Subtleties of training for lifting dumbbells in front of you. Pumping up your shoulders: lifting dumbbells in front of you, lifting a barbell in front of you onto your shoulders

Raising dumbbells in front of you is one of the most effective exercises for working the deltoid muscles. These muscles cover the shoulder joint like the shoulder pad of armor and consist of three bundles: anterior, middle and posterior. The anterior bundle is responsible for moving the arm forward, and, accordingly, this exercise makes maximum use of this part of the muscle.

Regular lifting will make the deltoids round, clearly defined, and develop their strength and volume. The exercise is very popular among professional athletes, in particular tennis players, wrestlers and athletes.

Effect on muscles

First of all, lifting dumbbells in front of you develops your shoulders, namely the front and middle deltas. The front one pulls the arm up, and the middle one stabilizes its position.

Additionally, the exercise works the following muscles: pectoral, trapezius, inner biceps, serratus. Due to the fact that proper lifting of dumbbells is only possible with tense abs, the exercise also tones the abdominal muscles. Together with them, the muscles of the legs and back perform the role of stabilizers of the torso.

Deltoid muscles.

Dumbbell forward swings are an isolation exercise that develops a specific muscle group. In order to get a harmonious body, you need to combine it with other exercises for the arms and shoulders.

Weight selection and warm-up

Beginner girls can use a weight of 2 kilograms, men - from 4–5. You will determine the optimal weight for yourself after a couple of classes. Deltas are small muscles, they get tired quickly, and too much weight simply will not allow you to complete the workout.

As for men, gradually, when you perfect the exercise technique, it will be possible to increase the weight to 16–20 kg. Do not increase the load by more than 2 kilograms at a time. Lifting heavy weights requires excellent technique. In this case, a small number of repetitions are performed.

Based on your level of training and the selected weight, you can perform simultaneous or alternate swings. Keep in mind that lifting two heavy dumbbells forward at the same time is extremely difficult and inconvenient. This threatens that the technique of performing the exercise may be disrupted. Focus on your own feelings. Lifting dumbbells one at a time will not reduce the effectiveness of the exercise, but will allow the muscles to take a break from the intense load.

When working with weights, it is recommended to do a preliminary warm-up. Particular attention should be paid to the arm muscles. The best preparation is to swing your arms and rotate your shoulder joints. These simple movements will prepare your body for stress and make the exercise safer.

Performing the exercise

How to properly lift dumbbells in front of you? To begin, take the correct starting position. Take dumbbells in your hands and place them in front of you at hip level.

There are two types of grip: neutral and palms down. In the first case, the hands are located opposite each other, and in the second they look at the hips, that is, the thumbs are turned towards each other. You can work in any mode and change grips in subsequent approaches. The classic version of the exercise involves an overhand grip.

You should not touch your thighs with your hands. Straighten your back, straighten your shoulders and chest and fix your body in this position. Slightly bend your elbows and tense your muscles. This is the position your body will be in throughout the entire exercise. Now you can perform forward swings.

1. As you inhale, raise your arms with dumbbells to chin level. During movement, the arms remain slightly bent at the elbows and do not straighten completely. The movement should be carried out exclusively due to rotation in the shoulder joint.
2. Make sure that the movement of the hands is carried out in the vertical plane without horizontal displacement. When lifting dumbbells at the same time, the distance between your hands should be equal to shoulder width. It is forbidden to move or spread your arms to the sides.
3. The extreme point of movement is at chin level. Having reached it, hold for a couple of seconds, tighten your deltoids as much as possible and slowly return to the starting position.
4. Take a short break (for 1-2 breathing cycles) and repeat.

Work at a moderate pace. Do 10–12 reps. Rest for 1 minute and repeat 1-2 more times.

Contraindications

In what cases is it prohibited to swing your arms?

• Recent injury to the shoulders or arms.
• Abdominal surgery performed within a year.

It is also not recommended to carry out weight training if you feel unwell, weak or dizzy. If you feel discomfort at the beginning of the exercise, limit yourself to one approach or immediately complete the exercise.

1. Do not arch your lower back or use inertial force. Control every movement, synchronizing it with your breathing.
2. Don't slouch. To do this, control the position of your chest and shoulders. They must be straightened out.
3. When moving the dumbbells forward, do not help yourself with your body. Don't tilt your pelvis and shoulders back. If it's too difficult for you, use lighter dumbbells.
4. If, in addition to improving your muscle shape, you want to lose weight (women tend to have fat in the shoulder area), pay attention to cardio. Do a 30-minute moderate-intensity workout immediately after strength training.
5. Complete the swing.

Raising dumbbells in front of you while standing is an exercise for the deltoid muscles. It will make your shoulders strong and defined, and also prepare them for other types of stress.

Full description of the exercise, lifting dumbbells in front of you, muscles involved, starting position, technique, other front exercises, common mistakes and important tips + training video.

