Resistance Band Training: Shoulders

Yesterday I wrote about my favorite resistance band exercises for arms. Today I am tackling the worlds second favorite show muscle: Shoulders.

What’s better than having those bowling ball shoulders that dreams are made of? Arms can be covered with sleeves, but nothing can stop a pair of large and powerful shoulders from being noticed.

To keep a long story short, and because I have already written about how resistance bands are a gift from Olympus which everyone can buy and should be regularly using at home, Ill just list a couple important points:

Resistance bands are 1) cheap 2) easy to travel with and 3) effective. So effective, in fact, that just about any exercise you perform in the gym can be easily replicated. No, you will not become Mr. Olympia with bands alone but as a supplementary tool they are enormously effective and have earned the praise of numerous industry leaders.

My exercises:

One arm over head press

Most people have performed the classic (5×5 workout staple) barbell overhead press. The over head press is an old time exercise and its great in overloading the shoulders in a balanced manner. Few of us, however, ever attempt a one arm over head press. By engaging only one shoulder, you are forcing your body to stabilize better in order to lift the weight. This is the same idea behind using only one kettle bell. When half the body is forced into contraction of what ever muscle you are targeting, then the other half must tense in order to keep you from falling over. Place the band under one foot and then with one hand press the band over your head. It’s as simple as that and I think you will be surprised how much stronger one shoulder will be than the other. Take this time to evaluate where your muscle imbalances might be.

Front/Side raises

I typically use my lightest band for this. Place the band under both of your feet. You will place your hand about 10 inches apart. Perform a standard front raise bringing your arms fully extended in front of you. When the band reaches your eye level, then begin to spread your arms wide until the band is against your chest and your delts are well engaged. Return, slowly, to the first position and that is one rep completed. This entire exercise is a raise and then a pull. Enjoy.

Shrugs

Choose a heavy band for this one. Place both parts of the band under your feet. Bend down like you are going to perform a deadlift and wrap the bands around your wrists. Stand up, and now shrug the weight. Just make as though you are pulling your pants up and you have mastered the movement. This engages the traps and feels really good.

Bent over delt raises

If you have ever grabbed a pair of dumbbells, bent over, and then raised them to either side of you, then this will be simple. Place the band under your feet, bend over as thought about to do a barbell row, and then raise your arms to either side and squeeze your delts. Continue this until failure.

As before, I always like to do one set as of many good, quick, reps I can manage. Resistance bands are excellent because you can use them anytime with minimal chance of injuring yourself. Leave them somewhere laying around that makes it easy to use. Every time you pass by pick them up and try for one of these exercises. I believe that resistance bands must be the number one “Office Workout Equipment”. You can store one or more on a shelf or across a desk and during down time pick it up and quickly pump out a set. Want a muscle pump all day long? There ya go.