DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE:
4 Simple Shoulder Sculpting Exercises
by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD
Body weight exercises are great for building muscle tone. A lot of people tend to think lifting heavy makes you bulky, but it’s all about time under tension. So yes, if you lift heavy for multiple reps, you’ll see size. But you won’t see that from a 1RM (1 rep max). Look at the difference in body types between Olympic Weightlifters and Powerlifters versus gymnasts and ballet dancers. The body weight specialists merely spend more time under tension, so their physiques appear more developed and noticeable. That’s not saying at all that the lifters aren’t strong, I am purely talking about muscle definition and visibility here. So, for sculpted shoulders and upper back, try out these easy exercises using little to no additional resistance.
1. Shrug & Roll
• Stand upright with abs tight and back straight.• Raise shoulders to your ears in a shrug as high as you can and hold for 15 seconds.
• Then, roll shoulders in small circles clockwise for 15 reps.
• Now perform the rolls in counterclockwise direction.
• Then, shrug and hold for 15 more seconds and relax
• Repeat for 2 more sets.
2. Medicine Ball Alphabet
• With a medicine ball in both hands in front of you, raise the ball to shoulder level and start tracing the alphabet with the ball.
4. Reverse Butterfly
• Stand straight with a dumbbell in each hand.
• Lift the dumbbells by bending your elbows so that your forearms are in front of your face and the upper arms are parallel to the ground.
• Now open your arms to the sides, keeping arms at 90 degrees at the elbows.
• Bring back to the center.
• Repeat for 3 sets of 15.
4. Push-Ups (No girl push-ups allowed here)
• Start in a plank position with your hands directly beneath your shoulders, abs engaged and body in a straight line.
• Bend your elbows to the sides and lower your body towards the floor, making sure your body remains in a straight line.
• Touch body to the floor.
• Then press up back to the starting position.
• Repeat for 3 sets of 10.
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