In my post, Shoulder Workout sans Gym, I highlighted two exercises one can do at home that can really go a long way towards conditioning your shoulder muscle group. Here, I am going to tell you how you can strengthen and condition your shoulders all the way.
First off, to answer the question as to why you would want to do that in the first place. In short, if one is committed to strength within a fitness regimen, then no stone will go unturned. All muscle groups are to be trained. In long, haha, this muscle group is the connecting piece between your head, neck, and arms to your torso. Power or stability is created from your feet on the ground and transmitted through your torso to your upper body. When manipulating weighted objects in your hands, or are in need of a way to keep your head and neck stable, a strong shoulder region is imperative.
And THE way to establish great strength in your shoulders is by way of a military press (or shoulder press).
Simply put, this exercise entails loading up an Olympic barbell with weights, or by using a set of dumbbells (one in each hand). Then, while standing, pressing this weight from just below your chin up to the sky. Then, slowly returning this weight back down to just below your chin.
A seated military press is an option, however not advisable for those that want to gain a total body employment. Of course, doing a military press from a seated position will take your lower body out of the mix, which in turn will allow for your upper body, ie shoulders, to take the whole entire load more or less. Something bodybuilders exclusively favor for they like to isolate the muscle groups they train.
Athletes, on the other end, are encouraged to do most lifts from their feet. From standing, your legs can aid in the lift while also absorbing some of the impact. When having a slight bend to the knee of course. Doing a military press from a seated position will see your spine absorb the majority of the impact, which is not great. Especially if you're like me and are prone to back, hip, and neck trouble. Furthermore, a military press from standing will not only force your lower body to be engaged, but your core as well. Both will work in tandem to create stability and strength from the ground up.
In real life, if you have to lift something over your head while doing manual manipulation and labor, this is 99.99% of the time from a standing position. The idea is to mimic this so that your body will not strain much, saving vital energy for other physical tasks needed during the remainder of your day.
The military press WILL primarily strengthen your deltoids. Your triceps are going to aid in the lift, but in a secondary fashion. Your trapezius muscles (traps) are going to be used for some shoulder stabilization. And as I've suggested your core will be engaged the whole time as well. In fact, if and when you go fairly heavy on these, I suggest engaging your core prior to performing the lift outright. This is not so necessary when learning from scratch with light weight. However, when things get very heavy for yourself, the fraction of a second it takes for your core to react will be time wasted. Time during which an ailment or injury can formulate.
The deltoids themselves have three subgroups. See the animation below: anterior (red), posterior (blue), and intermediate (green). Military presses will train all three of these subgroups equally for the most part.
For a visual of how a military press works with an Olympic barbell (44 lbs in weight) watch the video below.
For a visual of how a military press works using dumbbells, watch the video below.
For a minds eye point of view, pay attention to the following. The idea is to perform the lift with your arms spread out wide starting with a 90-degree angle at your elbows. Imagine you are performing this overhead style lift with a wall right in front of your face. Your chest and arms should lay flat along the plane that this imaginary wall defines. When you lift the weight overhead, your arms will more or less go straight riding along the plan. Be careful though. Locking out of the elbows will transfer a lot of load to the shoulder joint, which is not so great for its longevity. So, I suggest pressing upwards as far as you can while still keeping a slight bend to your elbows. This will allow your arms to absorb any shock endured during the lift for whatever reason. From here, slowly lower the weight, again riding along this imaginary wall, until your elbows go roughly at 90 degrees (which will bring the weight to about chin level).
In the past, when suggesting a target load for a lift, I've suggested starting out at a body weight figure. However, with a military press I am going to diverge from this slightly. Why? Well, because a military press for one's body weight is actually quite difficult. Especially for reps. Rather, what I think is more doable is to have, say, 70-75% of your body weight as a long term target goal. If your new to a military press, start out with a 50% target and go from there.
Target workload, 3-4 set of 5-7 repetitions each.
And there you have it. Yet another weight training exercise that will yield WAY more benefits to your physical health and conditioning juxtaposed to the time and effort needed to execute it. This is what weight training is all about after all...!
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