8 Best At-Home Shoulder Workout (Quick & Easy Routines)

You will require a towel for this shoulder workout. The press of the shoulder with a towel targets your anterior, middle, and posterior deltoids, triceps, trapezius, and pectoralis minor.

How to perform: 

1. Roll your towel into a cylinder. Hold both ends of the towel with your hands and feet shoulder-width apart. Tuck both elbows in and downward so the towel is near your chest.
2. Pull the towel apart.
3. Raise both hands and towel over your head until the arms are completely stretched and above your head. Continue to pull the towel apart.
4. Lower your arms slowly back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Read More: Best Bodyweight Shoulder Exercises

3. Scarecrow Press

The scarecrow press is a variant of the standard shoulder press. From my experience, this is an excellent approach to working on the rotator cuff muscle.

You can perform this shoulder workout using a resistance band or a pair of dumbbells.

How to perform: 

1. Take a staggered stance while holding a pair of dumbbells and lift your hands to your sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees.
2. The upper arms must parallel the shoulders, and the hands should point upward. This is your starting point.
3. Bring both forearms before you, then reverse the action to return to where you started.
4. Press the dumbbells precisely over your shoulders, then change the motion to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.

Additionally, exploring shoulder stability exercises can enhance the effectiveness of the scarecrow press and promote overall shoulder joint health.

The face pull is an excellent alternative shoulder workout for targeting the rear and lateral deltoid.

For many lifters, the rear delt is a lagging muscle area, and weaker rear delts can result in bad posture; hence, executing the face pull is highly recommended.

You will need light resistance bands for this shoulder workout.

How to perform: 

1. Wrap the resistance band around a pole or other vertical object.
2. Hold the ends with your hands facing in.
3. Bend the knees slightly and pull the resistance band closer to your face, bringing your hands to either side.
4. Return the band to its starting position in a controlled movement.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

5. Military Shoulder Presses

This dumbbell shoulder workout trains the whole deltoid muscle and is excellent for muscle building.

This shoulder workout also targets your traps, triceps, and pecs.

How to perform:

1. With a dumbbell in each hand, stand tall with both feet shoulder-width apart. With a staggered stance, step one leg slightly forward.
2. Raise your weights to shoulder height, palms facing in.
3. Keep your arms straight above the shoulders. Maintain a straight back and tighten your core.
4. Return the weights to shoulder height slowly.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

The dumbbell front raise is a valuable dumbbell shoulder workout for building strength or adding shape to the shoulders.

You can perform the dumbbell front raise with an underhand (supinated) or pronated (palms down) grip.

How to perform: 

1. Take a pair of dumbbells and stand tall.
2. Lift one dumbbell with the palms facing down until the arm is slightly above and parallel to the floor.
3. Pause, then gently drop the hand back to starting position.
4. Repeat with the other arm, switching sides until you complete the set.

7. Pike Push-Up

Pike push-ups are excellent for strengthening the shoulders.

This shoulder workout may be used as a stepping stone to more complex movements or as a goal to improve your shoulder strength.

The key is to maintain good form to keep your shoulders healthy.

How to perform: 

1. Begin in a plank posture on the floor, with your palms firmly on the ground beneath your shoulders. Press down your toes into the floor as well.
2. Maintain a firm core and a flat back using your hamstrings and glutes. Your entire body should be neutral and in a straight line.
3. Raise your hips up and backward until your torso forms an inverted V. Maintain as much straightness as possible in your arms and legs.
4. Begin by bending your elbows, then drop your upper body to the ground.
5. Remain in that posture for a while, then gently push back up with arms straight until you're in the inverted V position. Maintain control of the movement at all times.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

While the triceps are the primary muscles engaged in dips, they can also be a shoulder workout as they also benefit from this exercise.

Bench dips engage the triceps, pecs, rhomboids, levator scapulae, lats, and delts.

How to perform:

1. Sit on a chair's edge.
2. Grab the chair's edge with both hands shoulder-width apart. Move off the chair and support yourself with your arms. If you need additional space, place two chairs side by side, one hand on each.
3. Drop yourself as far as possible with the elbows pulled into your torso.
4. Return to the starting position by pushing yourself up.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

• Deltoids: This triangle-shaped muscle is placed atop the shoulder and is named after the Greek letter delta. It is divided into three primary muscle fibers: posterior, anterior, and middle, all linked by a thick tendon. The fact that shoulder exercises are almost synonymous with exercising your "delts" demonstrates this muscle's significance. As a result, your delts serve as a foundation for activities such as arm rotations and injury prevention.
• Teres Major: This tiny muscle extends from the bottom of the shoulder blade to the rear of the armpit. Teres major has received the nickname "Lat's little helper" because of its relationship with the latissimus dorsi as shown by the National Library of Medicine reports [2].
• Rotator Cuff: This combination of muscles and tendons is responsible for the upper arm bone from popping out of the shoulder socket frequently. The rotator cuff muscles, unsurprisingly, encircle the shoulder joint.

Shoulder exercises will enhance your posture, making you look leaner and improving your entire back and core strength.

Drawing from my experience as a fitness coach, I've seen how dedicated shoulder exercises contribute significantly to better posture.

It's not just a physical change; it positively impacts attention, happiness, and confidence.

These observations align with studies by Research Gate, reinforcing the holistic benefits of incorporating shoulder workouts into your routine [3].

Other benefits include:

• Strengthening the shoulders with weight training is connected to greater strength in other upper-body muscles, notably the back, and chest.
• Strong shoulders may boost the strength of chest workouts, particularly the bench press.
• Weight training causes your bones to respond to the tension imposed by the added strain from the weight, which helps avoid bone-loss diseases such as osteoporosis as you age.