6 Best Bodyweight Shoulder Exercises

If you're looking to train your shoulders but don't have any equipment available, then there are plenty of bodyweight exercises to help.

Sure, doing strength training with dumbbells, barbells, and weight machines at the gym always works well.

However, maybe you just want to do a quick workout at home, maybe you don't have exercise equipment, or maybe you just don't want the hassle of going to the gym.

Whatever the case may be, there are plenty of great bodyweight shoulder exercises out there.

The 6 Best Bodyweight Shoulder Exercises

Let's not waste any more time and get right into talking about some of the best bodyweight shoulder exercises to grow some big old’ boulder shoulders.

1. Push-ups

Yes, that's right, here we have the push-up. It's a simple exercise, and it's one that everyone knows, but it's also one of the best bodyweight exercises as far as your shoulders are concerned. Now, exactly how much you target your shoulders depends on how your hands are oriented.

Generally speaking, the wider your arms are apart when doing the push-ups, the more it will target your shoulder muscles. However, if you put your hands closer together, you'll target your chest more, so just be aware of that. This is an especially great exercise for your anterior deltoids.

Here's how to do push-ups to best target your shoulders.

1. Start by assuming the regular push-up position, but then widen your arms. Your hands should be a bit wider than shoulder width, and if you want to increase the difficulty of this exercise, move your hands apart even further.
2. During this exercise, keep your back straight and parallel to the ground, while also engaging your core muscles.
3. Slowly lower yourself down to the ground bending at the elbows and shoulders, until your chest is virtually touching the ground, just above it.
4. Hold this position for a couple of seconds if you can, and then push yourself back up to the starting position.
5. Aim to perform up to 15 repetitions and three sets.

2. Incline Push-ups

Now, if your upper body isn't all that strong yet, then you might want to try doing incline push-ups. Incline push-ups involve you supporting yourself on a bench instead of on the ground. This keeps you in an inclined position, making the exercise substantially easier. It's an excellent one for beginners.

Here's how to do the incline push-up.

1. Start by standing in front of a bench so that it is sideways.
2. Next, put both of your hands on the edge of the bench at roughly shoulder width.
3. You're now going to extend your legs until your body is perfectly straight. At this point, you should be supporting yourself with your hands on the bench and your toes on the ground here.
4. Slowly lower yourself down until your chest is just above the bench, and then push yourself back up, and if you can, hold the lowered position for a couple of seconds.
5. Aim to do up to 15 repetitions and three sets.

3. Elbow to High Plank

A similar exercise to the push up, here we have the elbow to high plank. This is almost like a combination between the plank and the push up. It's a fantastic exercise for training your chest, and your deltoids, triceps, and even your biceps to a certain extent. 

Due to the nature of the exercise, you're supporting your whole upper body with only one arm, at least for a split second, and this works your shoulders to a great degree.

Here's how to do the elbow to high plank.

1. Start in a regular planking position, which means that your forearms should be on the ground, parallel with each other, and your palms should be facing downwards. Your back should be straight and parallel to the ground, with your toes touching the ground. You should be supporting yourself with your forearms and toes only.
2. While keeping your core engaged the entire time, extend one arm so that you're supporting yourself with your palm, and do so gradually. Once you've lifted one arm, you can then do the same with the other. At this point, you should look like you are in an upper plank position, or in other words, the starting position for a push up.
3. From this position, you're then going to lower one elbow back down to the ground, followed by the other, until you are back in the regular planking position. Aim to perform this movement up to 10 times for three sets.

Related Post: 6 Bodyweight Back Exercises

4. Side Plank

The above exercise is a great one for targeting your anterior deltoids, but if you want to target your medial deltoids as well, then doing a side plank is recommended.

Let's talk about exactly how to do a side plank.

1. Start in the normal planting position, which means that your forearms should be on the ground, parallel to each other, and your palms facing downwards. Your toes should be on the ground, with your back straight and parallel to the ground.
2. Now, turn yourself sideways so that you only have one elbow on the ground, and stretch your opposite arm into the air.
3. Your goal is to hold this position for at least 30 seconds, and if possible, do three sets for each side.
4. If you want to make the exercise even harder, raise yourself up from your elbow to your hand and then back down a few times, although this is for truly advanced exercise enthusiasts.

Related Post: 8 Bodyweight Bicep Exercises to Try

5. Wall Handstand Push-ups

If you're really looking to push yourself and test your limits, doing some wall handstand push-ups is definitely something worth trying.

Here, much more of your bodyweight is being supported by your upper body, particularly your shoulders, compared to regular push-ups. This of course makes it an ideal exercise for targeting your deltoids.

Here's how to do wall handstand push-ups.

1. Start by standing a few feet away from the wall.
2. Plant your hands firmly on the ground at roughly shoulder width.
3. Place your feet on the wall and slowly walk up the wall. Your starting position for this exercise should have you supporting yourself on the ground with your hands and balancing on the wall with just your toes. You should also be fairly vertical at this point.
4. Using your elbows and shoulders, slowly lower yourself down until your nose is almost touching the ground.
5. Aim to hold this position for a couple of seconds, and then raise yourself back up to the starting position.
6. If possible, aim to do up to three sets of 10 repetitions each.

Related Post: Exercises For Boulder Shoulders

6. Wall Walks

Okay, so if you're not quite strong enough to do wall handstand push-ups, then doing wall walks is your next best option. This exercise has you walking up and down the wall while supporting yourself with your upper body. It's a great exercise for targeting your shoulder muscles without being far too intense.

Here's how to do wall walks.

1. Start by standing a few feet from the wall.
2. Put your hands firmly on the ground at roughly shoulder width.
3. One foot after the other, place your feet on the wall, and then in small steps walk up the wall until your body and legs are fully extended and you can't stretch anymore.
4. From this position, walk back down the wall until your knees are almost touching your chest.
5. Aim to repeat this for at least 12 repetitions up to three sets.

The Bottom Line on Bodyweight Shoulder Exercises

At the end of the day, you don't need any special equipment, not even a pair of dumbbells, to work out your shoulders.

As you can see from the list of exercises above, there are plenty of different ways to grow those shoulders using nothing more than your own bodyweight.