Building Broad, Strong Shoulders (Deltoids)

The shoulder muscle is among one of the more troublesome body parts to train for the beginner.  For one thing, the shoulder is comprised of three separate areas:  The anterior (front), the Medial (middle), and the posterior (rear).  As such, there is no single shoulder exercise that fully targets all three areas of the muscle. 

This means that in order to train the entire muscle, one must use a variety of exercises combined with correct body positioning.  This seems to be one of the areas where beginners fail miserably.  They figure that an exercise like the military press is all they need to develop massive "delts", but quickly realize that this isn't the case.

Injuries are another common problem that often seems to come hand in hand with training the shoulder muscle.  The shoulder sacrifices stability for mobility.  Although it has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body, it is also the least stable, making it very injury prone. 

On top of it's instability issues, the shoulder is used in almost all upper body exercises, as well as many other daily activities.  This often leads to lack of muscle growth due to over-training, as well as overuse injuries like rotator cuff strains and tears.

As with other muscle groups, one way to avoid problems with the shoulder joint is to maintain proper exercise technique for all shoulder exercises.  It is also important to keep track of the number of compound exercises that are in your chest and back routine to make sure that you don't perform an excessive number of sets during your shoulder workout.

Training the Shoulder Muscles - The Anatomy

The deltoid is the primary muscle of the shoulder joint and is the main muscle being targeted when training the shoulders.  The most common exercises for the shoulder muscles are military presses, and front or side dumbbell raises.  Since both the anterior and posterior deltoid muscles get worked extensively during chest and back routines, they often suffer the effects of over-training.  This makes it very important to keep tabs on the number of sets you perform during your shoulder routine.

You should make sure that you modifying the exercise positions during your shoulder routine.  This is the best way to target either the anterior, medial, or posterior fibers of the deltoid muscle.

Since the shoulder joint has such a large range of motion, it is an unstable joint and is very injury prone.  Be sure to lift with proper form, and never use too much weight.  

Deltoid

Point of Origin:  Clavicle, scapula (shoulder blade)

Insertion:  Humerus (upper arm bone)

Primary Action: Abduction, flexion, horizontal adduction, internal rotation, extension, horizontal abduction, external rotation

Because of the position of the deltoid, this muscle helps in movements of the shoulder joint in nearly every direction possible.  It is comprised of front, middle and rear fibers, which each play a specific role in either abduction, extension, or flexion of the shoulder joint. 

Exercises:  Barbell or dumbbell presses, lateral or front raises

The Best Exercises for the Shoulder Muscles

The key to building your shoulder muscles is by using a variety of exercises and  changing your body positioning.  This will ensure that you are targeting the anterior, middle, and posterior fibers. 

Here are the best weight training exercises for the shoulder muscle: