If you want to build cannonball shoulders but can’t get to the gym or perhaps, like me you have a niggling rotator cuff injury, then shoulder workout with resistance bands will be the perfect solution.
Out of habit I always end up reverting back to working out with my selectable dumbbells, but every time I do this workout, I’m impressed by the pump and burn I get from this rapid, effective resistance band workout.
If you’ve not yet bought yourself a set of resistance bands, check out this article where I set out what you should look for when making your buying decision.
[lwptoc]
Let’s Build Cannonball Shoulders
Round, bulky, shoulders make an imposing statement, yet for many people the deltoids can be a lagging body part. They are also commonly unbalanced in their development, with over-emphasis on the side and front delts and poor anterior deltoid development.
I believe that the shoulder complex is one area of the body where the resistance band can truly offer a workout that is a genuine match for a free-weight shoulder workout. One thing is for certain, a well planned resistance band shoulder workout will leave you with that nauseating burn that all good shoulder workouts should achieve, but with much less risk for injury.
This is a simple shoulder routine in which we’re going to use resistance band lateral raises and pike presses to hit the side and front delts. For the rear delts we’re going to be relying on resistance band face pulls – an incredible exercise that will build those neglected rear deltoids and at the same time, do wonders for your head-forward posture.
Here’s a video demonstrating how to perform a pike press:
Here’s a video demonstrating how to perform the resistance band face pull:
The total rep count in this routine is just over 200 reps and it’s been designed for those who are accustomed to regular resistance training. It’s going to be grueling and your shoulders are likely to be on fire. If needed increase your rest time between rounds and if you during the pike presses, you find that you need to rest and take a few breaths mid-set, then so be it, but try not to give up and do your best to complete the workout.
Resistance Band Lateral Shoulder Raise
This workout centers around the resistance band lateral shoulder raise, so let’s have a brief look on how you’ll be performing this exercise. These instructions are written for a lateral shoulder raise focusing on the right deltoid complex. You’ll note that I perform this exercise slightly differently than shown in the above video, but either techniques are fine:
- Place the door anchor that came with your resistance bands underneath the door.
- Stand with your left shoulder towards the door and take hold of each handle.
- Side step away from the door until you can feel slight tension in the bands.
- Step your left foot forward, lean your torso forward slightly and lock your left hand on your thigh, just above your knee. You should now feel totally stable. This is your starting position.
- From here, engage you right deltoids and take your right fist out in a large arch until it’s just above head height.
- Slowly return to the starting position keeping the tension in the shoulders.
This Is The Ultimate Resistance Band Shoulder Workout
| Exercise | Reps | Rounds |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | ||
| Facepulls | 10 | 3 |
| Low Anchor Shoulder Lateral Raise: Left | 12 | |
| Low Anchor Shoulder Lateral Raise: Right | 12 | |
| Phase 2 | ||
| Pike Press | 15 | 4 |
| Facepulls | 10 | |
| Total Reps | 202 | |
Training Tips
When using the resistance bands on both the face pulls and lateral raises there’s too important factors that you need to focus on.Training Tips
Firstly, makes sure you set yourself an appropriate distance from the anchor point to ensure that the exercise isn’t too difficult when the band reaches its maximum extension. You may need to perform a few test reps to find the sweet spot but with a little trial-and-error you will discover your perfect setup in terms of the grade of band resistance that’s right for you and your position from the anchor point.
Secondly, make sure that you keep the muscles you’re working under tension throughout the entire exercise. This means not using momentum to assist when the band becomes most taught and not to relax during the negative phase of the exercise and allowing the band to snap you back to the starting position. Instead, you should perform the negative phase of every rep (the movement back to starting position) in a slow and controlled manner.
Master these two aspects of performance and your shoulders will be pumped by the end of this workout.
Finally, don’t worry too much if you can’t perform a pike press with the perfect form that is demonstrated in the above video. I suffer from poor mobility and flexibility but I still find the pike press to be extremely effective and it has become one of my favourite shoulder exercises.
Shocking Shoulder Workout With Resistance Bands!
One thing I’ve always appreciated about a good shoulder routine is the immediate visual results as the deltoids swell with blood. This workout does a solid job of pumping the deltoids in a relatively short period. If you got through the entire workout, let me know how you found it – was it painful or could you handle more?!!
Resistance band exercises for shoulders are effective and simple to do. I like them very much! And the good thing about them is that they are accessible to a wide range of fitness levels and abilities. We can easily add resistance band exercises to our current workout regimen or use them to create a new exercise routine.
Hi Paulo – yes I agree with everything you’ve written here, which is why I’m writing this series on workouts using resistance bands. Thanks for commenting and I hope you enjoy trying this workout!