There are several basic exercises. These are various presses and thrusts of dumbbells and barbells, lifting dumbbells through the sides in an incline and standing. Each exercise is effective and can be used both separately and in a superset.
Basic exercises
The position of the body at the beginning of the exercise can be either standing or sitting, the back is straight, in the hands of a dumbbell.
Technique: while exhaling, lift the dumbbells through the sides to the shoulder joints. On an inhale, slowly return.
Do not allow full extension of the arm throughout the exercise, keep the elbow joints slightly bent. In order to use the maximum muscle fibers of the deltoid muscle in the work, when performing, the hand must be turned up with the little fingers. This position of the hands will provide a uniform load on both the front bundle of the delta and the middle one.
To diversify the training process, you can change the position of the hand and turn your thumb up. In this case, the load will shift to the front delta beam.
Not the easiest exercise. Throughout the movement, it is necessary to control the position of the back (it should be flat), chest and shoulders (straightened and open). Do not allow dumbbells to be raised above the shoulders, although this option is allowed if you want to include a trapezoid in your work.
The trajectory of movement should be maximum - lifting to shoulder level, lowering to a position where the muscle is still in work and not relaxed. Perform the exercise until a burning sensation in the muscle.
Follow the position of the elbow joint, the movement starts from it. The hand follows after and in the final position is below the elbow.
Rear delta training
Incline dumbbell side raises engage the rear delta and can be done from a standing or sitting position. In a standing position in an inclination, the back muscles are also involved in the work. In the initial sitting position, the work of the deltas is more isolated. This option is more complex and requires maximum concentration of attention when performing it.
Execution technique
Standing in an inclination, the head is raised, while exhaling, raise the dumbbells to the level of the ears. As you inhale, slowly lower your arms down. The technique is similar to the previous exercise and is performed in the same way, but standing in an incline. The thumbs are directed to the floor, the little fingers to the ceiling, to exclude movement in the elbows.
There are many exercises for training the deltoid muscles. Breeding dumbbells while standing or wiring is one of them. Technically, this is a simple movement, but it is often done incorrectly. As a result, a person not only does not get the desired result, but can also injure the shoulder.
Muscle work
In this exercise, the shoulder muscles work in isolation. The main load falls on the middle or lateral bundles of the deltoids. Deltas are small in size, they are easy to injure. Therefore, when performing exercises, it is important to select weights carefully, without undue haste. The correct execution of movements is also a prerequisite.
If you do dumbbell raises while standing or sitting in violation of technique, you will load non-target muscles and increase the risk of tears and sprains.
Shoulder vulnerability
Anyone who has injured the deltoid muscle at least once in their life knows why this can happen. Moreover, there are times when a person warmed up enough, smoothly approached the working weight (for example, in the bench press). And during one of the repetitions I felt pain.
Deltoids are not very well located. When moving, the tendons rub against the bone, gradually erasing their surface. This leads to inflammation of their membranes. Tears occur due to improper technique, poor warm-up and other violations. But inflammation is due to such features of the shoulders.
Breeding dumbbells while standing is also a relatively traumatic element of work with the shoulders. Therefore, technology is put at the forefront.
Another reason that it is the deltoids that are most often injured is their congestion.
When exercising in the hall, deltas work during all barbell and dumbbell presses, breeding at all angles. Therefore, when you pump your chest, your shoulders work. You swing the triceps with the base - they work the same. You do push-ups on the uneven bars or pull yourself up - and then the shoulders turn on. In the first case, of course, more. When pulling up, the posterior bundle of deltoids is involved. In any case, spreading hands on such days is not the best idea.
Delta training rules
In order for the shoulders to serve us longer and better, you need to follow certain recommendations when you are doing a breeding of arms with dumbbells while standing (it is better not to do it while sitting, since the legs in this position will interfere with the dumbbells to be brought together correctly):
- Dose the load. If you had a bench press, wiring and other presses today, you can’t train the front and middle bunch of deltoids.
- If today you did exercises on your back, then you loaded the rear deltoids. Train the front and middle beam if you want to do the deltoid muscles on this particular day.
The best shoulder workout is leg day. On this day, purely legs work, and you can give a complex load to your shoulders, starting from a seated bench press, and ending with standing dumbbell breeding.
Dilution technique
To begin with, let's remember that lifting dumbbells through the sides (wiring) is aimed at strengthening and training the lateral (middle) bundle of deltoids. If you do this exercise incorrectly, the load goes to the front beam. And if it’s completely wrong, then to the rear (you need to try for this).
