Written by Travis Halena | ACSM CPT
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
Nothing inspires more confidence than a beautifully sculpted set of shoulders. And while the magically-toned shoulder look is worth its weight in gold, crafting strong shoulders is also essential for your overall health and functionality.
The shoulder is a complex ball and socket joint, and when properly trained, ensures the muscles work together like a symphony, creating beautiful music and movement. But when neglected, everyday tasks can become harder and potential injury may ensue.
Unlike other muscle groups, the shoulders don’t necessarily need to be beaten into submission with heavy weights, big compound movements, and intense gym sessions. The road map to toned and robust shoulders is a more delicate path that requires precision and planning.
Don't worry. We'll provide you with the proper directions for a successful shoulder training journey.
This article will discuss:
- Anatomy of the shoulders
- Best shoulder exercises for women
- Programming tips for a shoulder workout for women
- Best gym and at-home shoulder workouts for women
- Answers to frequently asked shoulder-training questions
Anatomy of the Shoulders
Shaped like a triangle and named after the greek letter delta, the shoulders, also referred to as deltoids or delts, sit on the top of your arm. The shoulder heads originate in several spots, including the collarbone, acromion, and shoulder blade, and insert into the humerus bone.
Each deltoid has three separate heads, which is why you often hear the term 3D shoulders to describe someone with well-built deltoids. When you focus on building muscle evenly between the three heads, it gives a three-dimensional look that can turn an average physique into an exceptional one, no matter your goals.
In addition, you'll also work your rotator cuff muscles, which include the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis, during shoulder workouts. These muscles are essential for overall shoulder health and stability.
Another thing to keep in mind during your shoulder-training journey: Pressing movements are not enough to hit all three heads of the shoulder. Think of them as three separate sculptures that require different chisels and tools to be properly molded.
Here's a closer look at the three shoulder heads.
Anterior deltoid:
This shoulder head is on the front of your body next to the pectoral muscles. It is responsible for flexing the shoulder, which means it raises the arm in front of your body and assists the chest muscles and lats with internal rotation. Anterior delt exercises involve pressing movements and front raises.
The front shoulder muscle is commonly overtrained in lifters who focus too much on bench pressing, push-ups, or shoulder presses for shoulder development. Due to its role in internal rotation, if the shoulder heads are not trained evenly, this can lead to shoulder impingement, injury, and pain. This is a good starting point for understanding that pressing is not enough for complete shoulder development.
Lateral deltoid:
This head sits on the side of the shoulder and, when trained correctly, is most responsible for the term "capped delts" that so many lifters strive for. Its primary function is shoulder abduction, which means raising your arms to your sides such as in the ever-popular lateral raise exercise.
Lateral delts can be a bit more stubborn to grow, especially if your form is sloppy. The front delt and even the traps will start to take over and do the work, so it’s important to go slow and focus on the movement. Ego-lifting during lateral raises and relying on momentum is not going to get the job done.
Lateral delts and their slow twitch muscle fibers prefer higher rep ranges. When performing lateral deltoid exercises, it’s important to go slow and embrace the shoulder burn.
Posterior deltoid:
The rear delts are the red-headed stepchild of the shoulder muscles, as they are not seen directly in the mirror. Even so, they are essential for sculpted shoulders and ensuring you stay injury-free with excellent posture.
Its principal function is shoulder extension, meaning pulling your arms backward and bringing your shoulder blades together. The rear delts also play a massive role in external rotation, which is hugely important for countering the slouched forward internal rotation we can develop as many of us sit at desks and on computers for a good portion of the day.
Remember one of the commandments of lifting when performing rear delt exercises. Your backside pulling muscles need to be strong enough to support your frontside muscles. Rear delts love slow, controlled higher reps during exercises such as rear delt flies. Strengthening them helps posture and stability during big movements like shoulder presses and bench presses.
Why Should Women Build Their Shoulder Muscles?
Strong shoulders and sculpted upper arms are the best accessories you can have, whether on the beach, rocking a tank top as you pick up the kids from school, or wearing a little black dress to an important event. Defined shoulders are the perfect business card for showcasing all the hard work you have put in at the gym.
This doesn’t mean you have to build massive broad hulking shoulders. It also doesn’t mean you have to bench press or military press as much weight as possible. Shoulders require a science-based routine that takes some planning and precision. It takes work, but once you achieve them, it truly makes your success all the sweeter.
In addition to looking awesome, there are three crucial health benefits that come from training your shoulders.
1. Shoulder exercises Improve Your Posture and confidence:
Research shows that stronger shoulders boost your self-esteem1. Strong shoulder muscles help you stand tall and proud and carry yourself confidently, whereas slumped shoulders make you look defeated. And when you look defeated, you can just as easily feel defeated.
