Shoulder Exercises for Women

The shoulder is often the site for many injuries, in men as well as women. The worst part is that women have a weaker upper body as compared to their male counterparts. To gain strength in the upper body, these shoulder exercises for women will be of great help. The following workout can be performed in the gym as well as at home, as the basic requirement as regards exercise equipment to aid in these exercises, is either a pair of dumbells or a barbell.

Best Shoulder Exercises for Women
Read on further to find some simple shoulder exercises for women. These exercises are one of the simplest exercise routines for women, as most of them can also be performed at home.

Shoulder Rotation: This is one of the easiest shoulder workouts at home exercise. If you workout regularly, get two water bottles filled with water. The bottles should not be big ones. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the bottles in both your hands. Your hands should touch the sides of your thighs. Now rotate your shoulders clockwise without bending your elbows, or moving your hands. Do 15 repetitions clockwise and 15 anticlockwise. If you are working out at the gym you can use dumbbell weights. Read more on exercises to do at home.

Lateral Raises: Either use dumbbells or bottles filled with water. Similar to the shoulder rotation, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the dumbbells in both your hands. Now slowly lift your hands side ways without bending your elbows. Your hands should come up to shoulder level. Make sure your wrists are facing the ground and your body resembles a ‘T’. Slowly bring your hands down. Perform 1 set of 15 repetitions. After you are comfortable you can increase the number of sets.

Shoulder Press: Similar to shoulder presses with the machine, you can also do shoulder presses with free weights as well. You will need dumbbells for this exercise as well. At the same time, like the other two mentioned above, this is also one of the shoulder workouts at home. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart. Hold the dumbbells in your hands. Bend your arms at the elbows, so that the dumbbells are at shoulder height. Straighten your hands up in the air, but do not lock your elbows. Come back to your original position. 1 set should comprise of 15 repetitions. Read more on shoulder exercises.

Dumbbell Shrugs: Hold a pair of dumbbells in each hand. Maintain a shoulder width distance between both legs. Your hands should face each other. Now raise your shoulders so that your ears touch your shoulders. Make sure your hands are straight. Hold this position for a few seconds. Repeat this exercise 15 times. As this exercise also includes the neck muscles, you can also refer to neck exercises for neck muscles.

Upright Rowing: This exercise can be done using dumbbells or a barbell. The method of performing the exercise is the same for both of them. Stand with shoulder width distance between your feet. Hold the dumbbells or the barbell in your hands. Let your fists face your thighs. Lift your hands to your chest level and bend your elbows. Now go back to the starting position. You can start with 1 set of 15 repetitions and then increase the number of sets.

Barbell Press I: This exercise is similar to the shoulder press, however, you will use a barbell to perform this exercise. Sit at the edge of a bench with a barbell in your hand. Lift the barbell to your chest level. Remember to keep your chest high. The back should also be straight. Now slowly raise the barbell above your head. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. Then slowly get your hands to your original position. This shoulder exercise for girls can be also be performed standing, using a dumbbell.

Barbell Press II: This barbell press should be performed behind the neck. This exercise is one of the best shoulder workouts for women. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Now place the barbell on your shoulders. Hold the barbell at least 4-6 inches wider than your shoulders. Raise the barbell up in the air. Slowly lower the barbell and get it back to its original position. A set should consist of 15 repetitions.

Sometimes, doctors prescribe exercises to get rid of shoulder pain, that may arise either out of stressful activity or due to clinical reasons. It will do you well to perform them for pain relief. To get information on the same, you can refer to exercises for shoulder pain.

I hope these shoulder exercises for women, help you to attain your goal of well toned shoulders and an upright posture. These exercises have the added advantage of being very convenient to perform as they do not require a lot of equipment. They are a great help to people who want to correct a stooping posture as well as being moderately fit.