Shoulder exercises at home: for pumping up and with dumbbells

Pumping up your shoulders at home is a completely doable task. But to do this, you need to be as focused as possible on your goal. Today there are a million exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles. But, despite this, only a few out of hundreds of thousands of people who want to reach the finish line in the process of their training.

It’s not a matter of difficulty in performing it or poor physical fitness, it’s a matter of determination, patience and the desire to get a beautiful body and strong, pumped-up shoulders.

Anatomy

The anatomy of the shoulder girdle is very extensive and includes many muscles that must be pumped in order to achieve the initial goal. But in addition to muscles, there are other anatomical components, without which the functionality of the shoulder would be impossible.

The golden three include:

Brachial bone.
Spatula.
Collarbone.

An equally important role is played by:

Deltoid.
Shoulder joint.
Sternoclavicular joint.
Acromioclavicular joint.

Additional anatomical components include:

Tendons.
Ligaments.
Nerves.
Skin covering.

Preparation for training

Before you start performing a set of shoulder training exercises, you need to do the best possible warm-up.

The shoulder is a very vulnerable place during the training process, which means that in case of poor warm-up (poor warm-up), the risk of injury increases greatly. Therefore, the warm-up is more important than the workout itself.

To avoid confusion and do everything correctly, the warm-up can be divided into three main parts:

Preparatory part. In this part you need to perform simple movements, such as: stretching, circular movements, raising your arms up and raising your arms to the sides, general exercises.
The main part of the warm-up. In the main part, you need to focus on warming up the body. To do this, you need to perform exercises that will maximize blood circulation and increase your heart rate. This can be arm swings, shoulder circles, rubbing the shoulder girdle (massage) and even jumping. The goal is one - to do everything to warm up.
The final part of the preparation. Smooth transition from warm-up to training process. In this part, you need to perform simple basic exercises that do not require serious physical effort, and also prepare the shoulder part to increase the load on the muscles and joints.

Dumbbell workouts

If you want your shoulders and arms to become expressive, pumped up and acquire the necessary relief, then it is recommended to do exercises with dumbbells at home. But this will require a lot of willpower and motivation. It is also important to monitor your health and eat right. How to pump up your shoulders with dumbbells?

Shoulder training should only be done after warming up. To warm up your shoulder muscles, you should perform the following effective preparatory exercises:

First you need to walk for 10 minutes. While walking, blood circulation accelerates and the body warms up.
Next you need to perform circular movements with your shoulders. This will ensure that the muscles and joints are prepared for the subsequent training program.
After this you need to rest for about a minute. Then you can begin to perform the main complex.

Dumbbell press

The best shoulder exercises with dumbbells involve evenly distributing pressure on the deltoid muscle area. They can be done at home, but dumbbells must be available. How to pump up your shoulders with dumbbells? There is one effective exercise for this.

How to perform seated dumbbell bench press workouts:

To begin with, the initial state is assumed, with the dumbbells positioned at eye level, the elbows in an extended state, the palms in front, and a deflection in the lumbar region.
As soon as you exhale, the dumbbells must be lifted up.
You need to lift the dumbbells until your elbows are fixed, but your elbows do not fully extend.
After a short break, the dumbbells are lowered down.
You need to do 8-12 times in 4 approaches.

Raising dumbbells in front of you

Training - lifting dumbbells in front of you will ensure a uniform increase in muscle mass in the shoulder girdle.

During this workout, a man must do the following:

The initial state is accepted - you need to take dumbbells and stand up straight, arms are extended along the body and palms are turned towards the thighs.
As you exhale, lift the dumbbells to the sides until they are parallel to the floor.
After a short pause, the hands drop down.
This training must be done so that at the top point of the movement the shoulder, elbow and hand are located at the level of one straight line.
Performed 10-12 times in 3 approaches.

Bent over dumbbell swings

You can strengthen and improve the structure of your shoulder muscles with a simple exercise - dumbbell swings. The main thing is to do everything correctly.

The exercise is performed according to the following scheme:

The initial state is accepted - the legs are bent at the knees and placed shoulder-width apart, you also need to bend in the back and lean forward a little. The shoulders drop down and the arms are in a straight position, slightly bent at the elbows.
After this, the arms with dumbbells are spread to the sides until they are parallel to the floor surface.
The elbows are bent, but not too much.
There is a short pause in the upper region.
You need to do this workout 10-12 times in 3 sessions.

