What are the 5 shoulder exercises for Beginners? Front Raises This is often one of the most excellent shoulder workouts for targeting your front deltoids. Grab a dumbbell with similar weight as the lateral raises. Rather than holding the dumbbells by your side, hold them before you. Now swing your arms one by one so the dumbbell is at eye level. Again, stand shoulder width apart and squeeze your glutes. This will help you control the weights better and avoid injury. Lateral Raises Get a pair of dumbbells, not too heavy but sufficient so that you just feel a burn after 12-15 reps. Stand shoulder width apart and squeeze your glutes. Holding one dumbbell in each hand by your side, start to raise both arms so your body makes a “T” shape. Next, bring both arms back down to your side with control. Note, your arms shouldn’t be flawlessly by your side after you lift them. They should be very exceptionally marginally before you since typically normally how our arms are built to move. Overhead Presses Contrary to popular belief, lifting weights doesn’t stunt your growth. However, lifting heavy weights above your head can lead to the long term compression of your spine. So keep that in mind when choosing a weight that’s right for you. Overhead presses are a good shoulder exercise for anyone trying to grow their deltoids. There are a few variations of these presses that will be discussed below. I’m including all of them because I have found that each one feels like a completely different workout. Reverse Machine Flys If you have a chest fly machine at your gym, it most likely has a feature that turns it backwards for shoulder exercise. This is especially good for training your rear deltoids, which some people do on back day. Adjust the seat so that your shoulders align straight with the machine’s handles. Set a decent weight since you won’t be lifting directly above your head. With a straight posture, bring the machine back slightly further than by your side. When you come back, make sure you’re not just letting the weight go. Focus on controlling the weight because the way back is usually better than the actual lift itself. This is called eccentric contraction if you are interested in learning more about it! Cable Raises Similar to the lateral and front raises, you will be performing the same motion, but with cables. This adds more tension, but also more control to the shoulder training. Find a cable machine, add the single handle attachment to one side of the machine and bring it all the way down to the floor. From there, choose a weight similar to the dumbbells you used earlier (or lighter). Lift the cable and stand facing away from the machine. Bring the cable up from behind you and squeeze your shoulders at the top of the rep. You can do a mix of lateral and front shoulder workouts or just one if you’d prefer. Really focus on that tension at the top of your lift to get the most out of your workout.