If performed incorrectly, breeding dumbbells to the sides while standing redistributes the load on the upper part of the trapezius muscles, which is not good. Breeding dumbbells to the sides is an isolated exercise for the lateral bundle of deltas, and nothing else.
Before training, you need to thoroughly warm up the shoulder joints.
The exercise technique is as follows:
- Choose a place in front of the mirror, you will need to stand facing it. Take a small weight - 3-4 kg. Now we will learn how to do dumbbell swings while standing. By the way, the correct name of the exercise is dumbbell breeding through the standing sides, but it is often called both wiring and swings and much more.
- Straighten your shoulders, put your feet hip-width apart. Looking straight into your face in the mirror. Slightly bend your elbows (the angle remains the same throughout the exercise) and lower them to the sides of the body. The hands will come out a little forward, as your elbows are bent.
- Dumbbells should be taken so that the palms are turned towards the body. This is the starting position.
- Now attention: we start the abduction so that the elbows are turned back and up. We raise our hands to parallel with the floor. Some people call this exercise "jugs" because the movement is like pouring water out of jugs. If your elbows are not pointing up, you will not turn your arms so that water pours out of the jugs. Imagine the dumbbells are pitchers.
- Hold this position for 1-2 seconds and lower your arms back.
Repeat abduction with light weight 10-15 times to warm up. Then work with the right weights.
We do the abduction of the arms without jerks, exclusively by the effort of the deltoids, without changing the angle of flexion at the elbow. We stop when the hands reach a line parallel to the floor.
Using one dumbbell
Mahi dumbbells to the sides while standing can be done with one dumbbell. When the second is busy, or there is only one dumbbell with that weight in the gym, the one-arm option will help you out a lot. We recommend that you hold on to some kind of support with your other hand in order to eliminate unnecessary body vibrations.
Side raises of dumbbells with one hand, as well as breeding, are more convenient to do while standing, not sitting.
Exercise features
Here are a few things to keep in mind when including this exercise in your training program:
- Lifting dumbbells to the sides (wiring) is done with a precisely individually selected weight. If the weight is small, you will not get the effect. If it is large, the technique will suffer - you will bend your arms at the elbow even more to make the exercise easier.
- If you raise your arms with dumbbells higher than parallel to the floor, the trapezius muscles are included in the work. Do this if you plan to train trapeze.
- If you swing your arms with your elbows down, the load will be distributed between the front and middle bundles of the deltoids. As a result, you will not pump either one or the second.
- If you swing your arms with cheating, for example, from a jump, there will be no sense either. Damage your tendons faster.
- Raising the arms is done on the exhale, and return to the starting position on the inhale.
- On the last repetition, you can linger at the top point for 5-10 seconds. This will strengthen your shoulders.
- To check the technique of the exercise, do one approach, standing sideways to the mirror. Notice if you are slouching. Is the lower back properly arched?
- For greater efficiency, do not relax the muscles at the bottom point and lower the dumbbells to the hips. Keep them at some distance so that the deltoids do not rest during the exercise.
- There are no hands during supination abduction. Hands are fixed. Only the shoulders work. The hands are slightly lower than the elbows. This position will allow you to “pour the water out of the jugs” at the top.
Basic Mistakes
As soon as people do not swing their arms up and down! Sometimes it looks very ridiculous and funny.
Often, beginners do a dilution of their hands, dropping their elbows down, not realizing that they are pumping at all.
Breeding dumbbells while standing with straight arms is also a serious mistake. The elbow with this technique is subjected to unnecessary stress. It shouldn't be done that way. In this position, it is difficult to control the correct movement of the shoulder.
Lifting dumbbells through the sides with a lot of weight is a common occurrence in any gym. Beginners want to show their best side, as a result of which they break the technique and make it worse.
Therefore, if you feel that something is going wrong and the spread of the arms turns into strange body movements in which you feel everything except deltas, do not hesitate to seek advice from a trainer or a more experienced friend. After all, you came to the hall for strength and health, and not in order to become like a little chicken that wants to fly and flaps its wings.
The exercise develops the middle part of the deltoid muscle, the supraspinatus muscle located under the deltoid muscle, as well as the upper part of the trapezius muscle.
Initial position
Stand straight, straighten your shoulders, back straight, feet shoulder-width apart. Take the dumbbells in your hands with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Lower your arms along the body and slightly bend them at the elbows. There are three options for the position of the hands at the bottom point. In the first version, the hands are located on the sides, in the second, they are located in front of the hips, in the third, the hands are held behind the buttocks. The middle part of the deltoid muscle consists of several bundles converging on the humerus. For a better study of all the beams, it is advisable to change the position of the hands in the initial position (on the sides, behind the buttocks, in front of the hips).
