoulder exercises to target and develop all three heads of the deltoid muscle (posterior).

Shoulder raise variations can only take you so far towards the goal of bigger, stronger boulder shoulders. For true growth and development, you need to incorporate overhead pressing variations into your routine.

Instructions:

Make sure the bar is at chest height, and position your hands outside your shoulders.
The arms and elbows should be stacked vertically on top of each other.
Your grip is too narrow or too wide if your elbows are pointing outwards or inwards, respectively. Make the appropriate modifications.
The strongest grip is with the bar on the back of the hand, near the heel.
Repeat the process of pressing overhead until lockout and lowering back to the starting position.

2) Military Press

It's pne of the best shoulder exercises you can do for developing strength and muscle. The fact that it's a compound movement and that you can use as much or as little weight as you like makes it ideal for anyone who wants to get ripped fast.

Instructions:

Put the barbell at a height that's just below your shoulders, and load it up with the weight you want to use.
Place your hands on the bar at shoulder height, and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Lift the bar by bending at the knees and keeping the back straight.
Brace yourself by stepping back, tucking your chin, and pressing the bar straight overhead.
Reverse the motion by slowly lowering the bar to your chest.
Repetition based on the set target.

3) Arnold Press

Stretching is as important as exercising your shoulders (Image via Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto)

Named after the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Arnold press is one of the best shoulder exercises that works all three heads of the deltoids.

In addition, the rotational nature and greater range of motion both increase the time under tension, which in turn promotes greater hypertrophy. When done for more repetitions, this exercise is a true muscle-burner in the deltoids and upper back. This is essentially a full body shoulder workout.

Instructions:

Sitting, bring the dumbbells to the top of the biceps curl position, and rotate your hands so that the palms are facing inward.
Press the dumbbells while simultaneously rotating your palms so that the fronts are facing up.
Keep going till your arms are parallel to or behind your ears.
Stop, turn around, and do it again slowly.

4) Barbell High Pull

It's generally used by athletes to build more shoulder strength for Olympic lifts. It's one of the best shoulder exercises that build up upper and lower body strength and power. Try to perform it with explosiveness to maximize its benefits (as in a jump but without leaving the ground).

Instructions:

Initially, stand with your feet hip-width apart and shins close to the barbell.
Position your hands on the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and thrust your hips back as you bend your knees.
Quickly stand up while shrugging your shoulders to pull the barbell as high as you can, and slowly return to the starting position.
Repeat based on the set target.

5) Barbell Front Raise

There are a variety of best shoulder exercises you can try (Image via Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio)

This is one of the best shoulder exercises to target the front delts. They can be performed with a barbell or dumbbells. Regardless of the resistance being used, the lifter must keep their body in a rigid, upright position at all times without leaning backward or bouncing their momentum.

Instructions:

Put the desired weight on the barbell, and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides, and a pronated grip on the bar.
Put tension on your abs, and raise your arms straight up till they're nearly locked out and parallel to the floor.
Lower the barbell slowly and deliberately to the starting position once your arms are parallel to the floor.
You can do as many or as few repetitions as you like.

6) Cable Lateral Fly

The cable lateral fly is one of the best shoulder exercises that targets the middle and lower traps in addition to the middle head of the deltoid. You can certainly work both shoulders at once, but focusing on one at a time can help you maintain proper form and get the most out of your workout.

Instructions:

Choose a challenging but manageable weight, and stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart next to the cable machine.
Before you start the movement, check that your core is braced, chest is forward, and knees are slightly bent.
Raise your arm from your side till it's slightly above parallel to the floor, bending your elbow slightly as you do so.
Once the action has been completed, you should slowly and deliberately return to the original position.
You can do as many or as few repetitions as you like.

Takeaway

Working out your shoulders is quite important, as they do so many of your everyday movements that require upper body strength. The aforementioned workouts are some of the best shoulder exercises you can do to target all three muscles in your shoulders.

For more shoulder exercises, check out these shoulder exercises for flexibility and strength.