Building muscle and strengthening your shoulders is important to keep your arms strong for a variety of sports. Basketball players build big shoulders naturally by doing a shoulder press every time they shoot the ball—the more developed their shoulders, the farther out they can take a shot. This is very important if you’re trying become your teams 3-point shot ringer. You can define your deltoids with dumbbells. Target each muscle group separately, starting with the shoulders. Well-defined shoulders, or deltoids, call for working a variety of muscles. Performing dumbbell shoulder presses works them all simultaneously.
Step 1: Sit on bench & hold dumbbells: Sit on the edge of the bench with your feet about shoulder width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing each other, elbows underneath palms.
Step 2: Lift dumbbells: Keeping your back straight, smoothly lift the dumbbells straight up until your arms are straight but not locked out.
Step 3: Lower dumbbells: Slowly lower the dumbbells back down.
Step 4: Repeat:Repeat until you can’t maintain proper form—either your back starts to weaken or you can’t raise the dumbbells all the way even with a spotter’s aid.
To make is more challenging perform your dumbbell shoulder presses standing up. Begin with your feet shoulder width apart, head and back straight and bent knees. Keep your abdominal muscles tight and your pectoral (chest) muscles relaxed. Use the same form and technique as when you perform the exercise from a seated position.
