When you get ready to tackle an upper-body workout, oftentimes you might focus on your biceps and triceps. But you might just be missing the best part of upper-body day: shoulders!
Working your shoulders can improve your posture, mobility and overall upper-body stability and strength. Your shoulders are a big part of your ability to move through your day-to-day activities - like lifting and carrying groceries, boxes or even your kids and pets - and strengthening them will make those tasks so much easier. We love that, right?
As for why dumbbells are such a great muscle-strengthening tool, they're great for beginners and advanced lifters alike, they build balanced muscle and strength by providing resistance to each side of your body and they allow for greater range of motion as opposed to, say, an exercise machine.
So, give this five-move dumbbell shoulder workout a try on your next upper-body day - at the gym or at home! Perform each exercise for 50 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between. After performing all the exercises in order below, rest 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat the circuit two more times. The whole workout should take around 20 minutes, depending on how long you rest for.
A set of medium-weight dumbbells
An exercise mat is optional, but recommended