Exercise in the gym has become fashionable in recent decades. Thanks to special simulators, it is possible to localize the load on certain muscle groups in order to more fully study and strengthen them. This article describes a variety of and effective exercises for deltas in the hall.
What are deltoid muscles?
Obviously, before giving a list of exercises on the deltas in the gym, you should familiarize yourself with the position and characteristics of these muscles. In simple terms, we are talking about the muscles of the shoulders. Any actions that involve raising the arm up and to the sides involve the deltoid muscle. She received this name due to its shape in the form of the Greek letter Δ (delta). This name was first used by the ancient Greeks in the 2nd century BC. In medical works in Latin and other European languages, the name deltoid muscles began to be actively used in the late Middle Ages and during the New Age.
It is not in vain that they speak of the deltas in the plural, because these important muscles consist of three parts:
How they are located relative to each other and the human body as a whole, can be seen below in the figure.
Judging by the location of these muscles, everyone can confidently say that the front delta is yellow, the middle delta is orange, and the rear delta is purple.
Why should you train deltas?
The answer to this question involves taking into account many functions that the muscles in question perform. The fact is that deltas are involved in all types of vertical and horizontal movements of the arm, that is, they are one of the most involved muscles in the process of normal human life, not to mention sports such as tennis, basketball and volleyball.
Since the groups of muscle fibers under consideration have a large daily physical load, due attention should be paid to their targeted strengthening, which is carried out using a variety of exercises for deltas.
There is another reason why it is necessary to develop and train these muscles. If a person is seriously engaged in the appearance of his body, then he makes great efforts to build muscle mass of his arms, legs, chest and back. However, for the athlete to feel the maximum benefit from his training, and for his body to look proportionate, it is also necessary to develop deltas.
List of Top Delta Exercises
Now we will list the best physical exercises that maximize the ability to train the athlete’s shoulders. Among them, the following should be noted:
- lateral dumbbell lifts;
- frontal dumbbell lifts;
- vertical dumbbell raises sitting and standing;
- sitting at the back of the head;
- lifting the bar while sitting in front of the chest;
- lifting dumbbells with one and two hands in a tilt position;
- exercises lying on a bench with dumbbells;
- exercise "paddle".
As can be seen from this list, the number and variety of exercises for the deltas is great. Moreover, each of them works out one or another part of the muscles in question better. Let us characterize each of them in more detail.
Side Dumbbell Lifts
There are several varieties of lateral lifts, however, all these exercises begin with the same starting stance: the athlete should be straight, legs apart at shoulder width and slightly bend at the knees, the back straight, the gaze looking forward. In each hand, you need to take a dumbbell of the appropriate weight. The elbows in the starting position should look slightly away from the body. Next, you should perform the simultaneous lifting of the dumbbells until the moment when the dumbbell, elbow and shoulder are on the same line. After that, without any delay, you should gradually lower your hands and return to the original stance.
If you raise your hands from such a starting position, when the dumbbells are on the sides of the body, then this will be a good exercise for the middle delta, namely. If in the lower position the dumbbells are in front of the body, and when lifting are directed to the sides, then in this case the front deltas of the shoulders will train more.
Both types of exercises for greater effectiveness are recommended to be performed in the form of 2 series of 12-15 repetitions in each. Exercises are performed in such a way that the lifting of the dumbbells is carried out with a small impulse, and their lowering occurs as smoothly as possible. When the dumbbells are at the lower point, it is not recommended to straighten the arms at the elbows to the end in order to avoid unnecessary strain on the latter. During the exercise, constant tension in the shoulders should be maintained. The weight of the shells should be selected so that at the end of each series the athlete feels tired and light burning in the deltas.
Front dumbbell lifts
These lifts are performed from a standing position, while the initial position of the legs is exactly the same as for lateral lifts. Since the initial jerk (impulse) is stronger during frontal exercise than lateral, the athlete can practice with large masses of dumbbells.
We list three types of exercises for deltas with dumbbells, which suggest their frontal rise:
- Simultaneous lifting of shells overhead. In the final position, the arms should be slightly bent at the elbows.
- Simultaneous lifting of dumbbells to the athlete's eye level. In this case, the projectile, elbow and shoulder should be on a horizontal line in front of the athlete.
- Alternately lifting the left and right hand to the eye level of the athlete.
