Hey hey, how’s it going? I hope your Monday went well!

The majority of mine was spent writing – I try to reserve Mondays to knock out as much writing work as I can for the week – but also included a trip the vet and a volleyball game.

Unfortunately, Niko has been sick on and off lately. Ever since we almost lost her back in September 2013, she’s gotten flare ups every now and then, and we’ve had to make sure she doesn’t get any sort of table scraps. Well, the past couple of weeks, she’s gotten sick much more frequently – maybe 2-3 times in the past 10 days, so I went ahead and scheduled an appointment. It’s weird, because after a day of being lethargic, she’ll completely be back to herself the next day.

The vet gave us some specifications on her food, so hopefully that helps. Because my heart hurts when she hurts!

Immediately after her appointment, I had to change shoes, and head back out the door for my volleyball game! Another reason Mondays rock: I get to play vball with my awesome team! We won, and had so much fun.

Aside from volleyball, I took a rest day from any formal workouts. But – I did get a lifting session in on Sunday, and I made sure to snap a couple pictures from the workout I wanted to share with you today!

Deltoid Domination

The other day I came across an article on the ACEFitness.org website about the Top Shoulder Exercises for the three main muscles in the shoulders. Because I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 12, my right shoulder has taken a beating over the years. As such, it’s one of the only muscle groups I isolate (aside from the glutes) to train. The shoulders are the most vulnerable join in the body, as they’re not as secure in our musculature as say, our knees or our hips. So ensuring we have as much muscular balance and limited muscular weaknesses there keeps a healthy happy shoulder.

Plus, who doesn’t love a nice set of shoulders?

Oh hi dere!

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Anyway, I thought I’d share it with you all, including a few of my other favorites. The three exercises were some of my favorites already, so now I have even more of a drive to include them in my routine! Here are the studies’ 3 Best Exercises for Building the Shoulders:

45-Degree Row: Come into a prone position assisted by a 45-degree incline bench. Holding two weights in a prone position, contract the upper back muscles, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Pause at the top, and then slowly extend the arms back down.

Overhead Press: Hold two dumbbells just above shoulder height, with your knees soft and feet hip-width apart. Keep the core engaged as you press the weights up until the arms are extended. Lower back to starting.

Seated Bent-over Rear Delt Fly: Sit on a a bench with your back straight and feet flat on the floor. Tilt forward at the hips to lower into a bent-over position. Raise your arms out to your sides until the elbows reach your shoulder height, keeping a slight bend in the elbows. Slowly lower back to starting.

Some of my other favorite exercises for the shoulders include:

power dumbbell snatches for power and stability, Turkish get ups for stability, cable external rotations for shoulder heath, and I just love a good push press.

[Tweet “Deltoid Domination: The 3 Best Shoulder Exercises – via @TrainerPaige #fitfluential”]

Do you isolate any muscle groups when training?

What’s your favorite shoulder exercise?