3 Shoulder Exercises That Actually Make You Look Thinner
How thin you look isn't all about your belly and losing belly fat. It's all about the "illusion" of looking thin. Yes, your waist is the biggest factor... however, curves for a woman and the "lean look" for guys has a lot to do with your shoulders.
In this article, I'll show you 3 shoulder (deltoid) exercises that will help make you look more thin and lean.
Side laterals
What you're going for here is to make your shoulders wider so that when people look you up and down, the wideness of your shoulders contrasts with the less-than wide waist and hips. This contrast will make you look a lot thinner if your shoulders are wider.
So take a pair of dumbbells. With your arms to your sides, hanging. Now, slightly bend your arms at the elbow. Lift the dumbbells up and out while you lead with the elbows. By leading with your elbows, you place maximum emphasis on your shoulders. Most people put too much emphasis at their wrists and forearms while doing this exercise. Big mistake.
Since we are focusing on shoulder development, do a few more sets than what is normal... so 6 sets or so... 8-12 repetitions.
Seated dumbbell press
Again, take a pair of dumbbells and rest them on your lap while seated. Heave them up so that they're overhead. Simply press them up and down over each shoulder at the same time. Do 3-4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
Chinups/pullups
Ah wait.... I fooled you a bit here. This is actually a back exercise. It works the latissimus dorsi... the large upper part of your back. Why this is important is because these muscles sit right below the shoulders. So building them up to be wider also has a dramatic visual impact on how thin your waist will look.
Take a medium grip on the chinup bar and do as many repetitions as possible. If you can't do any, simply hang on the bar. Hanging on the bar is effective, so don't consider it a waste of time. Do 3 sets of as many reps as possible.
Lat Pulldowns
This is a bonus exercise.
If you can't do any chinups/pullups and feel uncomfortable just hanging on the bar, replace that exercise with lat pulldowns. Go to the lat pulldown station and grab the bar with a medium grip. Simply pull it down to your upper chest. (Note: Some people pull it to the back of the necks, however I don't recommend that since over time it can cause neck problems for you.)
Do 3 sets of 12 reps of this exercise as a replacement to chinups.
It doesn't matter if you're a guy or girl, everyone wants a lean, thin-looking waist. Of course work on cardio and weight loss to lose inches from the waist, just don't neglect working your shoulders to help enhance the thin-waist look.
In this article, I'll show you 3 shoulder (deltoid) exercises that will help make you look more thin and lean.
Side laterals
What you're going for here is to make your shoulders wider so that when people look you up and down, the wideness of your shoulders contrasts with the less-than wide waist and hips. This contrast will make you look a lot thinner if your shoulders are wider.
So take a pair of dumbbells. With your arms to your sides, hanging. Now, slightly bend your arms at the elbow. Lift the dumbbells up and out while you lead with the elbows. By leading with your elbows, you place maximum emphasis on your shoulders. Most people put too much emphasis at their wrists and forearms while doing this exercise. Big mistake.
Since we are focusing on shoulder development, do a few more sets than what is normal... so 6 sets or so... 8-12 repetitions.
Seated dumbbell press
Again, take a pair of dumbbells and rest them on your lap while seated. Heave them up so that they're overhead. Simply press them up and down over each shoulder at the same time. Do 3-4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
Chinups/pullups
Ah wait.... I fooled you a bit here. This is actually a back exercise. It works the latissimus dorsi... the large upper part of your back. Why this is important is because these muscles sit right below the shoulders. So building them up to be wider also has a dramatic visual impact on how thin your waist will look.
Take a medium grip on the chinup bar and do as many repetitions as possible. If you can't do any, simply hang on the bar. Hanging on the bar is effective, so don't consider it a waste of time. Do 3 sets of as many reps as possible.
Lat Pulldowns
This is a bonus exercise.
If you can't do any chinups/pullups and feel uncomfortable just hanging on the bar, replace that exercise with lat pulldowns. Go to the lat pulldown station and grab the bar with a medium grip. Simply pull it down to your upper chest. (Note: Some people pull it to the back of the necks, however I don't recommend that since over time it can cause neck problems for you.)
Do 3 sets of 12 reps of this exercise as a replacement to chinups.
It doesn't matter if you're a guy or girl, everyone wants a lean, thin-looking waist. Of course work on cardio and weight loss to lose inches from the waist, just don't neglect working your shoulders to help enhance the thin-waist look.
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