The 30 best shoulder exercises

The Shoulder is a muscle group that is not only significant from a visual point of view, but also plays an important role in the performance of the entire body. In order to make your shoulder training as effective as possible, we would like to introduce you to the 30 best shoulder exercises below.

Exercise 1 - Military Press
Stand about shoulder width in front of a power rack that you have previously equipped with a barbell. Now grasp the bar at about shoulder width in an overhand grip and place it below the collarbone on the chest muscles. Then press the weight up and slowly release it. Make sure you don't fully extend your elbows, however, as this puts unnecessary strain on your joints.

Exercise 2 - Standing Side Lift with Dumbbells
Take two dumbbells and stand upright in front of a mirror so that you can constantly check the shape of the exercise and adjust it if necessary. While you now move your arms sideways upwards until a slight V is formed between your upper body and arms, you should make sure that you do not work with momentum, as otherwise your shoulders will only be suboptimally loaded.

Exercise 3 - Face Pull
Lock the cable pulley at about the height of your forehead and attach a straight grip bar to it. Now grasp the end of the bar with both hands in an overhand grip and take a step back. Then slowly pull the bar toward your forehead until the iron lightly touches it. Also, make sure that your back remains straight and tense during the exercise to ensure optimal contraction of the posterior shoulder muscles.

Exercise 4 - Upright rowing with barbell
When rowing upright, grasp the barbell bar slightly more than shoulder-width apart in an overhand grip and make sure you have a secure stance with your legs apart. Then slowly move the bar along your upper body to your chin. As you do so, move your elbows outward until they are slightly above your shoulders. For safety reasons, it should be mentioned at this point that the use of momentum during upright rowing is strongly discouraged.

Exercise 5 - Dumbbell cleans in a sitting position
Take two comparatively light dumbbells in an overhand grip and sit on an exercise bench with your upper body slightly bent forward. Now swing your forearm upward by rotating your shoulder muscles and slowly lower the weights again.

Exercise 6 - Trap Raise
The so-called trap raises are performed on an adjustable training bench, the back of which you lock at a 30- to 40-degree angle. Now grab two light dumbbells and lie chest-first on the bench. Then pull your shoulder blades back and lift the weights forward, getting into a sort of superman position. Hold the tension for two to three seconds before returning to the starting position.

Exercise 7 - Clean and Press
This exercise is a combination of the classic clean and the military press. Accordingly, you start in the starting position of the clean and pull the barbell up in a flowing motion. This should be placed on the chest muscles for a moment before you finally push the weight up. Again, make sure that you maintain tension in the muscles and do not fully extend your arms during the pressing motion. Then slowly return to the start position.

Exercise 8 - Upright rowing in wide grip
In principle, this exercise works exactly the same way as the normal upright rowing with the barbell. The only difference is that you grip the bar about fifteen centimeters wider on both sides. As a result, the load focus shifts even more strongly from the trapezius muscle to the shoulder muscles.

Exercise 9 - Side lift with training bands
In terms of the sequence, this exercise is very similar to the variant with dumbbells, so there is hardly any difference in the course of the technical execution. In terms of muscle stress, however, it must be said that the permanent pull of the training bands is effectively noticeable, as the muscles are permanently under tension and have no recovery phase between the individual repetitions.

Exercise 10 - Front lift with training band
Stand with both feet centered on the exercise band and then grasp both ends so that your thumbs point upward. Now pull your arms, which should be stretched during the entire exercise, frontally upwards until your hands are at the level of your shoulders. Now slowly return to the starting position.

Exercise 11 - Forward Bend Side Lift with Training Band
As with the front raises explained earlier, stand in the center of the exercise band. Grasp both ends in a comb grip so that your palms are parallel to each other. Now bend your upper body forward about 45 degrees and your arms up to the sides. Perform the movement slowly and without momentum.

Exercise 12 - Face pulls with exercise band
Attach the exercise band to a stable object at head height and thread a non-elastic rope through the free end. Now grab both ends of the rope and step back. Then proceed in the same way as for the face pulls on the cable pulley.

