If you have been looking to find yourself a workout that is going to really work out your shoulders, then there is nothing that says you need to be hitting the gym on a daily basis. There are plenty of people who think that using your own body weight is a better resistance workout than trying to figure out just how many metal plates strikes the perfect balance between not enough and too much. Now that you know that bodyweight exercises for shoulders is the best approach to go with, you need to figure out just what ones are going to be the best to give you the results you are looking for.
Cat/Cow
Those who have looked at Yoga are going to recognize this as one of those great bodyweight exercises for shoulders. Not only is this going to strengthen those shoulders but you will also be getting better flexibility in your back. The way you pull this one off is by starting on all fours. You’ll want to have your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees flat on the ground. As you draw in breath, you are going to want to drop you chest towards the ground and then you want to push your hips and shoulder blades both back. After you have your shoulders and hips back, push your chest forward and lift your chin towards the ceiling. Continue this motion as often as you can hold the pose. You will find that eventually you will have quite a tug on those shoulders and your back. You don’t want to strain them, but this is how you know you are doing the move correctly.
Hand Walk
When you are doing these, you will be able to lengthen your hamstrings and calves, giving you more flexibility. You will then be able to also strengthen up your shoulders as they are taking the brunt of this workout. You start out by standing up and straighten your legs and have your hands on the floor. You will then want to start slowly and carefully walking your hands out away from your body. Then you walk your hands back to your body, all while making sure you are keeping your legs straight. The best way to go about this, especially when you are starting out, is to do two sets of 10 reps and have about 30-45 seconds in between the sets.
Pull-Ups
This is the kind of exercise you are going to find on a ton of different lists mainly because it works so many parts of your upper body. Yes, this one is going to work your arms and your chest, but if you do it just right, you are going to feel quite a bit of work on the shoulders as well. The key to this one is that when you are pulling yourself up you also need to shift your shoulder blades backwards. You then need to shift them slightly downwards. Even if you don’t master this move the first time you try it, the body weight that is hanging off the bar is going to give your shoulders a bit of a workout. It’s just that shifting your shoulders will more efficiently focus the bodyweight on that body part.
Plank
The Plank is one of those workouts that is usally thought of as being something that is only going to work the abs. Like most of the other bits on this list, the fact is that you are going to be working several different parts of your body and you can find a way to make sure that the parts that are included are also your shoulders. In order to do the one that will really focus on your shoulders, you should start off in the regular pushup position. Instead of having your palms flat on the ground, you are going to want to be putting the weight on your forearms. The elbows should be lined up so they are directly under your shoulders. Then get the lower half of your body on the tips of your toes and stay that way as long as you can. When you are starting out, you should be shooting for one minute. If you can’t go any longer than that, relax rest for about 30 seconds and then try again. This is one of those that on the second go, you are going to be quite surprised at just how much you are feeling it in your shoulders.
Decline Push-Up
Push-ups in general are going to give you a pretty good shoulder workout, but this one in particular is going to focus on those shoulders. You start out with your feet actually above your head. You can use a bench, a chair, or a workout box if you have one. The key is that you should have enough height on the back end that your entire body is basically sloping down towards the ground, rather than being horizontal with it. Push up your upper body like you would any other pushup. This one is designed to especially work your shoulder muscles as you strive to get your body to be one height.
Wall Handstand
This is one of those that you will only be able to do if you can do a handstand but the reason why this is going to be working your shoulders so well is rather obvious, as you are putting all of your weight on those shoulders. By using the wall, you aren’t putting all of your weight on your shoulders in a way that is going to be unhealthy. Obviously you don’t want to be doing this for long minutes at a time, but you can also make sure you lean your feet back on the wall so that you can easily push off when you are done. If you start feeling comfortable enough, you can even do a kind of upside down pushup to really give those shoulders an extra little jolt.
