We always talk about the importance of having our body in the best physical and mental state possible, and in this case, we are going to talk in-depth about a very important upper-body muscle group called the deltoids.
What you should know about the Deltoids
The deltoids is the muscle that forms what we colloquially call the “man ball”. This muscle is wide, voluminous, and covers the anterior, lateral, and posterior aspect of the shoulder. The deltoid is one big muscle and not three like many people think. This muscle originates from the shoulder girdle, and runs all the way between the clavicle and the scapular spine.
The deltoids muscle fibers are structured in three parts:
- Anterior clavicular, this is inserted into the clavicle, and participates in movements of internal rotation and shoulder flexion, which translates into raising the arm forward.
- Posterior spinal, or as we colloquially know as the posterior deltoid area, this muscle fiber is inserted into the spine of the scapula, and participates in the movements of external rotation and extension, which translates into the movement of raising the arm backwards.
- Acromial, is inserted in the acromion or as it is also known the bony relief of the scapula and participates in the separation. It is considered the main separator muscle and the most powerful.
The muscle fibers that we have just discussed descend and unite in a common tendon that inserts into the lateral part of the humerus, in the so-called V or deltoids impression. Innervated by the nerve called axillary or circumflex. It receives blood supply from the posterior circumflex artery.
It is important to strengthen this deltoid muscle, since it is in charge of giving stability to our joints, and helps us to better support efforts; but deltoids empowerment should not be abused without working the rest of the musculature. For this we will talk about what are the muscle groups of the shoulder.
Another way of classifying the functioning of the deltoid is by dividing it into three portions that should be considered as separate muscles.
- Anterior deltoids: shoulder elevation. It is the primary motor of flexion and horizontal flexion, and the accessory motor of abduction and internal rotation. Helps the respiratory system.
- Lateral deltoids: Primary motor of abduction and vertical extension.
- Rear deltoids: Primary motor of horizontal extension and accessory motor of extension, abduction and external rotation.
What are the muscle groups of the shoulder?
The shoulder is made up of two muscle groups: the rotated cuff, responsible for stabilizing the joint and rotating the humerus; and the deltoid, responsible for giving the shoulders a round appearance, and in charge of flexion, abduction and extension of the joint.
Most common deltoid injuries
To diagnose shoulder problems and injuries, health professionals use the patient’s medical history, and perform a physical examination and imaging tests.
If you have deltoid pain and don’t know what it might be, it is most likely that the rotator cuff is affected, or you have a dislocation from blows and trauma. In addition, this area is usually affected at the muscular level, and contractures are created not only due to bad movements, but also due to stressful situations.
When the deltoid muscle is injured, a person may experience deltoid pain or tenderness in the front, side, or back of the shoulder, especially when raising the arm. In some cases, the deltoid muscle can tear and cause some swelling, and they can even look like bruises.
Common Causes of Deltoids Injuries
The most common causes of deltoid pain are repetitive use injuries and muscle strain. In fact, people who repetitively work their shoulders and deltoids are at greater risk of developing an injury to these muscles. In addition, sudden muscle strain from heavy lifting or an accident can cause serious deltoids injury.
How to avoid deltoids injuries?
If you are wondering what to do to keep your shoulders healthy, strong, and toned, it is to work them correctly and with a head, adapting the exercise and weight to us, to avoid future injuries.
These are some of the tips we give you to take care of your shoulders:
Get a good warm up
If we perform the exercise directly, we will have all the ballots to have problems with the shoulder. That is why it is essential to perform a good warm-up, including some cardio exercises and stretching exercises.
Work flexibility
We have already discussed the importance of stretching before physical activity, not only to avoid injuries but also to ensure correct muscle flexibility, in this case, that of the shoulder. Flexibility provides us with muscle strength and elasticity, and a good range of motion. That being said, sports such as yoga or Pilates are highly recommended activities to improve our strength and balance and prevent possible falls and trips that often lead to fractures.
