Shoulder molder: arm yourself with these super sculptors

WHEN YOU'RE WATCHING gymnastics during this summer's Olympics, be sure to keep an eye on the upper-body movements of these phenomenal athletes. Between the floor exercises, vault and uneven parallel bars, you'll get a good idea of what the shoulder muscle can do.

When you move your arms in virtually any direction--up, down, backward, forward, sideways, diagonally--your delts are in charge, or at least involved. The ingenious design of your shoulder joints makes the deltoids one of the most mobile, versatile muscle groups in your body.

One all-time classic delt strengthener is the standing lateral raise, in which you lift dumbbells up and out to your sides. This movement is known as shoulder abduction, and it's one of the best ways to target the lateral (middle) head of your deltoid. To update this classic, we've turned it on its side--literally. This takes pure shoulder abduction to a new level by removing extraneous movement from the equation. The result? A new twist on an old fave and a highly effective way to tone, shape and strengthen those hard-working delts.

STANDING LATERAL RAISE

START: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand tall with your arms at your sides, palms facing inward, and your feet hipwidth apart. Soften your knees and distribute your weight evenly between your toes and heels. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows and keep your wrists aligned with your forearms.

EXERCISE: Maintaining the slight bend in your elbows, lift your arms up and out to your sides until they're at shoulder height, keeping the dumbbells level, palms down and wrists straight at the top of the movement. Pause, then slowly lower to the start and move immediately into the next rep until you complete all reps.

TIPS:

* Use a weight that's challenging but not so heavy that you have to rock backward to lift it or you're unable to pause at the top of the movement.

* Avoid hunching your shoulders toward your ears or rounding your back. If you can't avoid this, choose a lighter weight. It's important to keep your abs pulled inward and your chest lifted to maintain a tall posture.

* Tighten your torso by contracting your abs throughout the move--especially when lifting heavy weights or as you start to fatigue at the end of a set.

INCLINE DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE

START: Adjust a weight bench to an inclined position of about 30 degrees. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and sit sideways on the bench, with your right side against it. Bend your knees so you're sitting comfortably. Rest your left arm on top of your hip, palm facing down, and bend your elbow slightly. Bend your right elbow and lay your head on top of your forearm, keeping your neck aligned with your spine.

EXERCISE: Maintaining the slight bend in your elbow, lift your left arm up to shoulder height but no higher. Pause, then slowly return to the start. Complete all reps for your left side, then switch to perform the same number with the right arm. This equals one set.

TIPS:

* Keep your shoulders back and down throughout the movement.

* Use a weight that challenges you when you lift it to shoulder height. There's no benefit to moving above shoulder height.

* Initiate the move from the mid-shoulder without rotating your shoulder joint or turning the dumbbell upward.

* Keep your hips and shoulders stacked right over left and contract your abs to anchor your torso.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Both moves target the deltoids, the threeheaded muscle that attaches to three bones: your shoulder blade, upper arm and collarbone. Each head performs a different action: The anterior deltoid raises your arm up and to the front, the middle deltoid raises your arm up and sideways, and the posterior deltoid raises your arm up and behind you. The classic standing lateral raise isolates the muscle fibers of the middle deltoid and is an excellent way to shape, strengthen and tone that muscle. It's a staple move that should be included in everyone's shoulder-training routine. The incline dumbbell lateral raise ratchets up the intensity for a total mid-delt blast. The side-lying position helps the middle deltoid take total control of the move and eliminates any momentum you may have snuck into the motion while standing.

RELATED ARTICLE: HEADS UP ON DELTS

WITH BOTH THE CLASSIC AND UPDATED VERSIONS OF THIS EXERCISE, less is more, so use relatively light weights to ensure you maintain control and minimize momentum. Lifting too much, too fast or too high places excessive force on the ligaments, muscles, tendons and other tissues around the joint. It's essential that you stop the upward movement once your upper arm moves in line with your shoulder. After warming up your shoulders with non-weighted moves like shoulder rolls and full-arm circles, start with a light set of the classic standing lateral raise. Then perform two or three sets of the exercise with your workout weight, eight to 12 reps per set. You can then cap off your mid-delt routine with two or three sets of the incline dumbbell lateral raise. Be sure your shoulder routine also works the muscle in all other directions by including exercises like shoulder presses, front raises and rear delt flyes.