Hi friends!

I hope this finds you all healthy and happy!  I don’t know about all of you, but I am definitely ready for the holidays!  I love this time of year—so many things to be thankful for, fun activities, and Christmas cheer.  It will be 2017 before we know it! Between studying for my upcoming NASM personal training test and decorating our new home, things have been pretty busy.

I wanted to make today’s post about my favorite moves for one of my favorite parts to train.  You may not know this, but your shoulder is an extremely complex joint.  Not only is it connected to several muscles in the arm, chest, neck, and back, but it also houses the rotator cuff!  Your rotator cuff is comprised of four muscles (here’s my NASM studying coming through), the Teres Minor, the Infraspinatus, the Supraspinatus, and the Subscapularis.  These muscles work together to allow for the wide range of motion and movements that make your shoulder so unique.  Your shoulders are utilized in several upper body exercises when you train chest and back, but because of their structural complexity, they are also easily susceptible to injury.

Be careful with your form!   When you’re training shoulders, it’s really important to make sure that you are training all angles of them, the front, rear, and side delts.  Again, this is a complex muscle/joint group!  Broader shoulders also make your waist appear smaller!  A total shortcut to getting every girl’s dream “hourglass” curves!  Here are a few of my go- to moves for awesome shoulders.

• Overhead Dumbbell Shoulder Press: This is the standard shoulder movement in weight training.  To perform this movement, you hold a dumbbell (moderate weight, something you can keep good form with for 12-15 reps) in each hand, and make almost like a field goal with your arms as you extend and press the dumbbells overhead.  Be careful to keep your head up and core tight.  Here is a link from Bodybuilding.com explaining the movement.  You can also do these with a Shoulder Press machine, just make sure you are lined up correctly with it before you begin, and start out a lower weight to make sure you’re using the correct one.

• Lateral Raises: You can do these with dumbbells (my favorite!) or cables. Typically I like to do a lighter weight and go higher in volume.  You can keep a slight bend in the elbow if needed, but don’t bend it too much.  You can also change the tempo to really get a good pump!  I never do shoulders without these!! 

• Angled Shoulder Press: These are super fun! We have a butt blaster machine in our gym that works great for these, but you can also use a barbell for them as well.  They’re easier on the front part of your deltoid muscle (front delt), than a traditional front raise, but are a great finisher, or to do a drop set with.  Here’s a picture. 

• Reverse Peck Deck: Using the pec deck or chest fly machine, face the pad and move the arms out to either side of you, similar to if you were opening a cabinet. You should really feel these at the back of your shoulders.  Keep your head and spine neutral, and don’t lock your elbows.  Start with a lower weight if needed until you get the form figured out.

• Front Raises: Personally, I like to get crazy and superset these with my lateral raises at the end of a shoulder workout.  Go lighter with these, and really focus on NOT swinging your arms to move the weight.  For added benefit, you can pause and squeeze at the top of the movement, or take them really slow.  Those are killer!

There you have it y’all!  Remember, summer bodies are made in the winter!  If you want those hot sexy shoulders come tank top season in a few months, NOW is the time to work on them!  Let me know if you have any questions—I love answering them!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!

Till next time,

-Mere