A total shoulder exercise completed in 6-8 minutes

Lately I have been dabbling in spot exercises that can be done as efficiently as possible and except for working on increasing power, I have strayed away from the 3 sets of 12 or whatever program involves traditional methods of weight lifting. Some people enjoy the 3 sets of 12 or even better the sets of 12, 10, then 8 or some variation of the same process where the weight stacks increase on each subsequent set.

This takes a lot of time though and if there is one thing that most casuals and normies complain about as far as going to the gym is concerned, it is the amount of time that it takes to get things done.

"Shoulder day" has taken on a whole new meaning for me lately as I have discovered a program that can be done entirely with dumbbells and takes less than 10 minutes to complete it. Don't let the time limit on this fool you, your shoulders are going to be totally exhausted by the end of this.... Which is kind of the idea in weight lifting anyway.

You'll need a stopwatch or digital timer and access to some light barbells. Maybe you already have these things in your home. The order in which you do the exercises is irrelevant but the important thing here is that you don't take any breaks and follow the time frame exactly. If you have to step the weights down in order to get through this that is fine. I had to and I lift 7 out of 7 days a week.

frontal raise

src

There are a lot of people out here that suggest this is an inefficient shoulder exercise and I don't know if that is true or not but i still do them. You can do it with both arms at once but for the sake of enforcing proper movement I recommend that you alternate arms.

Do this for 45 seconds... the amount of reps you do is irrelevant: Go at your own pace. After the 45 seconds is up you get a 15 second break, which is probably the amount of time it is going to take you to get ready for the next part of the exercise

lateral raise

src

I recommend stepping the weight down for this part of the entire workout because at least for me, these are considerably more difficult than the frontal raise and also you can't really alternate these and maintain proper form.

Again, you get 15 seconds of rest between this and the next exercise

dumbbell skis

src

This one there are two things to keep in mind: Keep your back straight and keep your arms in a locked position throughout the movement. If you bend at the elbows you during the movement you'll be targeting the triceps, which is great on tricep day but not what we are trying to accomplish here. Focus on form, not so much on how much you are lifting. The amount of time we are performing the exercise and maintaining proper form is more important than how much you are lifting.

dumbbell press

src

These are simple enough and you have probably done them before. Like most standing exercises they are better executed from a sitting position but we don't have time for that. Just do them standing and you can even cheat a little bit if you need to. The idea is to NOT break the 45-seconds but rather just slow down if you start to feel fatigued, which you probably will at this point

rear delt flys

src

Once again, you've probably done these before or at least seen someone doing them in the gym. Engage your stomach muscles or your core in order to keep your back straight and try your best to not move your body other than your arms. Your shoulders should be crying at this point

high side plank raises

src

This can be done with a weight in hand or without. Normally I would suggest you do it weighted but seeing as how your shoulders are probably about to give out on you i would do this using just your own body weight. Do 22 seconds per side and try not to spend too much time resting on the floor. Keep it up! You're almost there!

single-dumbbell figure 8's

src

I can't actually find an image of this but it is very similar to the popular "plate eights" in that you hold the dumbbell in front of you and make a figure eight over and over for the 45 seconds. It is ok if you have to go slow because your shoulders should be damn near exhausted by now.

dumbbell frontal raise

src

I like to finish with this one because I consider it the easiest of the lot. It's quite simple really: Just lift the weight upward in front of you until it is in front of your face and then lower it back down being extra careful to not hit yourself in the crotch. You can hold your hands like in the photo or do a two-hand grip in the center raising the weight laterally in front of your face.

---

This might be a bit much for people who don't regularly exercise so if you are just starting out I highly recommend that you start on something really small 5 lb weights or even lower. You might feel a bit silly picking up such a tiny weight but by the time you've gone basically non-stop for 8 minutes you'll see what I am talking about.

If you do this program you can turn your 40 minute "shoulder day" into something that you are done with in under 10 minutes. Also, if you feel as though the 8 exercises is too much, don't feel any shame in bailing out early. I think it would be a better idea to just take a few seconds break with your arms in a relaxed position and then try your best to continue.

The idea is to work the shoulders to complete exhaustion in as quick a time as possible. With these 8 exercises you are hitting almost all of the muscle groups in the shoulders in the time it takes to normally to hit just one using traditional lifting methods. If you are pressed for time like I am, this is actually a great time-saver and I think it is definitely worth trying out.

_{From athlete in my 20's to accidental fat-ass in my 30's due to poor lifestyle choices in my 30's, to the strongest I have been in my life in my 40's. I did this through gradual and sustainable changes in my lifestyle and if I can do it, I think you can as well}