Health & Fitness

50 Best Shoulder Exercises of All Time

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by Men's Fitness Editors

19. Lateral Plank Walk

Get into pushup position and simultaneously move your left hand over your right while your right leg steps out wide. Now bring the right hand out and walk your left foot in to a normal pushup footing. That’s one shuffle. Continue “walking” for 10 shuffles and then walk in the opposite direction to get back to the starting position. Keep your core braced and your hips level at all times.

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20. Dumbbell Neutral Grip Overhead Press

Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with palms facing each other and elbows pointing forward. Brace your core and press the weights straight overhead. At the top, shrug your shoulders and hold for a second.

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21. Dumbbell Raise Complex

Hold dumbbells at your sides with palms facing you. Raise the weights up in front of you to shoulder level with thumbs pointing up. Complete 12–15 reps and then raise the weights out to your sides 90 degrees (bend your elbows a bit as you lift). Complete your reps and then switch to a lighter pair of dumbbells. Raise them out to your sides and up to ear level with straight arms and thumbs pointing up. Hold this position 30 seconds. Squeeze your glutes to help support you.

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22. Snatch-Grip Low Pull

Set up as you did for the high pull, but when you jump, perform an explosive shrug and bend your elbows to pull the bar into your belly. Do not continue to lift the bar up to chest level.

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23. Snatch-Grip Shrug Pull

This is done the same as the low-pull, but keep your elbows straight and perform an explosive shrug once the bar passes your knees.

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24. Rack Deadlift

Set up the bar on some mats, boxes, or the safety rods of a power rack so that it rests just below your knees. Stand with feet hip width and, keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend your hips back and grasp the bar just outside your knees. Pulling the bar into your body tightly, extend your hips and stand up.

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25. Farmer's Walk

Pick up the heaviest set of dumbbells you can handle and walk. Squeeze the handles hard and walk with your chest out and shoulders back. If you don’t have the space to walk in a straight line, walk in a figure-eight pattern.

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26. Dumbbell Deadlift/Shrug Combo

Hold dumbbells at your sides and stand with feet shoulder width. Bend your hips back to squat down until the weights are knee level. Now explode upward and shrug hard at the top. Reset your feet before beginning the next rep.

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27. Bottoms-up Kettlebell Press

Stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart, gripping a kettlebell in one hand at your shoulder. Grasp the kettlebell’s handle, positioning the kettlebell upside down, so the bell is pointing toward the ceiling. Keeping your wrist perfectly straight and the kettlebell steady, press your arm straight up, extending your elbow. Carefully bend your elbow and lower the kettlebell back to shoulder height.

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28. Incline Bench Press

Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back on it. Grasp the bar just outside shoulder width, arch your back, and pull it off the rack. Lower the bar to the upper part of your chest and then drive your feet into the floor as you press it back up.

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29. Machine Shoulder Press

Adjust the seat of a shoulder press machine so that the handles are at shoulder level. If you have shoulder problems, and if your machine allows it, grasp the handles so your palms face each other. Otherwise, grasp them with palms facing forward as normal. Make sure your elbows track in a normal pressing path as you press the handles overhead.

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30. Bentover Reverse Flye

Set up as you did for the neutral-grip row but with lighter dumbbells. Raise your arms out to your sides 90 degrees, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top for a second. Complete your set and then rest until the end of three minutes, when your timer goes off.

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31. Waiter’s Walk

Grab a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand and hold it either overhead or with elbow bent so it’s near your face. Keep your shoulder blades pulled down and back, and your wrist straight. Fire your glutes as you walk 10 yards out and 10 yards back. Switch hands and repeat.

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32. Upright Row

Hold the bar with hands slightly farther outside shoulder width than for the overhead press. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bar to chest height. Your elbows should be bent 90 degrees in the top position and your upper arms should be horizontal.

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33. Feet-Elevated Pushup

Assume a pushup position with your feet on a stair, bench, or Swiss ball. Lower while inhaling until your chest nearly touches the floor. Exhale as you push back up. You can also place hands on top of medicine ball. Keeping core tight and neck neutral, lower chest toward ball as far as possible, or until elbows reach 90 degrees.

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34. Suspension Trainer Knee Tuck

Start in pushup position with hands beneath shoulders and each foot inside a suspension trainer strap so the straps hangs vertically. While keeping your shoulders stable, pull your knees toward your chest. Move slow and controlled.

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35. T Pushup

Start in pushup position, arms straight, with hands on light dumbbells (or start without weights, as shown). Lower yourself and as you push back up, lift your left arm and rotate to the left until your left arm is straight up and your right side faces the floor. Your body should look like a “T” on its side. Return to starting position and repeat on the other side.

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36. Dumbbell Incline Row

Straddle the seat of an incline bench and lie chest down, holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing in, both feet on the floor. Retract your shoulder blades and row both dumbbells parallel to your hips.

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37. Offset Single-Arm Chest Press

Lie on a bench with your left glute and left shoulder blade on the bench and right glute and right shoulder blade off the bench. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and either extend opposite arm or hold on to the bench just above your head. Lower the weight until your elbow is in line with your shoulder, then press it up until arm is fully extended.

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38. Angled Press

Grasp a light dumbbell or kettlebell with both hands and, keeping your lower back arched, bend your hips back until your torso makes a 45-degree angle. Hold the weight at shoulder level as you would to do a normal overhead press, then press it at that angle. Hold the need position for a moment.

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39. Inverted Row

Set a barbell in a rack at waist level. Slide under the bar and grab it overhand. Your body should be in a straight line from neck to ankles. Hang with your arms straight and only your heels touching the floor. Pull your chest to the bar, then return to starting position.

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