Maintaining strong and healthy shoulders is important when it comes to daily activities like lifting, reaching, and carrying.
And doing exercises to strengthen your shoulders not only improves strength, but can also help prevent injuries and maintain independence.
Which for seniors, is of the utmost importance.
In this guide, we’ll discuss some of the best shoulder strengthening exercises tailored to the needs of seniors, focusing on safety, simplicity, and effectiveness.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your range of motion or reduce the risk of common injuries, these exercises will help you stay active and capable.
Safety Tips Before Starting
The exercises listed below are generally safe for seniors, but that doesn’t mean everyone will be able to do all the exercises in this guide.
Before starting any new exercises, consider the following:
- Consult a Professional: When in doubt about safety, always check with your doctor or a physical therapist before beginning a new exercise routine.
- Never Push Through Pain: Pain during exercise isn’t normal and it’s usually a sign that something is being irritated (this is especially true when it comes to the shoulder). Never ignore pain during exercise! If an exercise hurts to do, stop doing it and either try a different exercise or consult a professional for guidance.
- Start Slow: When starting a new routine, it’s a good idea to use no resistance or start with light weights and progress gradually.
- Focus on Form: Proper technique is more important than intensity to avoid injuries.
- Warm Up and Cool Down: Gentle shoulder rolls or stretches can prepare your muscles and prevent soreness afterwards.
The Best Shoulder Strengthening Exercises for Seniors
1. Band Pull Aparts
This is a great exercise for folks of all ages because it targets the often ignored rear delts, while working the scapular retractors and promoting proper upright posture.
In other words, it basically stretches your chest and strengthens the postural muscles in the upper back.
All of which can help improve shoulder pain or prevent it from occurring in the first place.
- From a standing position, grab a light resistance band in both hands, shoulder-width apart
- Extend both arms straight out in front
- While keeping your elbows straight, squeeze your shoulder blades together in the back as you pull the band apart
- Hold for a second at end-range and then slowly return to the starting position
- Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10 reps
Helpful tip: keep the resistance really low on this one and really focus on form – it doesn’t take much resistance to get the job done here.
This is a really important exercise for shoulder health, so if you’d like to see a demonstration, check out this YouTube video.
2. Shoulder External Rotations (with/without Resistance)
This exercise targets the rotator cuff, an important group of muscles that help stabilize the shoulder, as well as perform a lot of the rotational movements.
And strengthening your shoulder external rotators can help prevent impingement type injuries that are so common.
This exercise can also great as a warm up before doing other shoulder exercises.
- Attach a resistance band to a fixed object at waist height (if using resistance)
- Hold the band with your elbow in by your side, bent at 90 degrees
- Rotate your arm outward as far as comfortable, while keeping your elbow close to your body
- Hold for a second and then slowly return to the starting position
- Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10 – 15 reps per arm
Make sure you can externally rotate your shoulder comfortably in this position before adding any resistance.
Resistance bands work especially well for this exercise, but you could also hold a small dumbbell, soup can, or anything else of appropriate weight.
3. Seated Overhead Press
This is a classic shoulder exercise you see people doing in the gym all the time and it’s still one of the best shoulder strengthening exercises for folks of all ages.
This exercise mainly targets your middle delts, but your shoulder stabilizers will be kicking in too, as well as your triceps.
- Sit on a sturdy chair with a dumbbell (or soup can, water bottle, etc) in each hand
- Start with your arms bent at shoulder height out to the sides and push the weights upward until your arms are fully extended
- Slowly return back to the starting position, hold for a second, and repeat
- Continue for 2-3 sets of 10 reps
You need pretty good shoulder mobility for this exercise, so if you have difficulty getting your arms overhead, this may not be the best option for you.
Remember, we shouldn’t be feeling pain while doing these exercises.
Modification: if keeping your arms out to the sides is uncomfortable, you may want to try a front press up, which may be a little more comfortable. This exercise targets your front delts a bit more, but it tends to put less stress on the shoulders. Instead of bringing your arms out to the sides, you push the weight overhead from a front starting position. FYI, the video link above shows this exercise from a standing position, but just focus on the hand positioning.
4. Side Lateral Raises (Shoulder Abduction)
Here’s another classic shoulder exercise that targets the middle delts and works well for seniors and folks of all ages.
- With or without a light weight in each hand, stand or sit upright
- Raise your arms out to the sides until they are at shoulder height, hold for a second, and then lower slowly
- Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10 -15 reps
The biggest mistake most people make with this exercise is adding too much weight too soon.
I suggest seniors keep the resistance very minimal on this one as well, especially at the beginning.
Focus on form and only start adding resistance when you can do sets of 10 – 15 easily.
Also, you shouldn’t have any pain while performing this exercise.
