How These Shoulder Workouts With Bands Improve Strength & Flexibility

These shoulder workouts with bands provide great exercises for at home or in the gym performance.

For those of us looking to build strength and flexibility in our shoulders, it’s important to know that shoulder workouts with bands can be just as effective as any with weights. With the right amount of resistance and proper form, you can really work your muscles to grow and never worry about doing a poor shoulder exercise. While weights can obviously increase muscle hypertrophy and allow for serious gains, when it comes to banded exercises, you will start to see some of that overall definition and improved training and performance that you want most.

Let’s take a look at some awesome shoulder workouts with bands to seriously improve all areas of our training and performance while also working towards that sculpted and toned body we all desire. Having strong shoulders are a necessity and resistance bands offer great benefits, so let’s put the two together to see some amazing gains.

Benefits Of Strong Shoulders

When it comes to potentially vulnerable joints, our shoulders are at the top of the list. It is vital to keep them strong and stable to avoid any unwanted pain and injury that can come our way. By working our shoulders effectively, we can handle anything that comes our way workout wise.

Benefits of strong shoulders include:

• Functional and sport specific: Having strong shoulders can work for our functionality and everyday activities while also those that are more sport specific to better our respective training and performance (1).
• Prevent injury: With weak shoulders, you run the risk of injury which can keep you out of the gym for much longer than you may like (2).
• Boost confidence: With stronger and defined shoulders, your confidence and posture will likely improve making you feel better overall.
• Nice aesthetic: Having those boulder shoulders can really enhance your aesthetic and make you have a body those around you will envy.

Reasons To Use Resistance Bands

Resistance bands can seriously enhance all areas of our growth and physical development and should not be overlooked as a piece of exercise equipment. A good quality resistance band will:

• Build muscle: Work to increase strength and size to not only see growth and definition but also work to seriously enhance those big lifts (3).
• Promote better range of motion: Help create a solid and stable platform for those big lifts as well as other everyday activities to better your mobility and flexibility.
• Enhance mind-muscle connection: Focus more on form while still having resistance to better progress with your goals (4).
• Great warm-up: A great way to add resistance while not overloading your muscles, you can get your blood flowing and your body primed for whatever workout comes your way.

Shoulder Workouts With Bands

Give these shoulder workouts with bands a try to start to see the mighty benefits of both strong shoulders and resistance bands. With these exercises, you won’t be disappointed by the results.

Front Raise

Stand on top of the band and hold each end with one hand. Raising your arms in front of you, bring them to around shoulder height before slowly lowering back to the starting position.

Lateral Raise

Standing in the middle of the band, hold each end with your palms facing inward. With a slight bend in the elbows, raise your arms to your side at about shoulder height and in a controlled motion, lower back to the starting position.

Shoulder Press

Standing with your feet on the band, grab one end of the loop and hold it at chest level. With a tight core and proper form, drive your hands over your head working to lock out your elbows. Lower back in a controlled motion to the starting position.

Reverse Fly

With your feet in the center of the band, hinge over at the waist and keep your lower back arched. Pulling the band outward, hold for a moment with a squeeze and lower back down.

Pull Apart

Standing with your feet at about shoulder width apart, the band should be horizontally in front of you. With your arms extended out in front of you and your core tight, pull the band apart and squeeze your shoulder blades together before releasing back to less tension.

Upright Row

With your feet in the middle of the band, pull the band towards your face, keeping your elbows high. While maintaining good posture all the way through, hold at the top before lowering back down.

Featured Resistance Band

Angles90 Resistance Bands

These highly resistible and perfectly transportable resistance bands from Angles90 are perfect for all of your workout needs. With the ability to work out your whole upper body with less joint stress, you will enhance muscle development and work to see that desired physique. Angles90 comes with two bands, 20 lbs. and 40 lbs., and four carabiners. The length is adjusted through the handles for convenience to ensure an effective workout with no hassle. Whether at home or on the go, you can see great growth and development with the help of Angles90 resistance bands.

Price: $24.90

Shop Angles90 Here

Check out our individual review for Angles90 Resistance Bands here!

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Check out our list of the Best Resistance Bands for seriously effective fitness products!

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Wrap Up

We all should consider performing shoulder workouts with bands to enhance our overall training, performance, and physical health. The benefits of strong shoulders on top of the many benefits that resistance bands can do can greatly affect our gains for the better and it would be a shame to totally neglect them. Whether we are looking for improved strength and performance for sport specific movements or just working towards a more solid functional lifestyle, these shoulder workouts with bands offer great access to unlock everything we need for those at home or in the gym goals. Give these banded exercises a try and see what they can do for your gains today because the results will not lie.

Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

*Images courtesy of Angles90 and Envato

References

1. Williams, Martin R. Jr.; Hendricks, Dustin S.; Dannen, Michael J.; Arnold, Andrea M.; Lawrence, Michael A. (2020). “Activity of Shoulder Stabilizers and Prime Movers During an Unstable Overhead Press”. (source)
2. Wilk, Kevin E.; Padraic, Obma; Simpson II, Charles D.; Cain, E. L.; et al. (2009). “Shoulder Injuries in the Overhead Athlete”. (source)
3. Dayne, Andrea; McBride, Jeffrey M.; Haines, Tracie L.; Larkin, Tony R.; et al. (2010). “Effect Of Elastic Band Resistance Training During Simulated Microgravity On Neuromuscular Function”. (source)
4. Bergquist, Ronny; Iversen, Vegardn M.; Mork, Paul J.; Fimland, Marius S. (2018). “Muscle Activity in Upper-Body Single-Joint Resistance Exercises with Elastic Resistance Bands vs. Free Weights”. (source)