Have you ever looked at your skinny shoulders in a mirror and wondered if there’s anything you can do to make a change? Or have you looked at those skinny fashion models on red carpets and tried to imagine what they must have done to achieve skinny broad shoulders? There are several simple workout plans that you can embark on to obtain a super sexy figure.
If you really want to pack on muscle or build a bigger physique, you have to focus on your shoulders. The reason is that they are known to be the first stage when building an attractive physique, that’s why attention must be given to it. It is generally believed that for men, the perfect body shape is one that looks like an inverted triangle or “V” shape as many people call it. On the other hand, women’s shape is considered to be similar to that of an hourglass, or the figure “8” to make it perfect.
In both of these cases, the broadness of the shoulder is never a stand-alone determinant for creating the ideal body shape. This is because the size of the waist plays a tremendous role in determining the shape of your body (5). In other words, the broadness of your shoulders only matter if its width exceeds that of your waist. A person with skinny shoulders will have a body profile that takes the shape of a rectangle, while a fatter person will have a waist that is wider than their shoulders.
Some of the muscles that impact your overall outlook are pectoral muscles (muscles of the chest), trapezius muscles, latissimus dorsi, glutes (muscles of the butt), hamstrings, biceps brachii, delts, and abdominal muscles, among others (1).
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It is the size of the muscles on the shoulders that make it appear narrow or broad, as the case may be. Three main muscle groups form the anatomy of the shoulder, which are Anterior Deltoid, Medial Deltoid and Posterior Deltoid (4).
The Anterior Deltoids are located right at the front of each shoulder, and they are responsible for the shoulder abduction. Also, they make raising your arms in front of your body possible. Whenever a shoulder is viewed from the front, it is the Anterior Deltoid that is seen.
The Medial Deltoids are a set of muscles located at the sides of the shoulders. Specifically, they are responsible for making it easy for you to raise your arms outwards, towards the side of your body, and also for shoulder abduction like the Anterior Deltoid. So, when a shoulder is viewed from the front, it is the Medial Deltoids that are seen.
The Posterior Deltoids are a set of muscles located behind the shoulders. Their responsibility is to ensure a transverse abduction and external rotation of the shoulders. Whenever the shoulder is viewed from the back, usually, it is the Posterior Deltoids that are seen.
The best way to begin your physical transformation is to understand your body type. This is important in order to know the required exercises and adjustments in lifestyle that you need to make to get your desired result. A fatter person will need to include training targeted at shedding weight; but as for the skinny shouldered women and men, they can just take the recommended exercises.
Basically, there are three main body types which are: endomorphs, mesomorphs and ectomorphs.
Their characteristics are listed and explained below (2):
Endomorphic people are those who tend to have bigger bone structure, with a larger midsection and hips. Those with endomorph bodies gain fats faster than they lose it, and it is usually due to their slower body metabolism. Endomorphs are those we typically refer to as fat people.
Ectomorphic people are those who have a narrower shoulder and hips, with respect to their height. They experience a faster metabolic rate in their body, thereby making their muscles smaller to their bones.
Mesomorphic people are those who tend to have a broader upper body section than their hips naturally, and this is because they have a more efficient metabolic system. Usually, mesomorphs experience a balance between weight loss and gain. This set of people have a naturally athletic physique. This makes this body type the ideal one. The goal of bodybuilders, therefore, is to make ectomorph and ectomorph bodies look like mesomorphs.
However, no matter what your soma type, you can still change your physique to look like the one you have always dreamt of. This is because your body type is influenced by several other factors, including environment, lifestyle, and food. Interestingly, a simple change in lifestyle, giving proper attention to your diet and involving in targeted exercises can make a remarkable difference in your shoulder to waist size, making you look athletic. On the other hand, if you decide to live sedentary and eat a lot of junk, you will soon begin to look like an endomorph (2).
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The human body can indeed be built to predetermined shape and structure. While doing this, you should bear in mind that the human bone is the fundamental structure that determines the shape of the body. Therefore, to build broad shoulders, your focus must be on building bigger and stronger shoulder muscles. So, these workouts should help you out (3).
Make sure your feet are at the width of your hip and slightly bend your knees while having a dumbbell for each hand. Lift your upper arms until they are at your shoulder level while your grip faces forward. Then, extend your arms straight up by pushing the dumbbells up. Let down the dumbbells in the direction of your upper arms vertically to your torso.
Get a bench and slightly set it in a vertical position. Lean on it while you grab a dumbbell for each of your hands. Then, hang your arms straight down before you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Withdraw your upper arms slowly until they maintain the same level as your shoulders before you let down the dumbbells to their initial state.
