How to reduce shoulders and back for a girl? 5 most effective exercises

Open dresses and blouses, swimsuits, T-shirts and tops – there are many reasons to bare your shoulders. But it happens that you do not want to do it because the appearance does not suit you. First, do not treat yourself too strictly, broad shoulders – not a reason to hide behind clothes. Secondly, shoulders can be reduced and made narrower, you just need to choose the right training.

trainer with 19 years of experience, mentor of Evotren fitness school

“One of the goals of training in the gym can be to correct the proportions of the figure. There is often a request for narrowing the waist, and one of the points of correction is to increase the proportions of the back and shoulders. But what to do if, on the contrary, you want to make the shoulders not wider but narrower?”

What can affect the width of the shoulders?

There are three main reasons for wide shoulders in women, each of which requires a different approach. But first, let’s deal with them in detail.

• Genetics. Sometimes it happens that the bone structure of the shoulders of women is much wider than the hips. The peculiarity here is that the man himself can not affect the reduction of this zone. Unfortunately, the bone structure can not be changed by training.
• Overtraining. Long hours in the gym, exercises and dumbbells sometimes end with the sudden realization that you overdo it. If you work with exercises on the back muscles (broad, trapezius), deltoids, triceps for hypertrophy (increase) – your proportions may change, and visually your shoulders will seem wider.
• Fat and swelling. Most often this option concerns those who have not exercised for a long time and led a sedentary lifestyle. Lack of exercise leads to the formation of stagnation and extra pounds, including in the shoulders. And here, as in the previous paragraph, everything is in your hands.

How to make the shoulders smaller?

Let’s go in order. If your broad shoulders are a genetic trait, you should pay special attention to training the lower part of the body. By creating volume in the hip area, you can visually equalize the pelvis and shoulders, while the waist will appear narrower.

Another tip is to choose the right clothes. You can find thousands of suitable images on the Internet, for example, v-neck and wide pants will emphasize all your advantages and correct your silhouette.

In the case of a large amount of muscle mass in the shoulders, you should refuse from intensive exercises on the upper part of the body. Give preference to exercises with smaller weights, perform functional exercises with your own weight, experiment with TRX loops or Animal Flow.

Also improve mobility of the shoulder girdle joints with special exercises. Pay more attention to your lower body in your workouts. Do not perform exercises to failure and reduce the total amount of load on the triceps, broad and deltoid muscles. It is better to exclude for a while:

• pull-ups;
• push-ups;
• overhead block pulls;
• barbell or dumbbell overhead press;
• pulling arms to the side with heavy weights until failure or pre-refusal.

If you are concerned about swelling or fat deposits in the upper body, it is important to realize that you cannot lose weight point by point. You will have to normalize your diet, reduce the amount of sweets and flour. Give preference to vegetables, whole-grain cereals and lean meat. Start doing cardio exercises for half an hour a day. If you are too overweight, you can start by walking briskly, climbing stairs or riding an exercise bike.

In terms of training, you will need to work on your thoracic mobility, shoulder joints, scapulae mobility, perform myofascial release (MFR) of the triceps, deltoids, pectoral muscles and broadest muscles of the back. In addition, it is important to pay attention to your posture. This will also help visually reduce shoulder width and create a more harmonious look. Gradually start introducing stability training and incorporate light weight exercises:

• plank;
• push-ups from the knees;
• dumbbell/barbell press;
• vertical block pull;
• dumbbell arm curls;
• arms in a bend or in a training machine;
• bench press.

What exercises should I do?

Depending on the cause of too wide shoulders, the approach to exercises will be different. We have selected five exercises that will improve mobility and blood circulation in this zone. They will help create tone and give this area a more refined look.

Shoulder rotation

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• Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart.
• Spread your shoulders, arms extended downwards, you can bend your elbows a little.
• Trying not to move your arms, perform a circular rotation in the shoulder joint backwards.
• Repeat the movement, changing the direction of rotation.

Arm turns

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• Stand up straight with your feet at the width of your pelvis.
• Spread your shoulders, arms stretched out to the sides.
• Trying not to move your arms, rotate the shoulder joint backwards so that the shoulder blades are brought together. At the same time, turn your palm so that it points upwards.
• Repeat the movement, reversing the direction of rotation. The palm now turns downward, and the shoulder blades are separated.

“Boat”

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• Lie on your stomach and stretch your arms forward with palms down.
• Take a breath, push your chest off the floor, lift your thoracic region and reach for your arms. To make it more difficult, you can also pull your feet off the floor as well.
• As you exhale, bring your arms back through your sides, reaching your toes toward your heels.
• Then bring your arms back forward, lower and relax.

Hyperextension

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• Lie on your stomach. Place your arms behind your head or bend them at the elbow and position them so that your shoulders are perpendicular to the body.
• As you inhale, push off the floor and lift the chest area up. Keep your feet on the floor.
• As you exhale, gently lower yourself to the mat.

Extension

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• Stand up straight, with your feet at the width of the pelvis. Spread your shoulders, stretch your arms up, lock them together above your head.
• Reach for your arms upwards.
• As you inhale, bend to the right, continue to stretch your palms upwards and your body behind your arms.
• As you exhale, return to the starting position.
• Repeat the bend in the other direction.

Remember that beauty is first of all an inner feeling of confidence and harmony with yourself. What you consider a flaw, can become not only your highlight, but also the main decoration. Love yourself and take care of your body.