The shoulder muscles consist of three delta muscles which are equally important. To strengthen the shoulders, all parts of it - the front, middle and back delta muscle - should be trained evenly. When one part is neglected, the symmetry of the muscles will become unbalanced. Consequently the shoulders will become uneven instead of round and therefore less attractive. Therefore training on a shoulder press is a “must” on every workout plan.
General information about the shoulder press
It is recommended to follow the training tips for shoulder press training, because the muscles and joints of the shoulders are very sensitive and an injury often means the end of training. Lucky ones only have to stop training for a longer period of time, but other consequences are also possible. Therefore it is important to train thoughtfully and with caution. When training on a shoulder press you should always try not to strain your body excessively and use heavy weights only after an adequate time of training to avoid injuries. Normally shoulder presses provide comfortable and large grips that enable different grip positions which makes them suitable for everyone. The padded seating is adjustable to the height of the athlete to guarantee an optimal body posture. The equivalent of the shoulder press which is the classic training method is front pressing. The athlete lifts a barbell with weights in this exercise. Both exercises allow an optimal training of the shoulder muscles.
The aimed muscles of the shoulder press (military press):
• Lateral deltoid muscle (musculus deltoideus pars acromialis)
• Front and back part of the deltoid muscle (musculus deltoideus pars spinalis et clavicularis)
Supporting muscles:
• Trapezius muscle (musculus trapezius)
• Triceps muscle (musculus triceps brachii)
• Serratus anterior muscle (musculus serratus anterior)
How to train correctly on a shoulder press
The optimal training results can be achieved when sticking to the training tips for shoulder presses. For doing the exercise, first push the chosen weights on the arm of the shoulder press. Then adjust the seat to the suitable position and sit upright on the seat upholstery. The feet should stand firm on the ground and the hands have to be on the same height as the shoulders. Afterwards press the hand grips upwards until the arms are nearly fully stretched. To go easy on the elbows during the exercise, the arms should never be fully stretched. In the end go back to the starting position and repeat the exercise.
Who starts training on a shoulder press for the first time should get advised by a trainer who can support him or her while training. The trainer assures that wrong body postures are avoided and adjusts the correct weight. It is recommendable to start with light weights and increase the weight slowly.
The most common mistakes when training on a shoulder press
Athletes who are supervised by a trainer and consider the single training tips for the shoulder press, won’t make any mistakes. Nevertheless, there are some mistakes that are very common.
• The barbell bar or the weight of the shoulder press is lowered too much. This leads to a heavy straining of the elbow joints.
• The weights are lifted up or lowered too quickly which reduces the effectivity of the training.
• The upper body is bending and slights forward or the athlete is not in a sitting position. This causes a different performance and also leads to worse training effects.
Here you can find the available shoulder presses on fitnessmarkt.com!
Published on: 2 January 2015