Shoulder Strength Secrets: 3 Exercises to Empower Women

All of us desire a toned and fit body. Women are now taking conscious steps towards maintaining a lean figure by engaging in workouts. However, most of us limit our workouts to the abdominal, butt and thigh areas. We tend to overlook the importance of toned arms and shoulders. To get a symmetrical figure it is important to focus our workout on the whole body. When you wear a sleeveless or halter top, it's your shoulders that get noticed first. So, remember to include shoulder exercises in your workout plan for toned, sexy shoulders. Let's look at some of the most effective shoulder exercises to strengthen and tone your shoulders:

1. Dumbbell front raise

How to:

• Lift your dumbbells in both hands. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a straight torso.
• Place your hands in front of your thighs and your palms in front of your thighs. This is the starting position that you should maintain.
• Without moving your torso, lift your left dumbbell forward with your elbow slightly bent.
• Your palm should always be facing downwards. Lift your dumbbell until your hand reaches shoulder level. Hold it for a second.
• Now, as you lower your left arm to the starting position, raise your right arm to step back.
• In this way, continue alternating between the two arms to complete your repetitions.
• Variation: Once you are comfortable with this exercise, raise both arms together.
• Number of repetitions: 2 sets of 12 repetitions.

2. Standing Shoulder Press

How to:

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Raise your arms so that your upper arms are parallel to the floor and your forearms are at 90 degrees to your upper arms. This is your starting position.
• Without leaning back, extend your arms to raise your dumbbells straight above your head.
• Hold the position for one second and then bring your arms back to the starting point.
• Number of repetitions: 2 sets of 15 repetitions.
• How it helps: It increases core stability and targets many muscles. It targets your front and side deltoids, rear deltoids, upper pectoral muscles, triceps and traps.

3. Lateral rise

How to:

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Hold the dumbbells at arm's length by your side with your palms facing you. This is your starting position.
• Engage your core and lift the dumbbells to your sides with a slight bend in the elbows until your arms are parallel to the floor.
• Pause for a second and slowly lower the dumbbells
•    Number of repetitions: 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
• How it helps: It increases shoulder mobility. Along with developing strong shoulders, it also benefits the upper back, arms and neck.