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20 Hardest Shoulder Exercises without Weights

by Todd Kuslikis on November 07, 2011

hardest shoulder exercise 150x150 20 Hardest Shoulder Exercises without WeightsBelow you’ll find some of the hardest shoulder exercises imaginable, all without using weights. There is something to be said about being able to do a one handed handstand pushup that is more impressive than being able to lift 100 lbs over your head. They both take great strength and it takes incredible commitment to be able to do both, but there just seems to be something more impressive about the first one. It takes more coordination, more whole body strength.

What Makes A Shoulder Exercise Hard?

The angle of the exercise is essentially what makes a shoulder exercise difficult. The shoulder muscle is made up of the anterior, middle and poster deltoid. Its function is to move the arm upward. So naturally, you may think that there couldn’t really be too many variations to a shoulder exercise. Yet as the below 20 hardest shoulder exercises prove, there can be many, many variations. Also, there was a Harvard Study that showed a simple thing to make exercising more effective. Here a link the article. It’s called: 1 Obscure Trick to Make ANY Exercise Program More Effective. You may want to think about incorporating it to the program.

Which Hard Shoulder Exercise Can I Do?

Shoulder strength is definitely something I need to work on more. I can do a One Arm Pushup but that is about as far down on the list that I can get. How about you? I am so impressed by the people that can do the shoulder exercises toward the bottom. This takes incredible strength and so many years to be able to do. I definitely want to work up this list of shoulder exercises so some day I can do a one handed handstand pushup.

So…I know you’ve been waiting for…

20 Hardest Shoulder Exercises without Weights

20. Single Arm Plank

 

19. Shoulder Pushups

 

18. TRX Shoulder Pushups

 

17. Handstand Pushup with Wall

 

16. Bucket Circles

 

15. One Arm Pushup

 

14. Nakayama-Planche

 

13. Human Flag

 

12. Human Flag Push Up

 

11. Manna

 

10. Handstand on Bosu Ball

 

9. Supported One Arm Handstand Pushup

 

8. Full Planche

 

7. Planche Pushups

 

6. 90 Degree Handstand Pushups

 

5. Straddle Planche

 

4. One Arm Handstand

 

3. Straddle Planche Clap Pushups

 

2. Hand Hops

 

1. Iron Cross

 

Insane Bonus! – One Arm Handstand On Canes

About Todd Kuslikis

Todd Kuslikis is a trainer that lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There are many fitness sites online but many of them claim that the only way you can get bigger and stronger is through lifting weights. Todd whole-heartedly disagrees with this and believes that body weight exercises can be just as, if not, more effective than weights for building strength.

3 Comments

  1. Devon
    Posted April 3, 2013 at 11:54 pm

    I like the song for hand hops.=-)

    Reply
  2. Devon
    Posted April 4, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    How about bucket circles without the bucket?

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Todd!

Welcome! The purpose of A Shot of Adrenaline is twofold. The first is physical. I am extremely passionate about body weight exercises and helping others transform their bodies with body weight routines. Here at SOA, I write articles and publish videos with the goal of helping you do that.

If you have a specific or personal question I am happy to help. I read and answer every email I receive. Feel free to contact me here: todd@ashotofadrenaline.net.

The second purpose is to share my personal story. By the time I was 13 I had developed an insatiable desire to understand why we are here. After over a decade of spending endless hours in zen meditation and traversing the plains of Atheism, Buddhism, Baha'i, New Age and Shamanism, I was brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

This site is a public proclamation of my faith in Him that saves. If this offends you, I welcome you to read my story and learn about the experience that brought me to Jesus.

-Todd

Build Muscle Without Using Weights?

Bodyweight Overload is a 6 week program that I created that helps people build muscle while using only body weight exercises. It incorporates principles of Angular Training and Bodyweight Distribution to overload the muscle and stimulate growth. The above picture shows my results after 2 months on the program.

You CAN build muscle without weights, you just need to know how to do it.

John Adams gained 1 inch to his arms and 2 inches to his chest in only 6 weeks.

Joe Gibson lost 13 lbs and gained an inch of muscle To his chest in just 6 weeks.

CLICK HERE To Learn The Principles of Growing Muscle Without Using Weights

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