Overdeveloped shoulders

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sarahanne1892

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What is the best way to lose big shoulders? I made the mistake of doing way too many front and side lateral raises with 4lb free weights and now my shoulders look too wide. I haven't picked up a weight in 6 months but I haven't seen any diminishment yet. Will they ever go down? Before I began exercising, i always had a very small upper body.

Thank you,


Sarah
 
I hate to say it, but 4lbs weights probably won't give you "overdeveloped shoulders". Perhaps the issue at hand is "underdeveloped biceps, triceps, traps, lats, etc".

Your best bet is to bring the rest of your muscle groups up to speed. Try doing pull-ups (jumping, assisted, gravitron, etc), rows, push-ups, deadlifts, hang-cleans, etc... stay away from movements like "front and side lateral raises" and focus on movements that use your arms, shoulders, back and chest in natural compound motions - like the ones listed above.
 
I was thinking exactly the same thing, 4 lb side and front raises are not likely to build bulk, they tend to be more of a finishing move for shoulders. Is there any other physical activity you started around the same time, and are perhaps still doing that could have caused the increase in shoulder mass?
 
Broad shoulders could be a result of wide lats. That, or it is simply your build. If you are a swimmer, climber, or any type of puller, there's your problem. If it's muscle you want to lose, do lots of running and eat a caloric deficit.
 
Like everyone says... It's body-shaping to create an illusion. If you want smaller shoulders, work on other muscle to make the shoulder smaller. Post a pic and what activities you do?
 
OP is probably a girl so wide shoulders are a bane. Shoulders wider than your hips is, for the majority, unattractive. Getting bigger everything else isn't always the ideal plan of action.

And just to reiterate what everyone's saying, the weight training most likely did not make your shoulders too wide. Shoulder shape, the actual deltoid shape, can be affected, but you're going to have to be lifting some serious weights in order to get them big enough to affect width. 4 lb lateral raises won't do anything.

Like most people weren't saying, your back is likely to be the cause of wide shoulders.
 
OP with OVERDEVELOPED SHOULDERS replies

I am the OP, and I wasn't expecting to be contradicted as to whether exercising with 4 lb weights would lead to overdeveloped shoulders BECAUSE THIS DID HAPPEN. Enough said. But if you diehard lifters can't accept that, so be it. Anyway, no one has addressed my question; IF YOU DON"T USE IT, WILL YOU LOSE IT? That is, if a person discontinues any muscle developing exercise, will the muscles shrink over time? I am not a runner and won't be able to look to that activity to reduce muscle mass.

I don't appreciate the "losing faith in humanity" comment either. Lose the attitude- this is supposed to a forum where people can seek and offer friendly advice or suggestions.
Thank you,

SARAH ANNE
 
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Yes, muscles will atrophy to some extent if you stop lifting weights, but you use your shoulders for a lot of activities, so they won't atrophy to nothing, just a smaller size than they were when lifting.
 
sarahanne1892 said:
I am the OP, and I wasn't expecting to be contradicted as to whether exercising with 4 lb weights would lead to overdeveloped shoulders BECAUSE THIS DID HAPPEN. Enough said. But if you diehard lifters can't accept that, so be it. Anyway, no one has addressed my question; IF YOU DON"T USE IT, WILL YOU LOSE IT? That is, if a person discontinues any muscle developing exercise, will the muscles shrink over time? I am not a runner and won't be able to look to that activity to reduce muscle mass.
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Sarah, sorry, I didn't mean to come across as questioning what happened. I was trying to see if there was any other activity you started at the same time that might have caused the bulk or contributed to it which you still may be doing, but are perhaps not relating to working your shoulders. I was trying to think out of the box. If that's not the case, then the raises must have caused it. Bottom line though, if you stop any exercise for the shoulders, then over time the muscle mass should come down.
 
LOL, this is a free "service" and discussion board. You presented us with discussion material. We do not wait urgently for your replies...get over yourself. You didn't answer the question: are you doing any other activities where you do a lot of pulling?
 
While I was exercising with weights, I only did front and side raises. Nothing else. I have not done any upper body work at all for 6 months and I now only do stairmaster and walking on the treadmill. Thats it. Well, some floor exercises too- ab crunches, leg lifts, etc.

I assume I just have to patient with this- Does anyone remember Hillary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby?" I guess if she managed to lose all that bulk, I can lose a little in my shoulders. Don't know HOW she did it though.
 
sarahanne1892 said:
While I was exercising with weights, I only did front and side raises. Nothing else. I have not done any upper body work at all for 6 months and I now only do stairmaster and walking on the treadmill. Thats it. Well, some floor exercises too- ab crunches, leg lifts, etc.

I assume I just have to patient with this- Does anyone remember Hillary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby?" I guess if she managed to lose all that bulk, I can lose a little in my shoulders. Don't know HOW she did it though.
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No one was saying you were doing any exercises beyond the lateral lifts. What they were suggesting was that your neighboring muscles might not be in an equal state strength leading to your shoulders looking overdeveloped. I however agree with others on here that doing shoulder raises with 4lb weights was incredibly unlikely to make your shoulders overdeveloped but hey anything is possible.

You want to lose shoulder bulk? Good luck. The muscle will atrophy but its size is not likely to decrease unless you are in a strict calorie deficit and not taking in the necessary proteins or exercising at which point your body will likely start to cannibalize your muscles while it conserves fat, making you unhealthier. It's a highly unrecommended process.

Are you sure your shoulders are truly overdeveloped? Do you have any pictures of yourself that you can share that will show us your proportions so that we may make a judgment on just how overdeveloped your shoulders really are?
 
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