by Infoshelter

Created on: April 07, 2011   Last Updated: April 08, 2011

Unlike other areas of the body, reducing shoulder fat is relatively an easy target to achieve. This is because shoulders are used in almost every form of exercise aimed for the hands and the arms. Therefore, due to the structure of the human upper body, most workouts targeting those areas will have certain benefits for the shoulders, as well. However, there is a range of exclusive exercises for the shoulder muscles, which can be included in a total body workout routine, either in the gym or at home.

Warm-up: The plank

First of all you need a body-weight exercise that will give you a good warm-up for the shoulders’ area, and the plank is an isometric exercise which has an obvious effect for core conditioning, but also has secondary benefits for the shoulders. Take the usual push-up position but hold on your elbows instead of your palms. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds and repeat for two or three sets.

Pull-ups

Lifting your own body's weight-or after you have added extra resistance-towards a pull-up bar, while hanging from it, is one the best exercises to help you remove that extra unwanted shoulder fat and it is really the first step towards the development of lean, chiseled shoulder muscles. Of course, for many people it is not easy to perform even a single repetition of the pull-up exercise. Isometric pull-ups could be the answer to this problem. Instead of moving your body in an upward and downward motion, you could just hold yourself to the bottom (starting) position for 10-20 seconds and repeat. If you feel strong enough, you can attempt to hold to the top (finishing) position for the same amount of time.

Dips

You might not be able to afford to buy a pull-up bar (which is not such an expensive piece of fitness equipment, anyway) or join the local gymnasium, but most probably, you could afford to buy a couple of chairs! Two solid and stable, simple kitchen chairs, can become a very effective fitness equipment alternative, with the use of which you can train your shoulders. Just place the backs of the chairs facing each other in a distance equal to your shoulders width, lift your body on your arms and off your feet, essentially hovering in-between the two chairs. Lower yourself slowly, till your elbow forms an angle of 90o degrees and then lift yourself with a reverse movement, returning to the starting position.

Barbell shoulder presses

Finally, for the weight-training fans, barbell shoulder presses is probably the leading drill to produce powerful, wide, iron-made shoulders. Just be careful to hold your posture i.e. your lower back straight, while performing this exercise, otherwise you might heart your back and cause irreparable conditions. Push the barbell on a steady, slow pace, up and down over your head and you will feel like the mythical Atlas who used to lift the world on his shoulders!

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