This is a classic example of an isolation exercise for deep development of the anterior deltoid muscle, therefore this exercise is aimed at “sharpening” the anterior deltoid, and not all deltoid muscles, therefore, critical weight as in basic exercises is excluded.

Muscles involved

The main ones are the anterior head of the deltas, the secondary ones are the middle head of the deltas, the serratus anterior, the pectoralis major and minor, the serratus, the coracobrachialis, and also partly the trapezius.

Initial position

Stand in front of a mirror, pick up dumbbells in your hands, holding dumbbells in front of you at the bottom, near the quadriceps (front of the thigh), but without touching them, to maintain minimal muscle contraction in the arms and front deltoid.

The elbows are slightly bent, the back is straight, the shoulders are pulled back, the chest is slightly raised and pushed forward. The legs are slightly tense, the gaze is straight forward, the chin is not lowered down.

Technique for lifting dumbbells in front of you

Take a deep breath and, as you exhale, lift the dumbbell in front of you to eye level, while the elbow at the top point should not be lower than the level of your shoulders, otherwise the effectiveness of the entire movement will be lost. When the dumbbells rise to shoulder level, they should be shifted slightly inward until the end of the movement, increasing the isolated load on the muscle being trained.

You should not linger at the top point, but having reached the peak of contraction of the anterior deltoids, return to the starting position, avoiding the dumbbell touching the quadriceps.

For maximum muscle contraction, lift the barbell above head level by about 10 cm, in this position the muscle experiences the so-called “super stress” and awakens the deepest parts of the anterior deltoids.

Type of exercise

lifting dumbbells with palms turned into a neutral grip in the upper position (palms facing each other);

Raising a ∑-shaped bar in front of you;

Lifting a pancake while holding it with both hands.

Raising one dumbbell in a vertical position, holding it with both hands

Common mistakes

1) When lifting dumbbells, the torso leans back strongly, don’t do this, you throw up the weight by swinging the body and pull with the help of the chest muscles, thus stealing most of the load from the delta;

2) After lowering the weight from the top point, the dumbbells touch the quadriceps, reducing delta tension + the dumbbell springing from the hip facilitates the initial stage of the movement (it’s good, it becomes easier, but our task is not easy, but to work the muscle and give it muscle growth).

1. Try not to allow your torso to sway, this will make the exercise easier, but will remove the load from the front deltoid, which means the effectiveness of the exercise will decrease.

2. At the beginning of the movement from the bottom point, you can turn your palms towards each other in advance and do the exercise in this manner, in this case the load will transfer to the inner part of the front delta.

3. Another type of exercise is when, in the process of moving the dumbbells upward, the hand turns and the palm looks inward; when they drop to the lowest point, the dumbbell turns to its normal starting position, i.e. the grip below is directed towards the body.

4. It doesn’t matter if you raise or lower the dumbbell, keep your elbows slightly bent, this removes the load from the elbow joints and concentrates the entire load on the front deltoids.

5. If you can’t balance your torso and it continues to sway, lean your back against the wall, it will not allow you to lean back and you will immediately feel how hard it is to lift each dumbbell.

6. Raise the weight slightly above the shoulders, this is how the contraction peaks and muscle failure is achieved.

And finally, I’ll say, DON’T BE LAZY TO STRETCH YOUR MUSCLE, at one time I pulled my anterior bundle and suffered from pain for a long time for 6 months. It’s a terrible feeling when it’s very problematic to abduct your shoulder, do simple arm curls, pull-ups and parallel bars, so I had to take less weight and come up with analogous exercises. Better spend the extra 5 minutes, but believe me, it's worth it!

Our respect, ladies and gentlemen! On the calendar 12 December, Wednesday. And this means it’s time for a technical note on the ABCs of Bodybuilding. And today we will talk about lifting the barbell in front of you. After reading, you will learn everything about the muscle atlas, the benefits and technique of performing the exercise. We will also find out the degree of its effectiveness and analyze some practical points.

So, make yourself comfortable, let's begin.

Lifting the barbell in front of you. What, why and why?

There is such a wide variety of exercises that you can do in the gym. But club visitors, for the most part, use no more than a dozen of them. Why are things this way? It seems to us that it's all about the herd instinct: people watch who does what exercises. After that, they simply insert them into their . Fitness club instructors are also not seen updating trainees’ arsenal of exercises. If the buttocks, then definitely, if the chest, then, for the deltoids - then. We, through our technical notes, try to combat Routine Ivanovna, the monotony of your workouts and the sensations that your muscles receive. How successful are we? You decide. We will continue to “bend” our line. And today we will analyze an unusual exercise - lifting a barbell in front of you. Now we’ll find out what it is. Go!

Note:
For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.

Muscle atlas

The exercise belongs to the isolating class with a push/push type of force and is aimed at working the shoulders. The muscle ensemble includes the following units:

• targeted – anterior delta;
• synergists – pectoralis major (clavicular head), middle delta, trapezius (middle/bottom), serratus anterior;
• stabilizers - upper trapezius, levator scapulae, wrist flexors.

