SHOULDER
SHRUGS - OVERHEAD DUMBBELL
CORRECT FORM
1) Stand holding
two dumbbells overhead as shown with your palms facing your body.
Stand with completely erect posture, shoulders back. Your elbows should
be bent about 15-20 degrees. Your arms should be slightly in front
of the same plane in which your torso is in.
Your palms should not be facing forward as in a
dumbbell military press.
Your palms must be facing each other for this to work the correct
muscles.
2) Shrug your shoulder
girdle up as high as it will go. Maintain the same position at the
shoulder and elbow joint.
Let all of the movement
come from your shoulder girdle (the upper trapezius).
3) Lower the dumbbells slowly and
under control. Be sure to stand up straight during the entire movement.
4) Inhale as
you lower, exhale as you shrug up.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
Be sure to not
to let your arms drift back behind your head. They should be slightly
in front of the plane in which your torso is in. Letting them drop
backward can place excessive strain on the rotator
cuff.
Most
importantly: Keep your back straight and posture erect throughout
the exercise. Slouching in any way WILL change the position of the
exercise and cause strain on the shoulder joint.
EFFECTIVENESS
A shoulder shrug performed
in this manner is not a traditional way of doing so. It is not a way
of developing massive amounts of trapezius size or strength.
What it DOES
offer is a way to strengthen the upper trapezius in a different
manner, which is helpful for forcing your upper trapezius to adapt
to new movements.
It also strengthens your serratus anterior muscle (those finger-like
look projections between your armpit and pecs). When the arm is
overhead in this manner, with the shoulder externally rotated (palms
facing each other overhead), the scapula is in a position to make
the serratus anterior elevate and upwardly rotate it. This is the
primary function of this muscle, along with stabilizing the scapula
against the thoracic wall.
There are few
ways to specifically work the serratus muscle in a productive way
without adversely affecting your posture. Some of the other methods
(like shoving your shoulders forward during a bench press), will
activate other muscles (pectoralis minor) that are normally very
tight and strong.
This exercise is only an adjunct to a normal shoulder shrug routine.
HELPFUL
WITH TRAINING FOR
Football, Basketball,
Baseball, Hockey, Some Track and Field events, Boxing, Wrestling,
Martial arts. |
