Toned and Defined Shoulder Workout for Female Fitness

Statistically, men most enjoy a good arm or chest workout and hate leg workouts; while women statistically enjoy a good legs or abs workout over chest or arms. But for any female wanting that toned look, having good definition is just as important on the shoulders as it is for the legs. This is a very easy workout that is specifically designed to shape and tone the shoulders.

We'll start with the dumbbell later raise. This is a great starting exercise because this warms up the joints and helps with the overall shaping of the deltoids (shoulders). To begin, stand up holding 2 dumbbells in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing your thighs). Keep your head up and your abs tight while maintaining a slight bend in your knees.

From this position, raise the dumbbells up and out to the side. Stop when the dumbbells are around your ear level. The key to this exercise is to try to keep your elbows above your hands. Look in a mirror while doing this movement and you'll be able to tell if your hands are higher than your elbows or not. Having your hands above your elbows puts too much strain on the shoulder joint and not enough on the muscles. Doing 3 sets of 12-15 slow reps will complete this exercise.

Next, we'll move on to the plate front raise. This targets more of the front head of the shoulders. Grab a plate of whatever weight you can handle for 10-12 slow reps. Hold the plate at 9 and 3 o'clock.

While holding the plate at your thighs, slowly lift the plate up to eye level, then release the weight back down, but be sure not to let the plate hit your thighs as this will reduce the workload for the shoulders.

>>Tip: A good variation to this exercise if you want to get a good burn going, is to do your ABC's. When your raise the plate up to eye level, use the plate as a pen and draw an A, then a B, then a C and so forth. Don't stop until you get to Z!

This next exercise is amazing for overall shape AND definition of the shoulders. The Upright Row can be done with a barbell or dumbbells. First, grasp 2 dumbbells in each hand with an overhand grip. Start with the dumbbells in front of your thighs and raise them up to shoulder height. Be sure to keep the weights close to your body as you raise up.

You'll see many people do this exercise with wrong form by having their grip too close together. If your hands are close together, your working the traps just as much as the shoulders. So to target the shoulders more, your hands should be just outside of shoulder width. And remember to keep your elbows above your hands.

Lastly, we will target the outer, or rear, head of the shoulders with bent over lateral raises. this will be a landmark for defining the shoulders. Start by grasping 2 dumbbells with a neutral grip. Bend at the knees and at the hips. Just as with the lateral raises we did first, you will raise the dumbbells up and out to the sides.

Because you are bent over, your arms and shoulders will naturally go slightly backward. This is what you want. Going backward will help to target the rear delts more. When you reach shoulder height, you can lower the weight back down. Do this for 3 sets of 12-15 reps.

If you still have the energy at the end of this workout, try adding in a pressing movement such as dumbbell presses or getting on a machine for machine shoulder presses.

Every man and woman should know that every body part is important in a physique. Having proper balance shows dedication and how much you care about your body. So don't forget about training the shoulders, they are just as important as the legs. And one day, guys will figure out that its not just chest and arms that are important.