What are the best Shoulder Exercises you can do?

Well, the shoulder exercises of the wild, of course! And what does that mean? Using your own bodyweight, as nature intended. Take a look at how strong and powerful the shoulders are on this picture of a Gorilla. If he can develop these kinds of shoulders without going to a gym, why do you think you need weights to train yours?

A Safer and Healthier way to Train

Besides the fact that you can develop broad and sexy shoulders using only your own bodyweight, the fact of the matter is that it is much safer and healthier to train this way as well. The reason for this is that with weight training you are only using a single range of motion. This can lead to wear and tear on your rotator cuff, for example. When you train naturally with your own bodyweight, not only do you strengthen the muscles, but the tendons and ligaments as well.

Avoid the Dangers of Weight Training

The number of injuries people sustain when weight training is fairly astonishing (When I used to lift, I managed to hurt myself on several occasions). In the past, if someone had a rotator cuff injury, they were most likely a baseball pitcher. The injury was very rare. Nowadays, people believe it is healthy to train their shoulders by doing bench and shoulder presses with barbells. The results? An epidemic of torn pectoral muscles and rotator cuff injuries. This keeps the sports medicine people happy, but why do it? It is practically impossible to injure yourself this way when you train your shoulders the way nature intended.

Exercises to Try

Enough with the lecture. Here are some shoulder exercises to try. Not only will they train your shoulders, but your entire body as well.
Hindu Pushups – One of the best shoulder exercises around (medium exercise)

This is probably the easiest exercise to try at first to train your shoulders, but it is by no means easier. The first time I tried it, I think I was able to perform about 5 of these. Hindu Pushups will work your shoulders, hips and spine while at the same time increasing your strength and stamina.

The Gymnastic Bridge (medium Exercise)

The Gymnastic Bridge will build fantastic strength not only in your shoulders, but along your entire body as well. It is also a great exercise for your spine.

The Reverse Handstand (medium exercise)

See that picture of Jack Lalanne? One of the ways he built that body was by performing handstands. If you want to try this, the reverse handstand is probably the best way to start.