Shoulder Workouts for Group X Classes (Part 1)

While I’m usually a squats and lunges gal, I also like to mix things up with some tough shoulder workouts. Especially in Group X classes, shoulder exercises are great because you don’t need to balance them like you do for chest/back or bicep/triceps. Also, they’re smaller muscles, so more than likely the group fitness studio will have weights that are heavy enough to challenge the shoulders. You can introduce compound exercises that incorporate shoulder workouts, or you can focus on just shoulders.

Here’s one of my favorite shoulder workouts. It’s ultimately one shoulder exercise with a few variations done one after the other in a series.

Overhead Press Shoulder Workout

Grab a set of moderate dumbbells and hold them so your arms are in a T-shape with your elbows and shoulders in a straight line, palms facing forward. Press your arms towards the ceiling, until your arms are straight over your head. I like to press so that my wrists, elbows and shoulders are stacked one on top of the other.

Pulses

After the overhead press, I like to have my Group X class hold the T-shape. After 15 seconds are so, we’ll “pulse”. This means bringing your arms a few inches higher and lower at a rapid pace.

One-arm Hold & Press

Then, hold one arm in an isometric hold at the T-shape, while the other arm goes back to presses. Switch halfway through.

This shoulder workout make it easy to flow from one exercise to the next without getting bored doing the same exact thing over and over again.

I have a few more shoulder workouts on deck for my next post, which will share other shoulder exercises to try in your next Group X class. If you liked this blog post, you’ll also like my posts on push-ups and tricep workouts.