Top 6 Shoulder Workouts Without Equipment to Perform Anywhere

Strong shoulders are essential for coping with day-to-day tasks. Therefore, working on the shoulders is an essential thing to make them stronger.

It is a known fact that the modern-day lifestyle has made it tough for people to find spare time to go to gyms. However, sparing some time before sleeping or early in the morning for shoulder exercises can be an effective strategy.

Therefore, in this post, we will be discussing some of the best shoulder workouts that you can do anywhere, at any time to keep your shoulders strong or to perform your routine tasks effectively.

1. The Importance of Shoulder Strength

The shoulder is one of the most unstable and movable joints in the human body. Because the ball of the shoulder in the upper arm is larger than the socket that holds it, injuries are possible due to the wider range of motion.

Therefore, to keep your shoulder stable and injury-free while performing your routine tasks, it is essential to keep muscles, tendons, and ligaments in place, which requires you to strengthen the soft tissues that are responsible for keeping them intact.

Specifically, if you are doing a job like loading and unloading weighty items, the need for stronger shoulders becomes greater. When you have strong arms and shoulders, you can easily lift weights without facing strains or other injuries.

Read More: Best Back Workouts to Get Lean and Shredded

2. Benefits of Shoulder Workouts

Stretching and strengthening workouts for the shoulders can benefit you in plenty of ways. These workouts strengthen muscles, and stronger muscles provide better support to the joints and prevent pain. Strengthening muscles around the shoulder increase the stability of shoulder joints, which also helps in avoiding bone dislocation and reduces pain.

They also help in increasing the range of motion and function of the shoulder muscles. Shoulder cartilage also requires some stress and motion to stay healthy, and shoulder exercises are found quite helpful in this respect.

3. Top Shoulder Workouts (No Equipment)

Here are 6 of the best shoulder workouts without equipment that you can perform anywhere and at any time as per your convenience to strengthen your deltoids and enjoy the perks of stronger shoulders.

3.1 Straight Arm Circles

For increasing the range of motion and mobility of your shoulders, straight arm circles are a perfect shoulder workout with no equipment. Here is how you can do this workout easily;

• Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart while extending your hands out on both sides.
• Start making circles in the air with both arms by moving them in the same direction.
• Start making the circles bigger slowly until you are making a large one on either side.
• Repeat this exercise by making circles in the opposite direction.
• Keep in mind that you should be starting with small circles before progressing to bigger ones.
• Also, your body must be still while performing this exercise.

3.2. Pike Push-Ups

The other equipment-free workout that you can perform for strengthening your shoulders is pike push-ups. This no-equipment shoulder workout at home is exceptional when it comes to strengthening the shoulders, core, and chest. Follow below mentioned steps to perform it perfectly.

• Start it in a downward dog position and then walk your feet towards your hands in order to get your shoulders above your hands.
• Keep your elbows close to your sides while lowering your forehead towards the floor.
• Your aim should be to touch the floor slightly before pushing it back.
• You should be performing 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps of this activity to get better results.

3.3. Dips

If you are looking for a way to work on your deltoids without using weights, dips are a perfect option for you to meet your goals. They are remarkable for engaging the deltoid muscles and strengthening the shoulders. Take the following steps to perform dips the right way.

• Get a bench or chair with an edge to hold at your knee level.
• Start by standing in front of the bench or chair while keeping your legs at shoulder-width apart.
• Plant your feet on the floor.
• Hold the edge of your bench or chair and lower your body by bending your knees.
• Now bend your elbows to lower down your body until they become parallel to the floor.
• Hold this position for a moment and then extend elbows to straighten up.
• You can do 3 sets of this workout with 10-15 reps.

3.4. Decline Push-Ups

Decline push-up is a variant of the traditional pushup exercise and helps in building leg muscles, strengthening the core, and improving shoulder strength. To do this shoulder workout without equipment in the proper way, follow the below steps.

• To perform this exercise, you can use an elevated floor bench or a floor mat with a stepper.
• Place the bench on your foot’s side and straighten your body on the floor mat while facing down.
• Place your feet on the bench with the balls of your feet.
• Extend your legs while assuming a plank position and supporting your body with your hands.
• Squeeze your glutes and core while lowering your chest towards the ground.
• Now straighten your elbows and extend upwards.
• Do 3 sets of 15 reps.

3.5. Handstand Push-Ups

This is an advanced variation of push-ups that only those who can hold a handstand position can perform. This workout is also focused on shoulder and core strength. If you can hold it in a handstand position, you can perform it in the following way.

• To perform this exercise, you need to align yourself with a wall while balancing your feet.
• You can use the wall to gain support.
• Get into the handstand position while keeping your core muscles tight.
• After that, bend your elbows and lower your body till the level of your head comes to the ground.
• Now tighten your core and glute muscles to push away from the ground by extending your elbows.
• Return to the handstand position to go for the next rep.
• You can repeat this activity 10 to 15 times.

3.6. Dolphin Dive

For the anterior deltoids and arms, dolphin dive exercise is quite beneficial. These muscles have great importance in enabling the shoulders to help in performing your day-to-day tasks. Here is how you should be performing this workout.

• Start this exercise by getting on your forearms and toes. While doing so, your feet should walk a few inches away from the typical plank position so your hips are raised in the air. In this way, you would be making a triangle shape with the floor.
• Dive forward with your body until you get into a forearm plank position. Your shoulders should move forward while you return to a straight line.
• Be back in the starting position for the next rep.
• You can perform 3 sets of 10 reps.

4. Takeaway

Having stronger shoulders not just reduces the risk of keeping the joints intact but also prevents you from getting injured. With the help of the above-described shoulder workouts without equipment, you can build stronger deltoids and other arm muscles to have strong hands to perform your day-to-day tasks effectively. You can perform them anywhere, either at the home, office, or gym, considering your ease and availability of time.

Photo credit: dmoose