Basic recommendations

Shoulder exercises at home can be just as effective as training in the gym under the supervision of a trainer.

But for this you must:

Do a good warm-up.
Stick to a healthy diet.
Do the exercise clearly, from the point of view of the technical component.
Do not stop training under the pretext of laziness or poor health. If this happens, it is better to do a light workout than not do anything at all.
Pay attention to your general well-being, sleep at least 8 hours a day and do not overtrain. The big problem for beginning athletes is overtraining, which immediately throws them off track and prolongs the process of achieving results.

How to swing your shoulders correctly?

Start with light weights and do not immediately grab heavy ones , believing that this way the result will come faster.
Use in training not only the number of repetitions, but also the number of approaches. It is the correct number of approaches performed that determines the quality of the workout.
Alternate muscles. One day do exercises for one muscle, another day for another. This way you give your muscles time to recover and strengthen.
Decide which exercises will be used throughout the training process . Do everything clearly and consistently. You should not jump from one type of exercise to another in the hope of getting results.
Perform the exercises as efficiently as possible without thinking about your own, as this can negatively affect the training process.

How to pump up your shoulders quickly at home?

Eat properly. Proper nutrition is the key to any workout. Eliminate fatty, sweet and spicy foods from your diet. Add more protein foods. During training, a lot of energy will be consumed; foods rich in carbohydrates will help replenish its reserves. These include various types of porridges: buckwheat, oatmeal and others. It is also worth drinking a lot of water. When exercising, a person loses a lot of fluid and to make up for these losses, you need to drink one and a half times more than usual.
Perform sets with a break of 1-2 minutes. During this time, the body has time to rest and prepare for the next approaches. Do 3-4 approaches at a time. What does it mean? For example, we did exercises with dumbbells 10 times and rested for a minute. We did it again 10 times and rested again. And again they did it 10 times - this will be the third approach.
Use exercises such as push-ups in your workout. The peculiarity of this exercise is that it has many types, with which you can train different muscles of the body, including the shoulders.
If you don't have dumbbells and barbells, use improvised means. What matters is not what you load your muscles with, what matters is how you load them. In addition, you can train your shoulders simply on the floor, performing various gymnastic exercises. But it’s better to go out into the yard and do a workout on the horizontal bar.

SportSovety.ru

Many athletes ask how to pump up their shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups, what exercises there are, methods, tips and tricks.
After all, in fact, you can pump up your shoulders both at home and in the gym, it all depends on your desire and aspiration. The higher the desire, the faster you can pump up your shoulders. In the article you will learn how to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups, what you need for this, what set of exercises exist and what to do if you don’t have dumbbells, weights or barbells. After all, there are a lot of other exercises to quickly pump up your shoulders at home. Find out: how to pump up your shoulders at home with dumbbells.

How to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups

The first thing you need to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells with push-ups is to simply set a clear and specific goal for yourself. Take a piece of paper and write down which shoulders you want to build. Next to it, write the exact date by which you want to pump up your shoulders. Find a photo or imagine the shoulders you want to build.

Three times what you need to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups, is to make a clear plan for achieving this goal. In your training plan, write down all the necessary exercises to pump up your shoulders, sets, repetitions and execution time. Find out: how to pump up your shoulders on the horizontal bar.

How to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells - exercises

To pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups, you need to perform these exercises 4 times a week or every day, if you really want to quickly pump up your shoulders. For the first 3-4 days, do not do heavy loads to allow your muscles to rest and get used to the new loads.

Pushups

To pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells with push-ups, you need to do push-ups with a simple, wide and narrow grip. Do 3-4 sets of each type of push-up and 30-50 push-ups. Break maximum 3 minutes between sets. Do push-ups correctly, keeping your back straight and your chest lightly touching the floor and straightening your arms as you lift.

Breath

To pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups, you need to breathe correctly when training. Inhale as you lower and exhale as you rise. Find out: it’s easy for women and men to pump up their shoulders in the gym.

How to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells - recommendations

To pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, do the exercises regularly, without skipping workouts, so you don't have to start all over again. To strengthen and speed up the process, use additional weight. If you don't have dumbbells, replace them with water bottles or a backpack with books.