Trajectory
From the bottom point of the arm with dumbbells, you need to raise it slowly, without jerking. There are two options for performing the exercise, which differ in the position of the hands at the top point. The load on the middle bundle of the deltoid muscle is maximum when the dumbbells are parallel to the floor, in this position the deltoid muscle does the main work.
If you raise your arms above your shoulders, then the upper part of the trapezius muscle is included in the work and part of the load is shifted to it. Therefore, if you want to keep the load on the deltoid muscle, the lift should be completed at shoulder level, if you want to use the trapezius muscle, then raise your hands higher to the level of the crown. Pause at the top and slowly lower your arms back to the starting position.
Note
At the beginning of the exercise, resistance to movement is minimal. Gradually it increases to a maximum. It is recommended to use not very large dumbbell weights. This will allow you to perform more precise movements necessary for full impact on the middle part of the deltoid muscle, especially in the initial phase of the exercise.
For greater effectiveness, you should also hold your hands at the top point. If you keep your arms slightly bent at the elbows and wrists all the time, you will achieve a much better effect on the lateral heads of your deltoids. When you lift the dumbbells, rotate your hands so that the little finger at the top of the movement is higher than the thumb. Follow this procedure in reverse when lowering the dumbbells.
If the dumbbells at the moment of movement are exactly on the sides of the body, then the load falls on the middle bundle of the deltoid muscle. If they are in front of the hips, then the front beam is included in the work, and if the lift is due to the buttocks, then the back beam takes on part of the load.
Execution technique
- Stand up straight, holding dumbbells in lowered hands, arms slightly bent at the elbows.
- Raise the dumbbells out to the sides at the same time until they are level with the crown of your head.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells down to the starting position
Lifting dumbbells through the sides refers to exercises aimed at developing the deltoid muscles (shoulder muscles) and allows you to work out their middle bundle in isolation. Let's take a closer look at the anatomy and technique of the exercise.
What muscles work when raising the arms up through the sides?
The deltoid muscles of the shoulder consist of three small bundles: the anterior, middle and posterior deltas. During the dumbbell lifts through the sides, the middle beam is worked out as much as possible, to a slightly lesser extent, the front and back beams are included in the work.
The muscles of the back help to carry out the movement - trapezius, rhomboid and upper posterior dentate.
At the same time, it is necessary to achieve such a technique that the biceps “do not pull” the load on themselves, and all three delta bundles are included in the work.
This exercise improves the mobility of the shoulder blades and shoulder joint. The main thing is to perform it correctly so as not to harm these joints.
In general, the anatomy of this exercise is as follows:
The benefits of exercise
There are not many exercises and activities in everyday life that allow you to work out the middle bundle of the deltoid muscle. There are more exercises that involve the front and rear deltas, and they also help in some exercises that are not directly related to pumping the shoulders. This is due to the peculiarity of the location of the middle delta, which allows this muscle to tense less often, and the load goes to the anterior or posterior bundles. And lifting dumbbells through the sides perfectly works out this area, if done slowly and purposefully.
Performing swings regularly, you can achieve an increase in strength and growth of shoulder muscles, improve flexibility and joint mobility.
Technique for performing dumbbell raises through the sides
Before starting the exercise, it is important to choose the right weight with which you will work. For women who do not pursue the goal of building muscle mass, it is advisable to limit themselves to 3 kg dumbbells (1 kg is suitable for beginners). Men can start with 3 kg and gradually increase the weight of the projectile.
- We take a comfortable stable position: feet shoulder-width apart, socks slightly turned to the sides.
- Dumbbells are best held with a neutral grip, without wrapping the brush in any direction.
- We keep our back straight, hard, the shoulder blades tend to each other.
- Bend your arms slightly at the elbows.
- As you exhale, gently raise your arms with dumbbells up.
- At the top point, the elbows should be in line with the shoulders, and the hands should be slightly below this line.
- As you inhale, lower your arms and repeat the exercise.
- Another breathing option: take a breath, perform a rise on a delay; exhale at the top point and begin to lower our hands down. This type of breathing is usually used by male athletes when working with large weights.
We perform 12-15 times. 4 sets will be enough.
Video: swings, technique for performing dumbbell raises through the sides while standing
During the exercise, do not raise your arms above your head. The exercise can be performed both sitting and standing. Before training, try to remember a number of nuances that will make it even more effective and safe:
- When lifting dumbbells through the sides, do not use too much weight - the correct technique plays the greatest role here. If you take too large dumbbells, then the load will shift to the back, and the exercise will become ineffective for pumping the deltas.
