How to strengthen your shoulders

As little as 10 minutes of daily shoulder exercises can reduce neck and shoulder pain and improve quality of life.

The upright row exercise.

Do the upright row

“The shoulder muscles are a group of quite small, hard-working muscles collectively called the rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis) that we use incredibly often in everyday life,” says Arj Thiruchelvam, a coach who works with elite athletes at his Performance Physique clinic in Birmingham. “It is easy for them to become irritated or overworked if they are weak, so strengthening them, along with the muscles of the shoulder joint including the deltoids, rhomboids and trapezius, is the key to healthy shoulders.”

Last year a study from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences reported how 10 minutes of daily shoulder exercises reduced neck and shoulder pain and improved quality of life. A good one to try is the upright row. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a weight in each hand with arms hanging down, palms facing your body. Raise your elbows to lift the weights to mid-chest level where upper arms are level with the shoulders. Lower back down and repeat 15 times. Perform three sets.

Try the isometric shoulder external exercise

If you have weak shoulders or any kind of shoulder pain, then shoulder isometrics exercises “can help strengthen your rotator cuff muscles”, Thiruchelvam says. “Make them part of your daily routine.”

Stand sideways a couple of inches away from a wall. Bend the arm closest to the wall to 90 degrees. Keep the upper arm glued against the side of your body while pressing the outside of the arm into the wall. Hold for 15 seconds, then relax. Repeat three to four times on each side.

Light weights are enough to work the shoulder muscles.

Use light weights for lateral raises

“It doesn’t require a lot of weight to target the main shoulder muscles, so use relatively light dumbbells weighing between 3kg and 10kg is sufficient,” says Bradley Simmonds, a pro footballer turned personal trainer who works with Theo Walcott and Louise Redknapp.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms at the sides with a weight in each hand, palms facing inwards. Flex your knees slightly and slowly raise your straight arms out to the sides until your hands are as high as the shoulders. Hold for one or two seconds then lower slowly. Use a weight that allows you to do 15 reps and perform three sets of the exercise.

The Times