Would you like to keep your shoulders free from injury and soreness with a weekly "No push" Workout?
A pair of defined, contoured, rounded shoulders is often the finishing touch to a summer body, and that's not all. Your shoulders are involved in almost every upper body movement you can think of, whether it's the deltoids as the key pushers in the bench press, or the musculature that supports them to provide stability during pulling or even bicep flexion.
But training the shoulders isn't always easy. The most classic shoulder exercise, overhead presses with too much weight, are not always easy for your deltoids, especially if you are not moving your shoulders the right way. Overhead presses can put unstable shoulders in an unfavourable position, and if you try to compensate with the wrong body tilt or movement, you may even cause lower back problems. This is why more and more people are talking about "Getting it right" With overhead presses and other overhead pushing movements. Although pushing may seem simple, it is neither wise nor desirable to do so.
The solution: A shoulder workout that allows you to "Crush" Your delts without having to rely on push-ups. Yes, such an exercise is indeed possible.
This exercise is a good place to start. You will challenge your deltoids and stimulate it fully, not only to build shoulder strength but to improve shoulder stability and flexibility.
You can stay fit and pain free without any push-ups and still get the shoulder muscles you crave.
Why you don't need push-ups
Developing a solid training plan shouldn't just focus on the muscles. It should focus on the movements our bodies do every day and the movements that protect our bodies during our daily activities. Let's be realistic: Unless you're already a fitness "Veteran", lifting your arms above your head is probably not the main action of your day.
Instead, look at your daily life, what are you doing? You're driving your car with your arms stretched out in front of you. You are typing with your arms stretched out in front of you, opening a door, holding a box, with your arms most likely in front of you. This means you need to be skilled at doing various movements in front of you (e.g.: Push-ups). You will also need to build strength in your mid-back with movements such as rowing to increase stability and balance in all the movements you do in front of your body.
In addition to this, you will need to build stability in other areas. When you move forward and backwards, all the pushing, driving and typing happens in the so-called sagittal plane (think: Walking and push-ups). But your body can also rotate in multiple directions. Your shoulders can also rotate in more than one direction.
You need to train and remind your muscles that such an exercise is possible, however, this is a good but underrated part of the shoulder workout. Don't be trapped in a push-up workout where you will be moving in the sagittal plane numerous times. Broaden your training horizons and you give your shoulders what they need to protect them, and the muscles!
Balance training
When you focus too much on aesthetics (the latitude and line of your muscles), your shoulders will hurt. Usually, you also move away from the aesthetic you want. Why? Because you tend to train the muscles you can see, which means a lot of chest training, abdominal training and shoulder training, but not enough back muscle training.
This alone makes your shoulders prone to injury, moves the shoulder capsule forward, brings your upper arm bone (humerus) closer to your clavicle (collarbone) and limits the space in which your rotator tendons must move. This becomes another reason not to overdo overhead presses in your exercise routine; your shoulder workout should spend at least some time working the posterior bundle of your deltoids to promote better overall body balance.
Zero push up shoulder workout
This is all based around the shoulders, no push-ups, which is a safe way to increase shoulder size. It will also work the shoulders through a variety of movements and positions to train your deltoids to be not only muscular, but healthy and functional. Do this once a week, twice at most.
Start with a warm-up: 60 seconds of open and closed jumps, 45 seconds of plank support, then 2 sets of 10 standard push-ups. Then train in the following order.
1. Face pull and farmer's walk superset
Do 4 sets of this superset, starting with the option of face pulls with resistance bands, doing 15 reps per set. Then for the farmer's walk (with weights), walk for 30 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds. You are igniting your mid-back and giving your back a workout while challenging your core. Essentially, you are preparing yourself for the next exercises.
2. Opposite grip pull-downs
Choose a high pull down and use a handle so that your palms are opposite each other. Tighten your abs, tighten your shoulder blades and then pull the handles down to your chest. Pause and then slowly return to the weight to start. This is 1 complete movement, do 4 sets of 10 each. This is a back exercise, but your rear deltoid and tendon socket muscles are still involved. Remember to work your back muscles as often as you can when you can.
3. Kettlebell wraps
Do 4 sets of 8 reps each. Complete all 8 reps in one direction, then do 8 reps in the opposite direction. Adjust your side during each set. This exercise requires both shoulder strength and shoulder flexibility.
4. 45 degree planks
Skip the classic front planks and side planks and do this exercise. Essentially, you're going to do a side planks with your arms bent at a 45 degree angle. So stand with the dumbbells at your sides with your thumbs facing forward and your abs and shoulder blades tucked in. Lift the dumbbells upwards and outwards, keeping a soft bend in your elbows. Pause when your wrists are not parallel to your shoulders, then lower to the starting position. This is 1 complete movement; do 4 sets of 15 reps each.
5. Supported side steps
Your shoulders will help support your torso as you do the push-ups, let's start here. This will also burn your core. Take the starting position of holding a push-up with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your core tight. Hold this position, keeping your hips at a right angle to the floor, and walk your entire body 10 steps to the right and back to the start. This is one set; do 4 sets. Before doing these supported side walks, first master the plank support.
Hopefully these training moves will help stabilise and protect your shoulders.