5. Front Arm Raises
This exercise is similar to the one mentioned above, but instead of bringing your arms out to the side, you’re brining them straight in front.
This change of direction targets the front delt more than the lateral delt.
- Hold a light weight in each hand
- Keeping your arms straight, raise them in front of you to shoulder height, hold for a second, and then slowly lower them
- Continue for 2-3 sets of 10 – 15 reps
You can do both arms at the same time, or alternate one arm at a time.
Helpful tip: turn your hands so that your thumb is up, this tends to put a little less stress on the shoulders.
6. Arm Circles
I remember doing this exercise in PE class in elementary school – I found it tedious then, but now I appreciate it for the great exercise that it is.
Arm circles get your whole shoulder working and they can be used as a warm up or stand alone strengthening move.
- From a standing position, extend both arms straight out to the sides, palms down
- While keeping your elbows straight, make small circles with your hands
- Complete 10 small circles going forward and then reverse and do 10 small circles backward
- Repeat for 3 sets of 10 (in each direction)
- You can also add sets of large circles for added variety
Arm circles can help improve your shoulder endurance as well as strength.
You can also progress by performing while holding small dumbbells, cans, or water bottles – but keep the resistance very low, you don’t much weight with this exercise.
Using Resistance in Shoulder Exercises
Incorporating resistance into your shoulder exercises can further improve muscle strength and endurance.
Seniors can choose from a variety of resistance options based on their fitness levels and preferences:
- Resistance Bands: Lightweight and portable, these are excellent for gradual progression and joint-friendly workouts. They come in different levels of resistance to suit beginners and advanced users.
- Light Dumbbells: Ideal for adding resistance to exercises like lateral raises or overhead presses. Start with 1–3 pounds and increase as strength improves.
- Household Items: Water bottles, canned goods, or other small, manageable objects can be effective substitutes for weights.
- Body Weight: Sometimes your arm’s weight is enough resistance for a challenging exercise; don’t feel like you have to use dumbbells or bands to improve strength.
Tips for Using Resistance Safely:
- Begin with the lightest resistance and prioritize form over weight.
- Gradually increase resistance as your strength and confidence grow.
- Avoid overexertion; stop immediately if you feel pain or discomfort.
- Use resistance bands with secure anchoring to prevent accidents.
Tips for Progression
The goal of strength training is to gradually make the exercise more challenging as your muscles grow stronger.
By continually progressing what we’re doing, we can ensure the muscles continue to adapt and get stronger.
Well, turns out there are a few different ways we can do this.
Increase Resistance
One way to progress your exercises is to add more resistance.
This could mean using heavier dumbbells, stronger resistance bands, or larger soup cans.
But you should only add more resistance when it’s become easy for you to finish all sets/reps of the given exercise.
For example, if I’m doing 3 sets of 10 reps and I can finish all 30 reps without taking a break, it’s definitely time for me to add some more resistance to make it more challenging.
The goal is to have enough resistance so that you are feeling challenged by the time you hit the last couple reps.
Increase Repetitions
You can also progress a strength training exercise by increasing the number of reps or sets that you’re doing.
Instead of increasing weight, you simply perform more repetitions.
This can be a good strategy for seniors who don’t have any weights or find it challenging to use external resistance.
Incorporate Variety
It’s boring to do the same exercises week in and week out, but it’s also not that great for our bodies.
Our bodies adapt to the demands put on them, so it’s important to keep your exercise routines fresh in order to continue improving strength.
Progressing resistance and/or reps is a good way to do this, but changing the exercise you’re doing is a good idea to.
Feel free to be creative – try changing the exercises you’re doing every couple of weeks or even switch up the order in which you do them.
How Often Should Seniors Do Shoulder Exercises?
That’s a good question and the answer may vary depending on your status and goals.
That said, consistency is key when it comes to building and maintaining shoulder strength. Here are some general guidelines seniors should consider:
- Frequency: Aim to perform shoulder exercises 2–3 times per week. This allows enough time for muscle recovery between sessions.
- Duration: Each session can last 5–30 minutes, depending on the number of exercises, repetitions, and rest breaks between.
- Balance: Incorporate a mix of strengthening, stretching, and mobility exercises to ensure comprehensive shoulder health.
- Listen to Your Body: If you experience pain or discomfort, take a break and consult a healthcare professional if necessary.
Final Thoughts
Having strong, healthy shoulders is an important part of staying independent as you get older.
From getting dressed in the morning to reaching the microwave, our shoulders play a huge role in our daily lives.
Fortunately, there are plenty of great shoulder strengthening exercises seniors can do from the comfort of their homes.
And you don’t really need any equipment to do them either.
By incorporating these simple, effective exercises into your routine, you can help prevent injuries and maintain an active, independent lifestyle.
I hope you found this guide helpful and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave ’em below.
