You can have an upright posture with developed shoulder muscles. At the same time, shoulder muscles, which provide an aesthetic and fit appearance, allow you to do sports more efficiently. The shoulder area is important for correct and easy trunk movements. Also, having broad shoulders affects your overall appearance. When people look from the outside, one of the first physical features that draws attention is the posture of the person. You can have a healthy posture and feel good by doing sports. It is possible to achieve this without going to the gym. You can prepare to do sports by knowing about shoulder development exercises that can be done at home.
What are shoulder expansion exercises at home?
Various exercises are available to work the small muscle groups in the shoulders. Most of these exercises require weighted work. It is difficult to develop shoulder muscles with the body’s own weight. You can buy a beginner-level weight set to exercise comfortably at home. You can also use a sports mat to prevent injuries and noise problems. The most effective shoulder movements that you can achieve productive results without disrupting regular nutrition can be listed as follows;
- Exam: With the push-up exercise, which is known and done by many people, you can work the shoulder, chest and arm muscles. In an indirect way, the leg and abdominal muscles are also worked with this movement.
- Shoulder push-ups: In this exercise, the shoulder muscles are worked more than the normal push-ups. In order to do the movement, the starting position should be in an inverted ‘V’ shape, unlike the normal push-up position. Stand with hips up, shoulders and head down. The arms are bent and the head is slowly lowered to the ground.
- Dumbbell shoulder press: It is an exercise that works the back arm, forearm and shoulder muscles together. As the name suggests, it is a movement that uses weights. Equal weights are taken to both hands and the movement is started by keeping the arms in the air at both sides. The elbows are kept in a bent position at a right angle. The weights, which are held with the palms facing forward, are lifted upwards and brought over the head. As you exhale, it is lowered back to its original position.
- Dumbbell forward lift: Using a bar or barbell for this movement is more comfortable than dumbbells. Because in order for the movement to be stable, the two arms must move together. If there is no barbell, each arm can be worked in turn. In the starting position, feet are shoulder-width apart. The weights are lifted up to shoulder height.
- Lateral raise: This exercise, also known as the side opening movement, is one of the most effective methods of shoulder movements. In the starting position, the feet are shoulder-width apart and the back is kept straight. While exhaling, the weight in both hands is lifted to the sides with the palms facing the ground.
- Bent over lateral raises: It is a variation of the side-opening movement. It also works the back muscles. In this movement, the elbows are slightly bent, while the back is in a straight position, the body is bent forward. The weights are lifted sideways up to shoulder height.
You can develop your shoulders with exercises that can be done at home, outdoors and wherever you feel ready. In order to get results from the exercises, you should not be in a hurry and remember that sport is a long-term winning journey. Also, rushing during exercise can lead to injuries. Warming up and stretching should be done before the exercises. Small muscle groups, such as the shoulder muscles, are difficult to work with, but they are also sensitive muscles. Fitness shoulder movements without warming up can cause long-term and painful pain.
What should be considered in shoulder expansion movements?
There are small muscle groups in the shoulder area and these muscles have a sensitive structure. Therefore, health problems such as muscle pain and disability may occur in incorrectly performed exercises. The movements must be learned correctly in order to avoid the problems caused by the wrong practices of the athletes. When necessary, support from experts should be sought. Especially if you are doing sports at home, the movements should be done in a controlled way. It is recommended to consult a doctor immediately in case of a problem. In weight training, straining the body with high weights can cause problems. In addition to these, the situations to be considered in shoulder exercises can be listed as follows:
- Form of movement: Since the muscles in the shoulder area are sensitive, small mistakes can cause big problems. To avoid injuries, movements must be performed correctly.
- Doing excessive repetitions and forcing the body: Since the muscles in the shoulder are made up of small groups, a few exercises will be enough to work this area. Working the same area with too many movements in one workout reduces efficiency.
- Using too much weight: It is important not to strain sensitive muscles too much. This also reduces the efficiency of the movement. If you are not working at a weight that suits you, your exercise speed will slow down.
- Taking long breaks for rest: Small muscle groups also have a shorter recovery time. If you make the muscle tension continuous by keeping the intervals between exercises short, your development will be easier.
- Working the front muscles more: Some of the chest workouts work the front muscles in the shoulder area. The development of only the front muscles is not healthy and does not create a fit appearance. For a balanced development, it is important to work the back muscles as well.
- The execution speed of the movement: Especially beginners may want to start high weights and fast reps early. However, it is more important to do the movement correctly in order to get efficiency from the movement. In this case, performing the movement correctly depends on the use of appropriate weights and the speed of movement.
- Exercise frequency: Since it is a small muscle group, shoulder muscle development may be weaker in part training. In these programs, shoulders can be worked only 1 or 2 days a week. More effective results can be obtained with full body training programs that work the whole body for shoulder muscles.
- Repetition counts: Exercising with the same number of repetitions for a long time can slow down development. You can increase the number of repetitions at certain times while the weight is constant, and you can increase the amount of weight while the number of repetitions is constant.
How the muscles develop throughout the body and in the shoulders depends on the genetic structure. Exercises create different results for each individual in the long run. In this regard, there are many variables such as age, gender, weight, height, sports history, ailments and health problems of the person. So while certain muscles develop slowly, others can form more quickly. The important thing is to reach the maximum point you can reach without compromising your motivation and to get efficiency from sports. You can adapt to the process better by trying to be the best version of yourself while doing sports.