- Hands should be raised to the parallel of the shoulder with the floor, not higher. The deltoid muscles stop working when you raise your arms higher, as at this moment the load falls on the trapezoid.
- Don't help yourself with your body. If you feel that you are starting to sway, then the weight is too much. The body must be firmly fixed, and movement should be carried out only by raising the arms.
- Do not bend your elbows too much, this also significantly removes the load from the muscles of the shoulder.
- Hands should rise through the sides, no need to bring them forward; elbows should point back, not down.
Raising dumbbells through the sides is one of the most effective exercises for pumping the deltoid muscles, especially the middle bundle. For the full development of the shoulder muscles, this exercise should be alternated with others, for example, the dumbbell press while standing, the Arnold press, the barbell press from behind the head, and so on. This will achieve symmetry and an equal degree of development of all delta beams.
Bodybuilders are distinguished by well-developed deltoid muscles. At the same time, many beginners cannot pump up powerful deltas. This is due to some features of this muscle, and its location.
What mistakes do beginners make when training deltas? This question is difficult. The most effective shoulder exercises are not always chosen. A common and familiar exercise in shoulder training are bench presses - barbells or dumbbells. There is also a special simulator for the deltoid muscle, but it is practically not found in gyms.
Another opinion is that dumbbell side raises seem to be more important to train the deltoids.
In order to find out what are the best exercises for the shoulders, you can compare the training programs of active athletes. But first you need to determine what is the difference between these exercises and what is common between them.
Presses
In this part of the article, not only the options for performing bench presses while standing or sitting will be mentioned, but also about the bench press on a horizontal bench. Why? Because in bench presses on a horizontal bench - especially with a wide wide grip - a significant part of the load falls on the anterior bundle of the deltoid muscle. And with barbell presses on an incline bench, the front deltas have the BASIC (!) Load. A smaller, but also very significant load falls on the front bundle of the deltoid and when pressing - on a horizontal or inclined bench - dumbbells.
For example, Aleksey Shabunya developed phenomenal anterior deltoid muscles through heavy barbell bench presses on a horizontal and incline bench and was able to create massive deltas.
With a vertical bench press, everything is somewhat more complicated. Here the effect largely depends on the correct selection and implementation of exercises. In addition, they are more traumatic. This is especially true for the overhead press.
When performing the exercise from the chest, only the front beam works, and as we remember, it already receives a sufficient load. There are only presses from behind the head, but they are not recommended for people who have problems with their shoulder joints. It is simply forbidden to do it to athletes who feel the slightest discomfort in the shoulder joint.
About the bench press from behind the head Dmitry Kononov
dumbbell presses
With the help of exercises with dumbbells, you can work out the middle part of the delta well. For example, "Arnold's press", the invention of which is attributed to the performer of the role of the terminator. But here, too, there are nuances: a significant part of the load in the vertical press is taken by the triceps. Yes, and the feeling of “pumping up” the muscles in the case of doing bench presses is unlikely to be achieved.
Climbing through the sides
This type of exercise is used specifically to work out the middle beam. When performing it in a slope, the main load falls on the back of the delta. Unfortunately, people often do this exercise incorrectly and the bulk of the load goes to the trapezium.
It's all about setting the right hand movement during execution. Usually, when raising a hand through the side, a person instinctively raises his shoulder up, transferring part of the load from a small delta to a more powerful trapezoid. Therefore, before starting this exercise, you need to learn how to raise your arm without using your shoulder.
Also, doing lifts in the traditional way does not always give a good result. Often, many are more suitable for options with raising their hands to their vertical position above the ground. This contributes to the development of just the middle part of the delta.
Another mistake that leads to more work of the triceps is a lot of weight. The deltoid muscle is small and with serious weight, most of the load again falls on the more developed trapezium. To avoid this, you should not chase a lot of weight.
You can also do arm raises alternately. Take a dumbbell in one hand, grab the support with the other, a Swedish wall will do. Then deviate slightly from the vertical and do the exercise.
This exercise can be done not only with dumbbells, but also with the lower block. In this case, you can do lifts both from the back and from the front. At the same time, evenly developing all parts of the deltoid muscle.
Traction
There is another great exercise for the development of the delta is the pull of a dumbbell or barbell to the chin. With the right technique, it can be used to achieve good results. But this exercise is most often used by athletes as an auxiliary one, without making it the main focus.
The main exercises used by professionals are still presses and lifts. All shoulder training programs include them as the main ones.
