Do you hate your boney shoulders? Frightened to take your top off at the beach or at the pool? Sick and tired of the way that shirts just seem to “hang” off your shoulders?

Boney shoulders can be an extremely frustrating thing to deal with. I remember that no matter how many shirts and t-shirts I tried, I just couldn’t seem to find one that wouldn’t show up those pointy bits where my arm joins my shoulder.

Getting rid of boney shoulders is simply a case of building muscle to cover them. If you look at most people who are considered to have a great body, you may notice that their “boney shoulders” are still somewhat visible…it’s just that the muscle does a great job of covering them up.

The shoulders are actually made up of a group of 3 muscles known collectively as the deltoids (or “delts” in gym-lingo). In order to see great muscular development and cover your boney shoulders you should look to incorporate exercises that cover and emphasise all 3 muscles.

Here are some great weight training exercises that you can perform to cover your boney shoulders.

Front Deltoids – Seated Barbell Shoulder Press (also known as the Military Press)

Seated with your back supported upright by the bench, and your hands a little more than shoulder-width apart, lift the bar off the rack and above your head, and then lower it in front of you to the point where it is just above the line of your shoulders.

Then explode the bar back up above your head. Ideally get someone to spot you so that you can put maximum effort into the exercise.

Repeat and perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Middle Deltoids – Dumbbell Lateral Flyes

Stand with your arms by your sides and a dumbbell in each hand; elbows slightly bent and palms facing inwards.

Lift both dumbbells at the same time imagining that your are trying to touch your elbows to the ceiling. At the top of the exercise your elbows should be parallel to the floor…hold this position for a second, then lower to the start position.

Take care to keep a tight back and focus your effort on your shoulders. Don’t cheat by bending your back or using momentum to lift the weights. Also, by “squeezing” (tensing your muscles) at the top of the exercise you’ll get greater benefits from this exercise and begin to cover those boney shoulders with solid muscle mass.

Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Rear Deltoids – Bent Over Cable Deltoid Raises

Stand next to a cable pulley machine at the gym with feet a little less than shoulder-width apart, and reach across your body to grab one of the lower cable handles. Bent at your waist so that your back is almost parallel with the floor and place your other hand on your hip for support.

Now, keeping a slight bend in your elbow, pull on the cable so that the back of your hand moves in the direction of the ceiling. Your arm should stay locked and arc through this motion. Likewise the rest of your body should stay still, with total focus on your rear shoulder muscles.

Lower the pulley back to the start position and repeat. Make sure that you don’t curl your back at any point during the exercise as this could cause injury.

Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps.