Centr trainer Bobby Holland Hanton performs a bodyweight shoulder exercise.
Movement
Centr Team

5 of the best bodyweight shoulder exercises

Centr Team

Want to build strong and defined shoulders at home but don’t have dumbbells or a functional trainer? With the right bodyweight exercises, you can get impressive results.

When you’re on a mission to maximize shoulder strength and definition, it’s important to hit your shoulders from all angles:

  • Anterior deltoids – the front
  • Lateral deltoids – the sides
  • Posterior deltoids – the back

While a home workout using classic bodyweight exercises and clever variations can work all these angles, it will also engage supporting muscles in your arms, chest and upper back, giving you a balanced and functional session.

Centr trainer Luke Zocchi performs a pike push-up.
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Pike push-ups are an advanced move that can build serious shoulder strength and size as part of a home bodyweight routine.

The benefits of shoulder workouts

Strong and defined shoulders aren’t just the cherry on top of sculpted arms. Strengthening your deltoids can significantly improve your daily movement and upper-body functionality.

Benefits of strong shoulders include:

  • Regularly working your deltoids improves posture by drawing your shoulders back and down, while opening up the chest. This in turn helps to reduce neck and back pain.

  • If you’re a runner, strong shoulders help improve running posture by drawing your torso upright, and optimize your arm swing to boost speed and efficiency.
  • Everyday tasks like reaching for a high shelf, lifting heavy bags, or even stabilizing yourself while walking becomes easier.

  • Reduced injury risk from everyday and sporting activities.

  • Increased lifting power in upper-body workouts.

And because most shoulder exercises also engage multiple upper-body muscle groups, a good shoulder workout will build balanced strength and burn calories.

Whether you’re looking for sculpted definition or practical strength, bodyweight exercises are a great way to achieve your shoulder goals without equipment.

How to build your shoulder muscles at home

When building your shoulders with bodyweight exercises, you still need to follow the classic strength training principle of progressive overload. That means continually challenging your shoulder muscles to push them to adapt and grow.

You’re not using dumbbells or barbells with bodyweight shoulder exercises, so you can’t simply increase weight to up the challenge. Instead, you need to progress to tougher variations and increase workout intensity by adding reps to keep those muscles working hard.

Once you’re comfortable completing a solid set of the exercises below with good form – you’re finding it easy – it’s time to level up. For pointers on how to progress an exercise, check out push-up variations from Chris Hemsworth’s personal trainer Luke Zocchi. They won’t just help you ramp up the difficulty, but will ensure you’re working your shoulders from every angle.

Of course, adding weights to your workouts will also benefit your shoulder gains. If you don’t have a set of dumbbells handy, consider adding resistance with household items. You could use a laundry detergent bottle for shoulder presses or wear a filled backpack while doing push-ups. Get creative and keep challenging yourself.

Centr trainer Luke Zocchi performs a push-up.
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Master the art of the push-up with Chris Hemsworth’s personal trainer Luke Zocchi.

Warm up for your bodyweight shoulder workout

Okay, it’s time to get your shoulders and arms ready for action with a quick warm-up. These moves will wake up your muscles, enhance your range of motion and help prevent injury.

  1. Arm circles: Extend your arms out to the sides and make small circles for 30 seconds, gradually increasing to larger circles. Reverse the direction for another 30 seconds to loosen up your shoulder joints.
  2. Shoulder shrugs: Lift your shoulders up towards your ears and roll them back down for 10 slow reps. This move will activate your upper traps and get blood flowing to your shoulders.
  3. Wall angels: Stand with your back against a wall and slide your arms up and down for 10 reps, keeping your elbows and wrists against the wall. This helps activate and mobilize the shoulders.
  4. Push-up walkouts: Start in a standing position, then bend forward, walk your hands out into a plank, hold for a moment, then walk back up. Repeat for 5 reps to engage your shoulders, core and arms.

Now you’re ready to work out.

5 bodyweight shoulder exercises you can do at home

String these shoulder moves together into one session to build a serious shoulder burn. Watch the experts to nail your technique. If you’re a beginner, start with low reps and rest for 1 minute between sets.