Getting stronger will boost your confidence, empowering you both in and out of the gym. You also won't get neck and upper back pain that typically comes with hunched over shoulders.
And if you do still have lingering tension, try these massage ball movements to relieve your neck and shoulder pain.
2. Shoulder exercises are great for Injury prevention:
The shoulder is a very complex joint responsible for a huge range of motion, and it affects the entire upper body. This is also why shoulder injuries are among the most common, both for gym goers and those who don't work out. Women, more so than men, tend to be more hyper-mobile, meaning you may be extra flexible in certain joints, like the shoulder joint.
This can be a blessing and a curse because although it’s impressive to be bendy, flexible, and have an enormous range of motion, your muscles need to be strong enough to support you in those positions.
Your shoulders help you carry heavy things, like groceries, kids, and oftentimes, both at the same time. They also assist with reaching for things in awkward positions, like getting something down off of a shelf or throwing a ball for your dog. And they are especially important if you are playing any sports competitively or even on the weekend for fun.
You need to strengthen all three heads of your shoulders to avoid any injuries, no matter who you are or what you're doing.
3. Delt Exercises Increase Your Strength:
To go along with the confidence portion, there are few things sweeter for a lifter as getting your first pull-up, setting a deadlift or bench press PR, or just seeing those shoulders pop in the mirror during your lateral raises.
Strengthening your shoulders will directly carry over into your strength exercises.
How Can a Woman Train Her Shoulders?
Remember, training shoulders and lifting weights does not mean you need to throw around powerlifting-type weights. If you like pressing, you can certainly add them to your routine, but the best strategy for women is to target each head of the shoulder one at a time, starting from back to front.
Also, remember that your shoulders like higher reps and a profound mind-muscle connection while performing slow and controlled movements.
So what exercises should you do? Let’s get to them!
8 Best Shoulder Exercises For Women
The wait is over! We're about to get into the best shoulder exercises for women and how to incorporate them into a workout program. Prepare to feel that shoulder and upper arm burn.
1. IYT Shoulder Raise:
Bodyweight shoulder exercises are great, and the IYT is proof of this. Starting your workout by hitting the often neglected rear delts provides them with the extra attention they need. This is a great warmup exercise for your shoulders and postural muscles of your upper back as well.
Start by lying on the ground with your arms straight in front of you like you are making an I with your body. Have your legs straight on the ground. Keep looking at the ground and lift your upper body slightly off the floor.
Pull your elbows back like you are trying to touch them behind your back, and straighten them out again for the indicated reps without dropping to the floor. Do the same motion making a Y next and a T straight out to the sides. Return to an I position, and repeat.
2. Bent-Over rear delt flies:
This is our first weighted exercise targeting the posterior deltoids. Holding your dumbbells, hinge at the waist so your upper body is parallel to the floor. Keep your arms straight and palms down, and slowly take your arms straight out to the sides, making a T.
Slowly lower them down under control resisting the motion. Pro-tip: Keep your hands as tight as possible on the dumbbells to ensure your arms stay straight.
Looking for a variation of this move to try at the gym? Give the cable rear delt fly a shot.
3. Leaning Cable Lateral Raise:
This exercise targets the lateral deltoids and gives increased time under tension with the setup and use of the cable.
Take a step in as close to the cable machine as you can, with feet shoulder width apart. With your left hand, grab the column so you can lean off to the side at a 45-degree angle with your body.
Starting with your right arm across your body (not right at your side) for a bigger range of motion, slowly raise your arm to the side until it’s in line with your right shoulder at the top. Slowly lower your arm back down, controlling the weight back to the starting position. Repeat. Once you've finished your reps, switch sides to work the left shoulder.
4. Cable Front Raise:
The anterior delts are up next. You can perform this move with dumbbells or a resistance band, but we like the cable machine as it keeps tension in the correct areas during the movement.
Attach the bar attachment to the machine, and then face away from it, straddling the cable with both legs. With the cable running through your legs, hold the bar with an overhand grip in front of your thighs. Slowly raise the bar up to chin level, and then lower down. Repeat.
5. Arnold Press:
The Arnold press is a shoulder press variation that targets all three of the heads, making it an essential move to keep in your shoulder workout arsenal.
Start in a seated position holding dumbbells in front of your chin, above shoulder height, with palms facing your face. Slowly turn your hands forward as you bring your arms around into a regular shoulder press position and press the weights overhead.
Once you have your arms extended, lower them down the same way, finishing with your hands in front of your chin again. This should all occur in a smooth rotating movement.