Training programs
You can talk as much as you like about the advantages and disadvantages of various exercises, but it is best to compare them in practice. To do this, you can refer to the training programs of famous bodybuilders.
To train the deltoid muscles, he always uses the same exercises. Only sometimes changes the order of their execution, thus providing the necessary stress for muscle growth.
- Smith machine - front press, or behind the head, four sets (15,12,10,8)
- Raises hands through the sides, performed while sitting, four sets (12,10,10,8)
- The same lifts, but in an incline, three sets (12,10,10)
- Reverse dilution of the arms on the simulator also three sets (12,10,10)
As already mentioned, periodically the exercises change places.
This athlete considers dumbbell side raises to be the main ones, since only they make the deltoid muscles work as much as possible and fill them with blood. In bench presses, there is no such “pumping”, and triceps take on part of the load. Also, his signature “chip” can be called work on the deltoid muscle in supersets. Having completed one exercise, he immediately passes without rest to another. This helps her grow better.
This well-known bodybuilder loads the deltoid muscles once a week along with the trapezoid. According to him, this mode is most effective for increasing volume. The exercises are the same, they are designed for an average beam. Sometimes he adds some more exercises, but at the same time, three types of load remain at the core.
- Press from behind the head on the Smith machine, four sets (12,10,8,6)
- Standing dumbbell side raises, five sets (15,15,12,10,8)
- Wide Grip Barbell Row, 3 sets, 10 reps
He does not do exercises specifically on the front beam. But if you need to work on them, Remizov does presses with a narrow grip over his head. In this case, the neck drops only to the top of the head. To work with the rear delta beam, you can sit on a bench, lean forward until your chest touches your knees. In this position, you need to perform side raises of the hands.
In his opinion, it is necessary to combine bench presses and work with dumbbells. If you have to choose one of the exercises, the athlete recommends that you first decide on the purpose of training. Lifting heavy dumbbells through the sides gives a perfect, round deltoid shape. At the same time, the bar will help you gain mass quickly.
He believes that the training regimen, the selection of exercises is always individual. And each person should choose their own set of training exercises. Also, you should not chase after large weights, it will be much better and more efficient to choose the mass of the projectile based on its current state.
The renowned bodybuilder divides deltoid training into three parts. He shakes the front part along with his chest. The back delta along with the muscles of the back. Alexey trains according to a three-day system and on the third day he has a rest, and on this day he pays attention to the middle beam.
In the process of training the deltoid muscle, the athlete does not use barbell presses. After several attempts with a barbell, his collarbones began to hurt. He pumps all parts, only working with dumbbells.
At the same time, he pays special attention to the middle part of the muscle. As already mentioned, Shabunya works on it only on the day of rest, when there is no other load. The workout looks like this: Of the exercises designed for pumping it, the athlete recognizes only lateral lifts, he calls other types of training insufficiently effective.
At the same time, he does a fairly large number of approaches (about fifteen). He starts with eight-kilogram dumbbells, does two approaches. Then he goes to ten kilos, and again does a couple of sets. Further, all the time, increasing the weight by two kilograms, the bodybuilder does a couple of approaches in each. With the maximum possible weight, he does four sets.
He also monitors the number of repetitions in the set. With a light weight, Alexei does fifteen reps per set. With heavier, working dumbbells, he does a ten in one go. At the same time, he claims that by training in this way, you can pump the delta well.
We draw conclusions: what are the best shoulder exercises for increasing volume?
The opinion of only three athletes was given here. But no matter how much you ask bodybuilders, they all come to more or less the same opinion about pumping the deltoid muscle.
The basis of the training process is to take work with dumbbells. According to all famous athletes, these are the most effective exercises. You can work not only standing, but also sitting. Also tilted. This will help build muscle. Do not forget such an exercise as the Arnold bench press.
The next most effective exercises are with the lower block and a special simulator for the deltoid muscle. Despite the lower effectiveness of these exercises, they can take their rightful place among the basic training.
Barbell presses are best used as an additional exercise. With their help, you can diversify your workout. Give stress to the muscles, it contributes to their growth. It is important to remember that the presses are very traumatic. This is especially true for exercises performed from behind the head.
When choosing exercises, consider the characteristics of your body. If you feel pain or discomfort after doing the exercise. And this feeling is observed after each workout, change the exercise and do not use it again.
One of the mistakes common among novice amateurs is the rapid weight gain of shells. As a result, still weak muscles, having received an exorbitant load, receive microtraumas. This training ends very sadly.
Therefore, choose the weight according to your strength. From working with exorbitant weights, you will not gain mass faster. At first, it is better to work with a small weight, paying more attention to the correct execution of exercises.