Local trainer Elizabeth Nuttall thinks the shoulder muscles are potentially among the best-looking of a woman's body, yet among the most neglected in workouts.
"The No. 1 reason to work the shoulders is that it looks good. Shoulders are sexy now. Women focus on the core and their legs, but the arms are a good place to add muscle. When you build the shoulders, you get a triangle physique that makes the waist look slimmer," said Nuttall, a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer who teaches in clients' homes and at Gold's Gym in Bountiful and Lady Fitness in West Haven.
Nuttall said strong shoulders also prevent injury and improve posture.
"By doing shoulder exercises with the correct form, shoulder blades retracted and depressed, the posture muscles in the upper back are strengthened. Stretching the shoulders, back and chest muscles will also help correct poor posture," she said. She recommends lifting the chest, rolling the shoulders back and sliding the shoulder blades down as if they were going into your back pockets.
Nuttall stresses keeping good posture while doing shoulder exercises by not arching the back and keeping the head up, shoulder blades down, chest lifted and knees soft.
The following exercises are some of Nuttall's favorites. She recommends two sets of 10 to 12 repetitions two or three days a week:
SBlt Dumbbell shoulder press
Start with your feet hip-width apart and toes straight ahead. Put a dumbbell in each hand and raise to shoulder height with palms facing forward. Fully extend the arms overhead.
Muscles worked: medial deltoid (side of the shoulder)
SBlt Cross body rear delt raise
Lie sideways over a stability ball, with the ball in the armpit and legs split and extended to the side. The top foot should be in front with the bottom foot about two feet behind. Maintain this body position, holding a dumbbell in the top arm. Keep a soft elbow, and extend the arm straight up over the shoulder.
Muscle worked: posterior deltoid (back of the shoulder)
SBlt Draw the sword (advanced)
With legs wide and a dumbbell in the right hand, lunge to the left side and bring the right thumb downward to the left knee, then move the weight in a diagonal line upward as you lunge to the right side. Rotate the thumb and finish with the weight over the right shoulder, with the thumb pointing out.
Muscle worked: anterior, medial and posterior deltoid
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