Also, to pump up your shoulders at home without dumbbells, with push-ups, take care of a regular and proper diet. Eat only healthy, natural foods that contain more vitamins and proteins. Don't overeat, eat: meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, cereals, fruits and vegetables. Drink 2-3 liters of water throughout the day.

How to pump up your shoulders at home with a barbell?

Starting position: standing, feet shoulder-width apart, holding the barbell with both hands. The distance between the hands is 60-70 centimeters, keep your back straight. Raise the bar parallel to the body upward (towards the chin) until the angle at the elbow joint is 90 degrees. Do 3 sets of 7-10 repetitions.
Starting position: standing. Take the barbell and place it behind your head, then push it up. Do 10 repetitions of 3-4 sets. It is also important to remember that your back should be straight and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take the barbell so that it is behind you and stand up. Then lift it up, using the shoulder muscles. It won’t be possible to lift the barbell very high, but this is not the main thing in this exercise. The main thing is to use the muscles of the shoulder girdle when lifting.

How to pump up your shoulders with kettlebells?

With both hands, grasp the weight and lift it. Then place your feet shoulder-width apart and straighten your back. Then, with a sweeping movement, try to throw the weight up until a right angle is formed between the body line and the arms. Do 10-15 times 2-3 approaches. Choose the weight of the kettlebell depending on your physical fitness.
Take the weight in one hand and lift the top (as if placing it on your shoulder). Then calmly (without jerking) push the weight higher and lower it back. You can alternate hands. 5 times with one hand, 5 times with the other. Perform at least 2 sets of 5 times on one arm.
Take the weight in one hand and throw it up to chest level, then lift the weight up with the same hand (as in the previous exercise). Do it 5 times and change the training arm.

So that your shoulders don't hurt. How to properly warm up your deltoids before strength training

Shoulder pain is one of the most common problems among fitness athletes. It makes it difficult to perform bench and standing presses, pull-ups and push-ups - key exercises for muscle growth. Shoulder pain will stop your progress and will most likely put an end to successful training.

How to avoid shoulder pain, pain prevention and proper shoulder warm-up - in the material of “Soviet Sport”.

Why does shoulder pain occur?

Bench press, standing military press, overhead press, pull-ups, push-ups, even biceps curls - all these exercises put stress on the shoulder joint.

Shoulder pain can occur if you neglect to warm up, do movements with poor technique, or increase the weight too quickly. The most common shoulder injuries are: sprains and tears of the shoulder muscles, inflammation of the tendons, bruises, and less commonly, dislocations and fractures.

General warm-up to prevent shoulder pain

“To approach the bench press, which everyone loves to do, without warming up is tantamount to murder!” wrote John McCallum, bodybuilder and powerlifter, author of the bodybuilding manual “Keys to Success” in the mid-20th century. More than 50 years have passed since these lines were written, but their relevance is greater than ever.

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A general warm-up to prevent shoulder pain is needed to improve blood circulation, increase mobility and elasticity of joints and ligaments. The general warm-up includes the following warm-up exercises for the shoulders:

- swing your arms to the sides. We spread our straight arms to the sides - we begin to make circular movements with a small amplitude, gradually increasing it. Do it 10-15 times;

- circular movements in the wrist joints. We spread our arms to the sides, make circular movements with the brush - clockwise and back. 10-15 repetitions in each direction;

- circular movements in the shoulder joints. The hands touch the shoulders - we begin to make circular movements with the shoulders back and forth (10-15 times in each direction);

- shoulder lift. We lower our hands freely down. Raise your shoulders as high as possible and lower them, 10 times:

- bent over arms. We lean forward, moving the pelvis away. We hold our arms straight in front of us. As you exhale, we spread our arms to the sides, while inhaling, we bring them together in front of us.

- stretching exercises. We place our hand behind our head, with our elbow pointing upward. Gently press on the elbow with the other hand, feeling the stretch in the shoulder joint. Repeat 7-8 times, then change hands. Upon completion, place the left hand behind the head on the right - the elbow points forward. Lightly press on it with the other hand 7-8 times. We change hands. Stretching exercises should not cause pain.

Special shoulder warm-up before bench press and military press

Powerlifter, world record holder and founder of the Juggernaut training system, Chad Wesley Smith, advises doing a set of special exercises to warm up your shoulders before bench press and military press. For this warm-up you will need a pair of light dumbbells or weights (in the range of 1.5-3 kg), a rubber band (or a gymnastic stick, or a light barbell - 5-7 kg).

