Gotta love shoulders!  They are responsible for turning great looking arms into “Damn give him a bandaid ‘cuz he’s cut!”  The Steering Wheel Shoulder Exercise isn’t as common as some others you may have done but that’s probably only because most people don’t think to add this variation to their workout!  

This move is really a variation of the standard Plate Raise for shoulders where you’d grab a weight, hold it out in front of you and raise and lower it.  Not only is this a great exercise to add to your shoulder workout, but it’s an awesome do it at home (or anywhere else) shoulder exercise.

Steering Wheel Shoulder Exercise

1.  Choose a weight that you feel comfortable with.  Because you’re not lowering and raising the weight like with a Plate Raise, you’ll probably go a little lighter in weight.

2.  Stand with feet shoulder width apart.  Keep your ab as tight as possible (you’re using the core to stabilize yourself).  Put your lifting grips on and grab the weight or plate holding it with both hands.

3.  Raise the weight out in front of you with arms nearly straight. Your hands should be at the 3 o clock and 9 o clock positions.

4.  Start steering!  Rotate your hands back and forth as if you’re steering a car.

5.  Count as you turn back and forth.  1 time for each movement.  So right hand up – 1, left hand up – 2, right hand up – 3 and so on.

6.  Shoot for 30 turns or reps and lower weight back down in front of you.  Rest for about a minute and complete 3-4 more sets.

Tips for Steering Wheel Shoulder Exercise:

–  It’s super important to keep your abs tight so that you don’t put unwanted tension on the lower back.  If this is a new shoulder exercise for you, you may want to try it without weight to begin.

–   You will mainly be working the anterior and lateral delts which is the front and sides of the shoulders.  If you were to just raise the weight without doing the steering wheel rotation, you’d just be hitting the lateral delts.

(Photos courtesy of exercise.com)

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