Moves for strong, sexy shoulders

Your shoulder joints govern and control your arm rotation and are made up of four small delicate muscles in the upper back and one that connect to the chest.

Poor posture is one thing that influences this part a lot making it easier to damage either by bad movement patterns or lifting very heavy weights.

Since it is one of the biggest joint in the body, this makes it hard to rehab due to its tendinous nature.

To improve mobility and strengthen this area, there are a couple of good exercises you can do.

Swings: These movements work effectively because the range of motion is high as it strengthen and build the muscles that hold the rest of your shoulder muscles together. They also focus on shoulder blade retraction.

Swing your shoulders clockwise severally in slow motion as you hold your hips both sides. You can do the reverse or swing it up and down in between your workout or after during your cool down process to relax the connecting muscles.

Dumbbells side raises: This dumbbell movement usually hit all you shoulder joint muscles and is very much effective for rebuilding and strengthening these muscles which are very much common to injuries.

You can start by lying on your side on a mat then raising a dumbbell weight with the other hand. With the weight touching your leg, move it up slowly to an angle of 45 degrees holding it for about five seconds and return it to the starting point. Do a few sets of this exercise with varying repetitions and then change the position.

Dead lift: The good thing about this exercise is that it is a multiple workout because not only does it work your shoulder blades as you pull the weights up during workout, it also strengthen your upper back muscles (lats) that connects with the shoulder moving down to attach with the spine muscle while still stretching your leg muscles when upright.

When doing the exercise the shoulder joint acts as the supporting structure since the effect of the weight and exercise done is both felt on your shoulder while lifting and lower back while jerking up.

With your legs slightly bend, go down with an arched back not bending and arms straight, try to lift your workout weights from the floor to position you are standing upright. Go back down the same way and continue doing the same for a few repetitions.

Be careful not to carry huge weight. What you need to do is to focus on form. Go for a long spine, a strong arch in your back and a pulled in shoulder.

Shoulder pinch: This exercise pulls your spine upright as it stretches your upper chest. To do this, first stand upright and extend your arms out with your palms facing up. Roll your shoulder slowly up heading back then down.

Bend your elbows slowly and slightly until they are half bend and extended. With your neck neutral, try to pull your shoulder blades together as tight as you can holding them in this position for five to ten seconds. Relax and repeat several times.

Remember good strength and mobility in the shoulder area free up the pressure on the joints.