Start your warm-up with exercises with a gymnastic stick. Grab it with the widest possible grip - without bending your arms, lift the stick above your head and try to bring it behind your back as much as you can. Repeat the movement 8-10 times.

Take a tourniquet or a pair of light dumbbells. Stretch your arms in front of you - spread them to the sides without bending your elbows. 8-10 repetitions.

Holding a pair of light dumbbells, bend your elbows, keeping your elbows close to your torso. Raise your forearms with dumbbells to the sides, trying to keep your elbows still. 2-3 easy sets of 8-12 reps.

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We raise our arms with dumbbells up - as in the initial position when doing a standing dumbbell press (just hold them a little higher: the triceps are parallel to the floor). As you inhale, lower your forearms down, and as you exhale, return them to the starting position. Repeat 10-12 times.

We place the hand with the dumbbell behind our back. We try to smoothly lift it behind our back as high as possible, then lower it. Repeat with the other hand.

Other tips for preventing shoulder pain

— start doing basic exercises (bench press, standing press) with light weights. We do 2-3 warm-up approaches before moving on to the working weight;

- Avoid bench presses while standing (sitting) from behind your head. This exercise has a high risk of injury. It forces the shoulder joints into unusual angles;

— increase the working weights in basic exercises gradually. The increment to the bench press should not exceed 5 kg (even better - 2.5 kg). The step in adding to the standing press is no more than 2.5 kg (preferably up to 2 kg);

- Consult a doctor if the pain does not go away and becomes chronic.

How to build broad shoulders with dumbbells?

Raising your arms to the sides. Hold dumbbells in both hands. Choose weight individually, taking into account personal physical fitness. At the same time, spread the dumbbells to the sides and slowly lower them down. Perform the exercise 4 sets of 5-8 times. As your physical condition improves, you can remain in a static position for some time, with your arms outstretched at an angle of 90 degrees.
Starting position: sitting on a stool or bed. Dumbbells in hands. Simultaneously lift the dumbbells up and then lower them to shoulder level. It is important that the movements are as smooth as possible without jerking. Do at least three approaches 5-10 times.
Variable lifting of dumbbells in the starting position while sitting. Do the same as in the previous exercise, but alternately. First, lift the dumbbell in your right hand, then, when it comes down, lift the dumbbell in your left hand. Continue doing the exercise until fatigue sets in or mild muscle pain appears. It is important not to bring yourself to a state where it is impossible to endure pain and stop in time. On average, this will be 4 sets of 15 times on each arm. You need to determine the weight yourself, but on average it is 5-10 kilograms, perhaps less.

Valuable comments

Now some tips on how to do arm and shoulder exercises as effectively as possible.

Dumbbell press

If you know your max when benching dumbbells or barbells, go for 60% in 1 set, 65% in 2 sets, 70% in 3 sets, and gradually increase your strength. If you cannot yet calculate your capabilities, then refer to your maximum bench press calculator.

But this is not a prerequisite, do what you feel comfortable with. To make the bench press easier, you should first bend your knees slightly, literally 8 cm, and then sharply lift the dumbbells above your head. If you have a powerlifting belt, I highly recommend using it in your training.

Keep your little fingers just above the level of your thumbs on the dumbbells, and don't lock your elbows. Since this is a compound exercise, try to perform it correctly so that all muscle groups receive the necessary load. Take a rest between sets: two minutes will be enough.

How to pump up your shoulders with push-ups?

Non-standard push-up "house". This push-up differs from the standard one in that you need to keep your butt as high as possible. Your feet should be closer to your hands. Because of its starting position, the exercise is called a “house”. Next, you need to do everything the same as in a regular push-up - rise and fall, applying the efforts of your arms and shoulders.
Push-ups while standing on your hands. The most effective type of push-up for training your shoulders. But this method is suitable only for those who are good at doing push-ups in the usual way, since the load on the muscles in a standing position increases several times. Thanks to this, the effect of hand push-ups becomes much more noticeable. In order to perform this type of push-up, it is not necessary to devote a lot of time just to learn how to stand on your hands. All you have to do is go to the wall and use it as a support.
Narrow push-ups. In order to increase the load on your shoulders, you just need to change the position of your hands. Place your palms as close to each other as possible and begin doing regular push-ups.

What are the benefits of supersets for training small muscle groups?