Exercise 13 - Pike push-ups with the suspension trainer
Attach the suspension trainer to a stable object such as a pull-up bar and position your feet in the loops, which should hover a good thirty centimeters above the floor. Now get into the starting position of the push-up and pull your legs until your upper body begins to straighten up and a 90-degree angle is created between your legs and torso. Hold this position briefly and return to the starting position in a controlled manner.

Exercise 14 - Y-Raise with the Suspension Trainer
Take the handle loops of the suspension trainer in your hands and lean your upper body backwards by a good 60 degrees so that you are only standing on your heels. Now tense your arm, shoulder and back muscles and pull your arms upwards so that your body straightens and takes on the shape of a large ypsilon.

Exercise 15 - Rear Delt Raise with the Suspension Trainer
Position yourself as in the Y-Raise. Unlike in this exercise, however, you do not bring your arms upwards, but to the side.

Exercise 16 - Hindu push-up
Start in the classic push-up position, then move your hands back a bit until a 90-degree angle is formed between your thighs and torso. Then walk your legs back and lower your upper body at the same time. Press up from this position and start a new repetition.

Exercise 17 - Pike Press
Get into the push-up position and walk your back so far that your upper body is almost vertical and your arms and back form a straight line. Now lower your body until your head touches the floor and then push yourself back up.

Exercise 18 - Dips
Position your hands behind your back on an exercise bench and place your feet parallel to each other in front of you, creating a 90-degree angle between your upper and lower legs. Now lower your upper body until your butt touches the floor. Then push yourself back up.

Exercise 19 - Plank Walk
You start in the supine position and position your legs about one meter apart. Now lift your left leg and reach over your left with your right hand so that your upper body moves slightly to the side. Now put your leg back on and perform the movement sequence with your right leg to the other side.

Exercise 20 - Shoulder press in hammer grip
Grasp two dumbbells in a hammer grip and assume the starting position by rotating your forearms upward and resting the weights on your front shoulder. Now press the dumbbells upward, making sure they are always parallel to each other.

Exercise 21 - Complex side lift
The basis of this exercise is the traditional lateral raise with dumbbells. Once the dumbbells are at the level of your shoulders, pull your arms forward, hold the position briefly and slowly return to the starting position.

Exercise 22 - Snatch Grip Low Pull
Grasp the barbell slightly more than shoulder width. Now push off the ground with your heels and simultaneously pull the barbell explosively upwards. As soon as the bar reaches your sternum, slow down the movement and hold the position for two to three seconds.

Exercise 23 - Snatch-Grip Shrugg-Pull
This exercise works the same way as the Snatch-Grip Low Pull. The only difference is that instead of the rowing movement you perform an explosive shrugg.

Exercise 24 - Cross lift in the power rack
Adjust the safety bars so that the barbell can be positioned just below your knees. Now grasp the barbell shoulder-width apart and perform the normal deadlift movement from this basic position. In particular, make sure that your back always remains stable.

Exercise 25 - Farmers Walk
Pick up the heaviest dumbbells you can carry and grip them as tightly as you can in a hammer grip. Pull your shoulders back, stick out your chest and walk straight ahead for about twenty steps. If you don't have enough space to do this, you can of course run in a circle.

Exercise 26 - Deadlift with dumbbells
Grab two dumbbells, as heavy as possible, and hold them to the side of your body. Now bend your knees slightly until the dumbbells are just below your knees. From this position, straighten up again and start another repetition.

Exercise 27 - Forward Bend Side Lift with Dumbbells
For this exercise you need two light dumbbells. Take them in a hammer grip and bend your upper body forward until it is almost parallel to the floor. Now pull your stretched arms back and slowly lower them again.
Exercise 28 - Incline Bench Press
Assume the starting position on the incline bench and grip the barbell about shoulder width. Now lower the weight until it touches the lower part of your sternum. Then press the weight back up. Be careful not to push through your elbows.

Exercise 29 - Shoulder press on the machine
As far as the actual execution of the exercise is concerned, not many words need to be said at this point, as this is usually excellently guided by the machine. Nevertheless, you should attach great importance to the fact that the device is optimally adjusted to your body size.

Exercise 30 - Bent-Over Reversefly
This exercise differs from the classic bent-over lateral raise in terms of its movement sequence only due to the fact that the arms are moved a bit further back. The modification of the movement sequence also entails the selection of a somewhat lighter training weight.