If you’re focused on building your shoulders, you could also stack these moves as a finisher onto your regular training.

1. Pike push-up

This next-level push-up variation emphasizes your anterior deltoids. As well as building size and endurance, it will help to increase shoulder mobility. Good form is key, so take the time to get it right.

How to do it: You can do this exercise with your hands on the mat or use Centr push-up handles like Luke to reduce pressure on your wrists and increase range of motion.

Start in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders, feet hip-width apart and core engaged. Walk your feet forward until your body forms a V shape – your legs, arms and back should be as straight as possible. Bend at the elbows to lower your upper body toward the floor. Pause with your head just above the mat, then push back up to return to the V position. Start with low reps to build up strength.

2. YTW front raise

This will power up your posture and improve shoulder stability by activating the muscles between your shoulder blades – helping to pull your shoulders back.

How to do it: Stand with a slight bend in the knees, then tip forward at the hips and let your extended arms hang toward your feet. Keeping your back flat and head neutral, raise your arms up over your head to form a Y shape (think about giving someone a big thumbs up without looking up at them). Return your arms to the starting position, then raise them out to the side to form a T shape. Again, return your arms to the starting position, then bring your fists up so there’s a 90-degree bend at your elbows and raise your arms up and back to form a W shape with your hands on either side of your head.

3. Inverted shoulder press

Like the pike-push up, this inverted press places extra emphasis on your shoulders to fast-track gains. It requires a more limited range of motion than the pike push-up, however, so make sure your form is on point!

How to do it: Start in a plank position, your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, then walk your hands back until you’re in a tall inverted V position, arms fully extended and elbows locked out. Your arms should be beneath your shoulders. Keeping your legs straight and core engaged, bend your elbows to 90 degrees, lowering your torso until your head almost touches the floor. Push through your palms to rise back up to the starting position.

4. Decline push-ups

Dial up the difficulty with this advanced variation, which increases shoulder engagement and works stabilizer muscles around the shoulders.

How to do it: Start in the classic push-up position with hands directly under your shoulders, but elevate your feet by planting your toes on a bench or a box. The higher your feet, the greater the challenge. Allow a wider distance between your feet to help with balance. Now, with core engaged and head neutral, bend at the elbows to lower your chest down toward the floor with control. Imagine a can of drink between your chest and the floor – that’s as low as you need to go. Then push away from the floor to raise your chest back up, until your arms are fully extended.

5. Side plank + thread the needle

This combination move delivers double benefits – a static plank hold to build shoulder endurance, then dynamic movement to build functional mobility.

How to do it: With your left elbow positioned beneath your shoulder, assume the plank position by lifting up to support your full weight on the side of your left foot and left forearm. Engage your core muscles and raise your right arm straight up to maintain good chest posture. Now bring that arm down and thread it through the space between your torso and the floor, rotating your torso to reach as far as possible. Rotate back up to return your arm to the raised position.

Do this for 30 seconds on your left elbow, then switch and repeat for 30 seconds on your right side.

Your shoulder training at home FAQs

Want to know more about getting maximum bang for your shoulders with home workouts? We’ve answered some of the most common questions for you here.

Can you build shoulders with bodyweight exercises?

Yes, you can effectively build shoulder strength and definition with bodyweight exercises. To maximize results, remember to continuously challenge your shoulders by adding variations, increasing intensity by adding reps, or adding resistance where possible.

Start with the moves above, then join us on the Centr app for more upper-body workouts.

Which exercise is best for building your shoulders at home?

A variety of shoulder exercises is best to ensure you’re working your deltoid muscles from every angle and building balanced and functional strength.

However, to really maximize shoulder engagement without using equipment, the pike push-up and inverted shoulder press are two of the best bodyweight exercises for targeting the shoulders at home.

How can you build shoulder strength without weights?

Start with the exercises above to build solid shoulder strength using different angles and movements. Pike push-ups, plank and raise variations are excellent for targeting the deltoids. By consistently progressing to more challenging variations and increasing reps, you can steadily enhance your strength over time.

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