The difference between these three varieties of frontal exercises is simple: in the case of 2 deltas, the athlete is in constant tension, the load on them does not stop even at the lowest point when the hands are lowered. In the case of options 1 and 3, there are phases of load and rest for the shoulders. In connection with the above, option 2 should be performed with a good level of physical preparation of the athlete, as well as using slightly lower weights than in cases 1 and 3. All three options are good exercises on the front deltas.
When performing frontal lifts, a huge load falls on the lumbar spine, since the athlete is forced to hold extra weight in front of him on an outstretched arm. Therefore, it is important that during the exercise, the athlete’s back is as straight as possible and does not lean forward to avoid injury to the lumbar.
Vertical dumbbell lifts sitting and standing
Perhaps this is one of the safest exercises on the muscles of the delta. Their diversity is great, because the implementation is carried out both sitting and standing, both with simultaneous and variable lifting dumbbells. The essence of all these options is that the athlete takes the shells, takes the starting position, for example, sits on the training bench, and has dumbbells near the shoulders (the forearms are in this vertical position). Sports equipment can be held both by expanding the palms of the hands towards each other, and directing them forward. Having taken the initial stance, the athlete begins to push the dumbbells up, lifting them until the arms are fully extended. Then comes the downward phase of the exercise and return to the original position.
Depending on the position of the athlete’s palms and whether the dumbbell is lifted while standing or sitting, these exercises are effective on the middle deltas, on the front and back. It also depends on the trajectory of the projectiles (they are slightly in front or behind the athlete’s head).
Sitting bar raises
Barbell lifts are the best delta exercises. Unlike dumbbell lifts, which allow maximum localization of the load on a specified part of the body, this does not work with the bar, since it always involves many other muscle groups, including the chest, trapezoid and triceps. Nevertheless, the bar allows the use of large weights, which significantly increases the load on the deltoid muscles as well.
To maximize the use of deltas using a bar, it is necessary for an athlete to sit on a training bench with a back. Having taken a comfortable position, and having reliably rested against the back, the projectile should be lifted and lowered. There are two options for loading deltas as much as possible:
- The movement of the bar in front of the athlete, while in its lower position the bar should touch the upper chest. In this case, the front deltas are well developed.
- The vertical movement of the bar behind the head of the athlete. During this type of projectile lifting, the bench should be positioned so that the athlete does not pull his neck forward strongly. This is an effective exercise on the back deltas of the shoulders.
Note that exercises with the bar on the deltas should be carried out only while sitting, and only on the bench with the back. In this way, the athlete will be able to stabilize his movements as much as possible and not include other muscles aimed at maintaining balance, as, for example, in the case of a standing barbell press.
Incline Dumbbell Lifting
Another interesting variety of exercises for deltas is training them in an inclined position. There are two options:
- The athlete becomes, bends his knees and leans on one knee with one hand, takes a dumbbell on the floor with his other hand. From this starting position, lift the dumbbell to the side until the straight arm with the projectile is parallel to the floor. Then lower your hand. After 12-15 repetitions, hands should be changed.
- The athlete sits on the edge of the bench, leans forward and takes two dumbbells. Then he should lift them back on the sides of the body, keeping his elbows slightly bent.
Both options are great exercises for the middle and back deltoid muscles.
Exercises lying on a bench with dumbbells.
These exercises allow you to isolate deltas as much as possible and work them out properly. There are two main varieties. Both of them are performed from the same starting position: the athlete lays his stomach on the bench, lowers his hands on both sides of it and takes a dumbbell in each of them. Next, do one of the following:
- or the athlete begins to lift the dumbbells, spreading them in different directions;
- or he directs the dumbbell trajectory from his hips to his head, while shells describe half-arcs.
Paddle exercise
It is performed as follows: the athlete assumes the initial standing position, then, begins to simultaneously lift two dumbbells vertically upward, bending his arms at the elbows. The rise is carried out to the level of the chin. After this, the shells gradually lower.
There is another kind of “paddle” for deltas: an athlete performs a semi-squat, and then the actions described above.
We note one more effective exercise for the muscle group under consideration: in the initial rack with dumbbells, the athlete’s hands remain below, and he tries to raise only his shoulders up and down.
Some recommendations
Since the deltoid muscles are constantly stressed throughout the day, they are quite trained in many people. Nevertheless, before performing all of these exercises, it is necessary to warm up the muscles for 10 minutes. To do this, you can use light weight dumbbells, as well as various stretch marks involving the shoulder girdle. Note that any, even minor injury to the deltas heals for a very long time (within a few weeks).