Any workout for arms and shoulders is the work of small or short muscle groups, which include both. And muscles of this type are very well worked out by supersets. Supersets are especially good for opposing antagonist muscles (such as biceps and triceps).

Necessary clarification: a superset is the joint performance of 2 different exercises, alternating approaches, and without rest between these approaches.

The point is that small muscle groups contract during exercise without the need for significant energy expenditure, and do not cause the athlete to quickly run out of energy. Therefore, you can alternate approaches without rest, ensuring the greatest blood flow to the working areas and their best development. This is exactly what is called a “maximum pump”, and which is difficult to achieve on large or “long” muscle groups, but more than possible for the arms and shoulders.

Another important principle of competent loading of these muscles is static dynamic training. Details below.

How to pump up your shoulders on the horizontal bar?

Pull-up by the head with a wide grip. To perform this type of exercise, you will need to take the bar with the widest grip possible. Then begin the process of pulling up, but not as in the classic style (when the chin goes over the bar). Here you need the bar to touch your neck and go behind your head, and your legs to be straight and not intertwined, as many athletes often do.
Close grip pull-up. It is performed like a regular pull-up on a horizontal bar, but the grip is made as narrow as possible. The legs should remain straight. Close-grip pull-ups are best done slowly without jerking.
Performing “exit” on one and two hands. The exercise is not easy, but it helps to pump up your shoulders well. Success in this exercise largely depends on muscle strength and general physical condition. But it is also important to know the technique of execution, thanks to which the exercise will bring maximum effect.
You need to grab the bar with an overhand grip. The distance between the hands is slightly more than shoulder width. Do a pull-up. But in this case, the pull-up should be very sharp, with a jerk: this will help to overcome the obstacle (crossbar) and rise higher. Using maximum effort, push yourself up (do it with a jerk).

Program for shoulders and arms - supersets

In order to achieve impressive results in the development of arms and shoulders, you need to train with high intensity and isolated load. A good solution is a superset on the shoulders and arms. This is a specially selected set of exercises to be performed in an intensive mode, alternating sets of one and two exercises.

When performing supersets on these muscle groups, you should pay special attention to the technicality of the movements. You shouldn’t chase heavy weights during supersets. This not only affects technique, but also involves other muscle groups, and also increases the possibility of microtrauma and sprains.

As noted, when organizing training with supersets, it makes sense to use static dynamics for the best muscle development. Namely: special attention should be paid not so much to the maximum amplitude of movements, but to:

make sure that the muscles are constantly tense during each repetition;
upon reaching peak contraction, hold for a few seconds;
Perform movements slowly, without jerking; extension muscles are noticeably slower than flexion muscles.

Let us emphasize: a training program with supersets for arms and shoulders does not involve the use of extreme weights.

Proven and effective shoulder exercises combine perfectly with traditional arm exercises. Therefore, joint training on shoulders and arms brings guaranteed results.

How to pump up your shoulders in the gym?

A large number of sports equipment, which are present in any gym, provides additional opportunities for pumping up not only the shoulders, but also other muscles.

The main thing in these huge opportunities is to make the right choice and create the right training plan. And a trainer, who is also in the gym, can help with this. In addition, you can pump up your shoulders in the gym with simple basic exercises that can be performed at home.

The advantage of the gym is increased motivation. If at home you can be lazy somewhere, somewhere you don’t want to do it, then in the gym people are looking at you, the trainer is watching, and it will simply be a shame not to complete the required exercise.

Dietary recommendations

To train your shoulders, you need not only to do exercises, but also to eat right:

In addition to cereals, vegetables, fruits and foods rich in protein, the diet should contain meat. It is best to use lean varieties such as chicken. But special attention should be paid to preparation.
Under no circumstances should you eat fried food, which not only loses its beneficial properties, but also acquires many harmful properties. Therefore, it is best to cook either steamed or boiled. In this case, neither meat nor other food will become “harmful”, but the beneficial properties will remain.
As for liquid, you need to drink at least two liters per day. And if the training process is quite labor-intensive, then the amount of water you drink needs to be increased in order to replenish the body’s water reserves. If you limit yourself to water, your health will begin to deteriorate, fatigue will appear, and the training process will become ineffective.

Alexandrova Anastasia

Nutrition and healthy lifestyle specialist and author of myfitnesblog.com. For many years, she has successfully helped women and men lose weight and maintain a beautiful figure.