6. Dumbbell Overhead Press:
The overhead press will be the most strength-oriented movement, primarily targeting the anterior delts.
Start standing with knees slightly bent, dumbbells in each hand, and your arms at a 90-degree angle at the sides of your head. Keep your butt and core tight and press the weights overhead until they almost touch together at the top. Lower and repeat.
You can also use a barbell for this move in place of dumbbells.
7. Dumbbell Lateral Raises:
This is another great at-home variation to target your lateral delts.
To perform, start standing with a slight bend in your knees and dumbbells in each hand. Slowly raise the dumbbells until you have made a T with your body. Imagine you are stretching them out and away from your body like Stretch Armstrong.
Remember, a slow controlled tempo works best so the other shoulder muscles don’t take over. Try a tempo of 3 seconds up, pause for 3, and down for 3.
8. Dumbbell Front Raises:
The at-home variation of the front raise hits your anterior delts. To begin, start standing with your dumbbells in front of your legs, facing your thighs. Slowly raise the dumbbells to shoulder height, so your palms are facing down, without leaning back. Lower and repeat.
Programming Tips For Shoulder Workouts For Women
When hitting each shoulder head, it’s important to control your weight, especially when targeting higher reps, which the shoulders tend to prefer. In the workout below, use a challenging weight but not overly challenging to the point that momentum takes over. You should still emphasize progressive overload week to week.
For the at-home workout superset, perform a set of IYTs, moving directly into push-ups until failure. Take a brief break before performing another round.
You can continue using this workout for as long as you'd like, as long as you keep progressing week to week. If your progress has stalled after 8-12 weeks, consider switching the routine up by using different variations of the moves we highlighted.
If it’s too much volume in the beginning, drop a set or two to start, and then slowly add them in as part of your progressive overload plan. Remember, progress can be in the form of more reps or sets, or heavier weights.
Best Shoulder Workout For Women
Searching for a shoulder workout that will sculpt your shoulders? Look no further. We've provided you with a gym version and an at-home one. If you like the gym routine but want to turn it into an at-home variation, simply replace the cable machines with dumbbells or a resistance band.
Gym Shoulder Workout:
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
|
IYTs |
1 |
12 |
|
Bent-Over Rear Delt Fly |
3 |
12-15 |
|
Leaning Cable Lateral Raise |
3 |
8-10 |
|
Cable Front Raise |
3 |
10-12 |
|
Arnold Press |
2 |
12-15 |
|
Standing DB Overhead Press |
2 |
8-10 |
At-Home Shoulder Workout:
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
|
Bent Over Rear Delt Fly |
3 |
12-15 |
|
DB Lateral Raise (slow tempo) |
3 |
10-12 |
|
DB Front Raise |
3 |
10-12 |
|
Arnold Press |
3 |
15-20 |
|
Superset: Prone IYTs followed by Push-Ups |
2 |
10/Fail |
FAQs
Lingering questions on weight training for your shoulders? We've got your answers here.
Should females train shoulders?
Yes, everyone should train shoulders.
How long does it take women to build shoulders?
If you train consistently with the correct programming, you can see results in as little as 6-8 weeks, depending on your starting level.
What causes broad shoulders in females?
This is somewhat genetics and somewhat training style/goals. Most women are not eating massive amounts to gain as much muscle as possible; however, if you are a bodybuilder, a slim waist, solid V taper, and fantastic lateral delts can lead to this appearance.
If you have broad shoulders but aren't happy with them, check out our guide on reducing broad shoulders.
What shoulder exercise is most effective?
If we had to pick one, the Arnold press is fantastic as it heads several muscle heads. The longer answer is that a shoulder workout targeting each head is the most effective, and it’s not just one exercise.
Women's Shoulder Workouts: The Secret to Improved Aesthetics and Health
By now, you should feel inspired and ready to hit the gym for some serious shoulder work. Make sure to train them appropriately, following our workouts and programming suggestions to achieve muscle hypertrophy.
It's time to get out there, build those shoulders, and walk tall and confident, knowing you have a pair of seriously sculpted (and fully functioning!) shoulders.
And while you're working on your shoulders, make sure you also give your pectoral muscles some love by including a weekly chest workout. Or, you can even combine the two into an upper body workout. You've got plenty of workout split options - just make sure to pick one!
Related:
- The Best Arm Workouts For Women to Build Muscle
- 12 Best Back Exercises Women Can Use to Build Muscle
- What Are The Best Workout Splits For Women?
- The Best Workout Programs For Women
- How To Build Muscle For Women Explained
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
References:
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“APA PsycNet.” Psycnet.apa.org, psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fhea0000146.
Travis Halena
Author