A complete muscle atlas looks like this:

Advantages

By performing the exercise, lifting the barbell in front of you, you can expect to receive the following benefits:

• increase in muscle mass of the deltas;
• development of shoulder strength;
• improvement of form;
• strengthening the stabilizer muscles;
• increasing working weights in bench press exercises;
• development and strengthening of the muscles of the upper shoulder girdle.

Execution technique

Lifting the barbell in front of you is an exercise of entry-level complexity. The step-by-step execution technique is as follows:

Step #0.

Equip the barbell, take it in your hands with a shoulder-width grip and place it near your pelvis at arm's length. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, and lean your body forward slightly. Statically tighten your abs. Direct your gaze forward. This is your starting position.

Step #1.

Inhale and as you exhale, lift the barbell forward and up above eye level. Linger on 1-2 count at the top point of the trajectory, then slowly and under control lower the barbell into the IP.

In picture form it looks like this:

In motion like this:

Variations

In addition to the standard version of lifting the barbell in front of you, there are several variations of the exercise:

• reverse grip;
• with a pancake in hand;
• sitting on a bench.

Secrets and subtleties

To get the most out of the exercise, follow these guidelines:

• stand still throughout the entire movement;
• do not use a large weight of the barbell and perform the movement without inertia;
• do not throw the barbell from the top position, but smoothly move it to the bottom;
• at the bottom point of the trajectory, do not straighten your elbows to the end;
• do not lift the barbell up high, your lifting height should be in the range from shoulder level to eye level;
• remember: the wider the grip, the more the emphasis shifts to the middle deltoid;
• breathing technique: inhale - when lowering the projectile down, exhale - when going up;
• numerical training parameters: number of approaches 3 , number of repetitions – 12-15 .

We're done with the theoretical side, now let's look at some practical points.

Is lifting a barbell in front of you an effective exercise for deltoids?

Researchers (Samantha Sweeney, College of Science and Health Clinical Exercise Physiology, USA, 2014 ) The following data were obtained on the electrical activity of muscles in delta exercises:

• front delta: barbell row to the chin – 33 ; waves with ropes – 49 57/59 ; seated dumbbell press - 74 ;
• middle delta: waves with ropes – 37 ; lifting dumbbells/barbells in front of you – 39 ; seated dumbbell press - 62 ; barbell pull to the chin - 73 .

Thus, lifting dumbbells/barbells in front of you is a fairly effective exercise for the anterior deltoid.

How to quickly pump up your shoulders?

The deltoid muscles are made up of 3 -x bundles – anterior, middle and posterior. Most of the exercises that gym goers perform involve the first two. In addition, the anterior delta assists a lot in the pressing movement - bringing the arm to the horizontal axis in the bench press. Therefore, if you want to quickly pump up your shoulders, then give them a full day or even two: one at the beginning of the week, the other at the end. It is recommended to start working with the lagging one - most often the posterior beam. After that, move on to the front and middle. In general, perform at least one workout per workout: 4-5 Some excellent mechanics exercises.

Actually, that’s all in terms of content, let’s summarize.

Afterword

Review of the exercise, lifting a barbell in front of you has joined our pantheon of technical notes. Will the exercise fit into your training? Maybe. But to find out, you need to “feel” it. Therefore, we blow into the hall and test the theory in practice. Good luck!

PS: How do you train deltoids, according to the classics?

PPS: did the project help? Then leave a link to it in your social network status - plus 100 points towards karma guaranteed :)

With respect and gratitude, Protasov DMitriy.

– the best isolating exercise for working out the anterior bundles of deltoid muscles; during execution, the middle bundles of deltas are also partially involved. For many athletes, the front delts are dominant, and the rear ones lag behind, and therefore most experienced athletes perform only bench presses for the front delts. But for those whose anterior deltoids are lagging behind, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the technique of performing dumbbell lifts in front of you.

• Take dumbbells with a neutral grip (palms facing each other), straighten your back, bend your legs slightly at the knees. The arms should be almost straight (but not completely) and fixed at the elbow joint.
• Inhale, hold your breath and lift the dumbbells in front of you (you can lift the dumbbells either together or alternately). Lift the dumbbells only using the force of your front deltoids. Avoid body vibrations and movements in the elbow joints.
• Raise the dumbbells to shoulder level or slightly higher, and then lower them slowly and under control.
• After a short pause, perform the next repetition.

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See how performing dumbbell swings while standing in front of you looks like in the video at the end of this article.

• At the beginning of the training, a high-quality warm-up and warming up of the shoulder joints;
• (2 warm-up +3 working sets of 10 repetitions);
• (2 warm-up + 3 working sets of 10 repetitions);
• (3 working sets of 10 repetitions);
• (3 sets of 10 repetitions);