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Lynne Brick's Fit Tips Archive

Lynne Brick's Fit Tip #31, 2008 — Bolder Shoulder (Part II)

(Please click here to view the video that accompanies this fit tip!)

    Beautifully defined shoulders help to give a feminine shape to a woman's body. In Part I, we discussed "warm-up" moves to prep the shoulder prior to doing any specific shoulder exercises. Focusing on the width and height of the arms, placing the shoulders back and down as well as squeezing the shoulder blades together will help you gain the most out of your shoulder exercises.

    Here are three simple exercises you can do without resistance equipment or with resistance equipment such as dumbbells, tubing or bands to help to shape and define your shoulders.

• Front Raise/ Lateral Raise/ Posterior Raise
  • Front Raise: Start with great posture. Lift one arm or both arms straight forward, no higher than shoulder height. Keep your elbows soft and your wrists straight.
  • Lateral Raise: Start with great posture. Lift one or both arms to your side. The key here is the keep your shoulders retracted (back-down-in) so that your wrists rise slightly higher than your elbows. Lift your arms so that they are slightly forward and not directly at your side. You should be able to see your elbows in your peripheral vision.
  • Posterior Raise: Start with great posture. Lift one or both arms directly behind you, keeping your arms straight.
• Overhead Press
  • Arnold Overhead Press: Start with great posture with your palms facing your shoulders. Press one arm or both arms forward finishing with your palms facing away. Be sure to press your arms slightly forward to prevent stress on your shoulder joint.
  • Create instability by doing this move on a stability ball. That way you will get more value for your exercise time!
• Bent-Over Row
  • Start with great posture. Tip forward from your hip. Squeeze or pinch your shoulder blades together. Gently pull your elbows toward the ceiling. Instead of thinking about lifting your elbows, think of squeezing your back between your shoulder blades. The height of your elbows as not as important as the squeeze between your shoulder blades! (Even in a BodyPump TM class!)

You Go Girl!

Resources:
www.LynneBricks.com
http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/l/blshoulders.htm