How to Build Shoulder Muscles - Workouts & Bodybuilding Fundamentals

Knowing how to build shoulder muscles properly is not only good for building a bigger and better body. Knowing the best way to do this is good for your health as well because diet and nutrition come into play as well as avoiding injury!

Firstly lets look at diet and nutrition for muscle gain. This is a fundamental building block of bodybuilding and if done right can be very good for your internal health also. Your diet needs to be:

• High in calories - Calories are energy. If you do not have enough your body burns it all away doing your workout and just existing! Eating more calories means you will have excess energy the body needs to repair and grow muscles.
• Calorie Dense - To avoid eating huge amounts of food and perhaps having too much sugar, starch and salt from this concentrate on healthy calorie dense foods such as wholegrain pasta, avocados, cereals, fruits and potatoes.
• Protein Rich - Protein is a very important part of muscle growth and most people are very protein deficient. Adding healthy protein rich foods to your diet will also aid in muscle growth. Foods like nuts, seeds, skinless chicken, eggs and cheese are good.
• Low Sugar & Salt - While planning your meals and making sure you are eating enough of the right things you should avoid falling into the trap of eating high calorie foods that might also be very high in sugar and salt. Chips and cookies may seem like a good way to get some energy but it is not the right sort that will give you what you need to grow muscles very well.

With a good diet you can concentrate on learning how to build shoulder muscles through exercise!

When you workout you want to be targeting the main shoulder muscle: the Deltoid. This muscle drapes over the corner of your shoulder and moves your arm and is attached to your trapezius which also controls shrugging movements. The Deltoid has the different sets of muscle fibers located on the front, back and side; the anterior, posterior and lateral deltoid respectively. These 3 exercises will work each one in turn:

Front Raises

Front raises focus on the anterior deltoid on the front of your shoulder.
By holding your dumbbells in each hand and with straight arms lifting them from your sides forward and up to shoulder height you will work the front of your shoulder well. Make sure you do not fling the weights though and make sure when lowering them you do so slowly for the best results.
Front Raise Animation

Side Raises

Side raises target the lateral delotoid which is the side and top of the shoulder.
Starting from the same position as the front raises instead lift sideways form your body and up with straight arms in a flapping motion like wings on a bird. Make sure to do this slowly however as you should be feeling the resistance all the way.
Side Raise Animation

Bent Over Raises

Bent over raises target the posterior deltoid on the back of the shoulder.
From the same position as the other two raises bend forward at the waist with your knees slightly bent. Let your arms hang down and do the same action as the side raises. The posterior muscles will make sure this happens.
Bent Over Raise Animation

These exercises should show you how to build shoulder muscles in a balanced fashion that will make you stronger and increase your shoulder size making you look bigger and more muscular as long as you continue to train the rest of your body.