You see the players with broad shoulders cracking the ball past the 300-yard marker with consistency and it gets you thinking. If I had big, muscled shoulders, I could add some distance to my drives and put some real power behind my irons. Of course there's a lot more that goes in to putting something behind the ball than just a study set of shoulders, but building up your shoulder muscles with a steady diet of free weights can't hurt. There are three main areas of the shoulder that you should focus your workout on; the posterior deltoids, which are the back of the shoulder; the lateral deltoids, or the top of the shoulder; and the anterior deltoids, which are the front of the shoulder. There are several different free weight exercises you can do that concentrate on these three areas.
Lateral Press
A military press can be done with a barbell or a set of dumbbells. Essentially the exercise involves placing your weight at chest height and then extending the arms straight up above the head. This exercise will target all three shoulder muscles areas. Start with a weight that's comfortable doing three sets of ten. As time goes by, you'll be able to add more and more weight to the bar. If you don't have a barbell or a set of dumbbells, you can do this exercise with your hands on either side of a weight.
Flies
Flies are another really good exercise to do for the shoulders. It focuses mostly on the lateral deltoid but both the posterior and the anterior deltoid get some work as well. To do a fly, you'll need dumbbells or just a couple of weights, one for each hand. Once again, you'll want to start with a weight that's not to difficult to lift 30 times or so. With your arms down at your sides, your hands slightly in front of you, lift the weights out and up away from your body so that your arms form the top of a T from hand to head to hand. You'll want to do this 10 times and do three reps. The slower you go, the more you'll build muscle.
Behind the Head Press
This is very similar to the military press only it involves moving the weight back behind your head. This will give you a better work out of the posterior deltoid. It's better if you have a barbell so you're not tempted to cheat the lift and bring the weight over or out in front of your body. With the barbell behind your head, resting on your neck and shoulders, bring the weight straight up until your arms are extended over your head. Do three sets of 10.
Upright Row
The upright row will work both the forearms and the shoulders. This one is particularly good for your lateral deltoids. You can do this with either a barbell or a set of dumbbells. Start with your arms at your sides and the hands in front of your groin. Bending the arms at the elbows, bring the weight up to your chest, or neck if you can get it that high, and then back down. Again, do three sets of 10.
Rear Deltoid Row
Once again, this exercise will work the entire shoulder region but is focused mostly on your posterior deltoids. Bend at the waist, not quite 90 degrees, with the weights on the floor in front of you. Grab the bar and bring the weights up to your chest and then back down. Do three sets of 10. You'll want to watch out for your back while doing these. If you feel pain or a twinge, discontinue the exercise.
About The Author
Patrick Cameron is a freelance writer with 10 years of diverse experience in consumer goods branding, promotions and retail communications. He works out of his home in Denver, Colo. He received his Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from the University of Minnesota.
