Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Weekly Bodybuilding Workouts, Shoulders

By Ricardo d Argence

One important part of bodybuilding is the development of the shoulders. You will look great just standing there, and you will look even better when you strike a double-back bicep pose. If you develop your side deltoids in proportion to the biceps, the arms and biceps look large and well defined.

Your shoulder is composed by the posterior, medial, and anterior deltoid muscles. If you include the entire shoulder girdle, then it also consists of the muscles of the rotator cuff and the upper trapezius.

To the back, side, or front of the humerus, the deep rotator cuff muscles connect several parts of the thoracic region. Upper trapezius muscles are the muscles that run from the back of the neck; extend to the medial deltoid, then downward to intersect with the middle trapezius. Going further back on the shoulder, below the lower portion of the upper trapezius, is the posterior deltoid muscle. The outer section of the shoulder is the location of the medial deltoid, while the anterior deltoid muscle is apparent on the exterior of the pectoral muscles.

When lifting the arm, each shoulder performs a different, and specific, function. The anterior deltoid is responsible for bringing the arm forward, inward and for rotating the arm. The medial deltoid allows the arm to move away from the side. When the arm goes back the posterior deltoid will come into play. When the scapula is moved upward toward the ears, like shrugging your shoulders, the upper trapezius muscle does the job. Finally, the rotator cuff muscles secure the arm as it moves and permit its rotation.

To build up the shoulder muscles, exercises such as the military press, Arnold press, lateral raises (bent-over, lying, or standard), and neck/behind-the neck presses, should be performed. Rowing in an upright position as well as while bent over will facilitate building the shoulder area to dramatic size.

Indicative to building massive shoulders is the knowlege of how they work and are kept healthy. Injuries can quickly slam the brakes on any progress you are making, so take extra care to avoid them. One of the most common injuries is to the rotator cuff muscles. Rotator cuff muscles are not particularly large or strong muscles. Try to prevent injuries by including some band work into your shoulder exercises.

To minimize injuries be sure that you are using the right amount of weight. You should be able to have control of the weight through the entire movement. If you find that you can only do partial reps or you need to shift the weight around, then the weight is too heavy. Using too much weight puts too much stress on the shoulder and is likely to cause injury. Be sure that you can maintain the proper technique and use the full range of motion before increasing the weight.

Even if developing your shoulders muscles can be a very difficult task, you'll see that results are really worth the effort. Experimentation and determination is important, since everybody's body will develop at a different rate. - 16752

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