Strengthen your shoulders
Strengthening the deltoid muscle around the shoulder will help keep you stable and protect you from injury; but you don’t need to have to perform exclusive strength exercises, or carry too much weight.
There are accessories to effectively work and strengthen this area, such as Wiemspro electrostimulation suits; a fitness technology 100% recommended by health and sports professionals.
This EMS technology uses electrical impulses to penetrate the deepest deltoid muscle fibers, generating a powerful contraction of the muscle, and exercises it in a more effective way than with any other activity or exercise developed in a conventional way, that is, without the complement of the electro.
Having said this, it is not necessary to lift more weight, nor to carry out excessive strength exercises if we have the support of electrostimulation.
In addition, we will not only quickly, effectively, and visibly improve deltoid muscle strengthening with electrostimulation; Since a lot of tension is concentrated in this muscle, electrostimulation will also help us relax this muscle and release accumulated tension.
The 5 best exercises for the deltoids
We have previously commented on the importance of having good functioning deltoids, both for everyday actions, as well as for specific exercises such as golf, tennis, or paddle tennis. Therefore, we are going to discuss the 5 best exercises to develop good deltoids.
Front raises
The front elevations are performed with the feet slightly apart, and we can use dumbbells, a bar, or another element with a lightweight. Next, we contract the abdomen and raise our arms to shoulder height, hold for a few seconds, and slowly descend until we return to the starting position.
If we do the elevations with dumbbells, we can alternate the arms in each repetition.
Lateral raises
These raises come in two versions: the classic lateral raises and the lateral posterior raises.
Classic Lateral Raises
Begin by placing your feet shoulder-width apart. We grab the dumbbells with our hands inward. We raise the arms out to the sides until they are at shoulder height. We hold for a few seconds at the top, and slowly lower ourselves until we return to the starting position.
Rear Deltoid Raise
We stand with the legs slightly bent and separated at the width of the hip. Next, we lean over, bending at the hips with our backs slightly arched and knees bent. We take a dumbbell for each hand and place the arms perpendicular to the ground. Next, we proceed to carry out the elevations taking the weight outwards. From that position, we slowly lower back to the starting position.
Neck rowing
To perform this exercise, we must have our feet hip-width apart, and grasping the bar in pronation. With the bar as close to the body as possible, we raise it to the chest and hold the position for a few seconds. Elbows should remain open throughout the entire stroke.
This is one of the quintessential rear deltoid exercises and one that is most used to improve the rear deltoid, or as it is colloquially known for the rear shoulders.
Shoulder press
In the shoulder press we find two possible exercises:
Barbell Shoulder Press
We stand with our feet hip-width apart. We hold the bar in front of the chest with the arms bent and the hands at the distance of the shoulders. We have to place the elbows pointing downwards, and the wrists must be straight. To have a better performance, we contract the abdominals and buttocks as we prepare to raise the bar above the head, without leaning back. We hold for a few seconds and slowly return to the starting position.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
We place ourselves in the same starting position as in the shoulder press, we take the dumbbells and hold them with our hands at shoulder height with both arms bent. Next, we push the dumbbells up until the elbows are fully stretched. We hold for a few seconds and lower the dumbbells slowly to the final position.
Battle Rope
Within the Battle Rope, we find an infinite number of exercises for all types of profiles; and we can combine them with squats, strides, etc. to involve a greater number of muscles in the exercise.
But one of the most basic exercises of the Battle Ropes is the double wave, which consists of placing your feet at shoulder height and holding the ropes by the ends with your hands. To this we add a slight bend in the knees and then we move our arms up and down, picking up more and more speed.
Conclusions
In short, we have to learn to listen to our body to strengthen it, while avoiding injuries such as those of the deltoids. We advise you to try these basic exercises and then apply Wiemspro electrostimulation training to your routine if you want to achieve better results in less time.