While standing, grab a dumbbell each in your hands before your thighs. Bend your elbows a little bit and bend forward slightly on your hips and knees. Raise out your upper arms to the same level as your shoulders. Make sure that your elbows are either at the same level with your wrists or higher than them before you let down the dumbbells and do the exercise again.
Some shoulder workouts will help you to develop skinny broad shoulders and begin to look like a fashion model. Although, at first, they may be challenging (every worthwhile adventure seems the same way after all), but with persistence and determination, you’ll soon get used to them and start seeing results. These are some of the best shoulder exercises for determined hard gainers (6):
This is the perfect exercise for women and men with skinny shoulders as it can help in developing the deltoids, and at the same time make the back muscles stronger. As you engage in this workout, make sure your deltoids are the prime movers at the start of the lift. Using your legs to leap forward is cheating and therefore, defeats the purpose of the exercise.
To do this exercise, make sure that your elbows are perpendicular to the ground while holding the bar with a grip that is slightly wider than shoulder-width. Then slowly begin to press the bar upwards. While pressing, move your head out of the way of the bar as you lift it and return it to position when you are gone past the bar. Finally, extend your elbows with the bars above your head and engage your traps by shrugging your shoulders. This is to prevent injuries.
This is a full shoulder exercise that needs to be done appropriately as mistakes can result in injury. The activity works the musculature of your shoulders when rightly done.
To do this, you have to be in a seated position on a bench with a back support. Grab the bar at a width slightly wider than the width of your shoulders and push the bar up until your elbows are over your head. Lower the bell, flexing your neck forward with the bar above your head.
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This exercise must be done on one arm at a time. The essence is to help you eliminate imbalances and maximize time under tension.
To do this workout, make sure you are in a seated position, take dumbbells in each hand and raise them above your head. Lower one arm at a time while still pressing the dumbbells up. Then, make sure the other hand remains in position above your head until the lowered arm returns to the top. Repeat the same process for the other hand.
The barbell upright workout is very helpful in building your front and side deltoids.
To do this, while you are holding the bars slightly narrower than your shoulders, pull yourself up until your chin reaches the level of the bar. Carefully relax your muscles as you gradually come down the bar. Then repeat the motion for eight to 15 times.
This workout primarily builds up the front and the side deltoids.
To do this exercise, while you are at a standing position, hold the barbells at approximately the width of your shoulder apart. Stand straight as you rest on your thigh. Then gradually pull your shoulder blades and core-in until the barbell is approximately 5 inches from your body. Maintain this position for a few seconds. Afterwards, lift the bar, making sure your arms are straight. Hold and gradually return the barbell to the starting position.
Having powerful muscles as the sides of your shoulders is a significant factor in broadening your shoulder. This is the perfect workout to achieve bigger side deltoids.
To embark on this activity, you need to set the inclination of the bench to about 40 degrees, then sit with your back resting on it. Grab a pair of dumbbells on both hands and position them straight down at your sides, below the bench. Gradually raise the dumbbell to about your shoulder level before lowering your arms.
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The face pull is the right workout plan for developing a large posterior deltoid and medial deltoid.
To do this, using the rope that is attached to the highest pulley of the cable weight machine, start with the rope just a few inches above your eyes. Hold it with your palm facing down and move back until you can feel the tension built up in the rope. After that, sit your hips and begin pulling the cable towards yourself. Pull until the rope is a few inches from your eyebrow before you carefully release it.
The bent-over lateral raise, like the face pull, builds up your posterior deltoid.
To do this workout, stand holding two dumbbells in your hands. Then, begin to bend until your torso is parallel to the ground. Finally, lift the weight by squeezing your shoulder and using your rear deltoid. Return to the starting position and repeat this workout for some time.
The inclined IYT workout move is targeted towards overall shoulder health rather than the size of it.
To carry out this exercise, while laying your chest down on a bench inclined at about 45 degrees, hold two dumbbells on both hands hanging down. Gradually raise both bells to your sides until it forms a “T” shape with your body and return to the hanging position once again. Next, raise the dumbbells halfway between your sides and in front of you, until it makes a “Y” shape with your body. As you must have imagined, raise the dumbbells straight in front of you, making an “I” with your body.
This is a combination of two different exercises. To carry out this exercise, stand with your knees slightly bent, and your body leaning forward. Hold a dumbbell in each of your hands, then lift your arms so that your elbows are at shoulder height and return it to its initial position.
The front raise exercise works the flexions, making them tougher.
To do this workout, stand with your legs slightly apart while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Gently raise your arms in front of you, with your elbows slightly bent. Pause when the dumbbells reach shoulder height before returning it to the initial position.
As you must have noticed so far, there are no secrets to turning any skinny shoulders to broad admirable ones; what’s important are readiness to commit oneself to the workout plan and determination to never give up until the set goal is achieved.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!