If you’re looking to pack muscle and strength onto your shoulders, you don’t need a ton of equipment. You can get a vicious shoulder workout from a simple pair of dumbbells.

Yes, that’s it. Sure, plenty of guys aim to overhead press barbells overloaded with weight. But in many ways, you’re better off doing a dumbbell shoulder workout instead. Why? Because a simple pair of dumbbells is all you need to hit your shoulders from all directions, and attack all the key functions of your shoulders. Doing a dumbbell shoulder workout has another advantage too: It means you’ll avoid using massive weights and spare your shoulders some seriously unneeded wear and tear.

Here’s the thing about your shoulders: Your deltoids are a strong muscle group. But they’re also a small muscle group, and they get plenty of work even on days you’re not training them. Every time you breach press, you give your front delts some attention, and your rear delts are called into action for most of your back movements. Your shoulders also act as key stabilizers during heavy leg movements like front squats and goblet squats, and shoulder positioning is key on such moves as farmer’s carries and overhead carries.

Photo credit: Men's Health

So is it really worth hammering your shoulders even more with overly heavy barbell overhead presses? Answer: No. And by building your dumbbell shoulder workout around lighter loads, you can still get plenty of work done. Choose the right dumbbell shoulder exercises, and you’ll get to enjoy a massive shoulder pump without battering your shoulders with heavyweight barbell moves. That’ll get you the size and strength you crave without the injury risk that comes with an ultra-heavy shoulder press.

And that’s exactly what you’re going to do in this workout.

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