"Shoulders makes the man." No doubt you’ve heard this before. Broad shoulders aren’t the only markers of a man’s masculinity, but it is a powerful one. Dating back to ancient times, representations of gods, great conquerors, warriors, and kings have always been with wide, strong shoulders. Wide shoulders are desirable because they can make your physique look more proportional by broadening the appearance of the upper body. Wide shoulders are often associated with athleticism. You can get wider shoulders by building muscle in the upper body with moves such as pullups, chest presses, and military presses. The shoulders are responsible for so much weight-bearing in your upper body, that the stronger they are – the better. Thankfully, having broad shoulders is something that is largely under your control.
Know the Shoulder Muscles
The shoulder is one of the most complex parts of the body. It’s made up of the clavicle, scapula, humerus bones, as well as multiple muscles that allow various movements and functions. Knowing a lot more about the anatomy of the shoulder will allow you to understand and improve your workouts tremendously. Broader shoulders come from building mass in your deltoids, as well as supporting shoulder muscles. Even for those with naturally narrow shoulders, the good news is that the shoulder muscles have a ton of growth potential. It’s possible to build the fronts of your shoulders (anterior deltoids) up to 5 times the size of the average untrained man.
If you want broader shoulders, you can build them!
You can build impressively broad shoulders even with extremely short clavicles. Remember, building big shoulders takes more than doing a few front raises. It requires a good technique with the weight you can manage. But before you touch a weight, spend five to ten minutes gradually mobilizing the joints to activate the rotator cuff muscles and allow you to increase your range of motion during the workout. To enhance that V-shape that broad shoulders give, you’ll also need to work your back to create a good frame and trim down your waist and core to accentuate the form further. Even with short clavicles, you can build broader shoulders. But keep in mind that your body shape matters too.
Improving the shoulder posture & mobility
As today’s lifestyle can involve so much time spent sitting at a desk, it’s common to adapt to that position, developing internally rotated shoulders. This can limit your range of motion and shave inches off of your shoulder breadth. The best thing to improve the shoulder posture is to develop the muscular strength to hold ourselves in the correct position. Work on your shoulders through a variety of compound and isolation exercises to make them bigger, still focusing on overall posture and shoulder mobility. This helps the shoulders become more aesthetic.
Shoulder Workouts
The best way to maximize your workout for big shoulders is to take them through the full range of motion. The underlying factor that makes broader shoulders more attractive is having a stronger upper body. Well-developed shoulders can indicate strength and health since you’ll have lots of upper body muscle mass. It’s advisable that you support shoulder strength with a strong back and arms as well as a lean waist. There are some great exercises you can do to build your shoulders. Using bodyweight-only, you can try incline pushups, plank to downward dog, pike pushups, push-back pushups, and YTL circuit. If you have access to weights such as bands, dumbbells, or kettlebells, you can expand your moves. Add in lateral raises, reverse flys, military presses, front raises, and seated dumbbell presses.
The following are some of the exercises that help build broader shoulders:
- The bench press or push-ups
- Military Press
- Side Lateral Raise
- Front Raise
- Upright Barbell Row
- Half-kneeling one-arm dumbbell press
- Standing one-arm dumbbell press
- Pec Deck Rear Fly
- Overhead Press
Visit our YouTube channel to learn the proper form of doing the exercises. You’ll need to perform the exercises regularly while gradually increasing the weight as you become stronger. This will continue to stimulate your muscles. Just remember, broad shoulders won’t happen overnight. Combined with the right diet and consistency, you can start to see results in just a few months. If there’s one body part that adds an instant air of masculinity to a man’s physique, it’s definitely the shoulders. If you are serious about getting wider shoulders, we’ve got the best online personal trainers in Australia. Weight loss trainers at Stronglife can help you achieve your fitness dreams! Apply Now
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