Targeted fat-loss is impossible, according to Yale Scientific and other health experts. While this may prevent you from performing certain exercises in order to remove fat from your shoulders and not other parts of your body, it shouldn't stop you from making healthy dietary and exercise choices in order to reduce overall body fat. It also doesn't prevent you from performing strength-training exercises that target the shoulder muscles to make gains in muscular definition, mass, density and strength.
Barbell
Weight plates
Dumbbells
Talk to your doctor before starting a strength-training or weight-loss program.
Perform the overhead press, also known as the standing military press. Stand up straight while holding a barbell just a few inches wider than shoulder width, palms facing away from your body. Lightly rest the barbell on your collarbone. Exhale as you lift the bar up above your head, pausing for a moment once your arms are locked.
Do seated bent-over rear delt raises. Sit on a bench or chair with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing inward, with the dumbbells hanging a few inches above the ground. Your torso should be leaning forward with your back straight. Keeping your elbows slightly bent and your torso forward and still, exhale as you lift the dumbbells up to your sides. Pause for a moment once your arms are parallel with the floor, then inhale as you lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
Perform alternating deltoid raises. Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing inward. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, exhale while raising the dumbbells in front of your body to shoulder height. Pause briefly, then inhale as you lower the weights to the starting position. Next, raise the weights to your sides until they reach shoulder height. Inhale while slowly lowering them to the starting position to complete one rep.
Complete three to five sets of 10 to 15 repetitions for each exercise. Perform all of the exercises together to form a single exercise session, which you'll perform at least two to three times per week. Swap in different shoulder exercises as your program continues.
Engage in cardiovascular exercises for at least 150 minutes per week at a moderate intensity, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The idea is to create a caloric deficit, which requires you to consume fewer calories each day than you burn. Ideal activities include jogging, running, swimming, cycling, rowing, aerobics and dance.
Eat a healthy, calorie-conscious diet to create a larger daily caloric deficit. Start by consuming about 200 to 300 fewer calories each day than you would normally, such as by cutting out soda. Focus on eating protein, complex carbohydrates and unsaturated fat in every meal, choosing foods such as fish, chicken, lean meat, whole grains, nuts, legumes, olive oil, fruits and vegetables.
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Writer Bio
Kevin Richards has been a writer and editor since 2009, specializing in fitness, health and nutrition, as well as technology, finance and legal issues. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.