A few years ago, I helped my (female) friend move. Moving is one of those jobs that tends to be delegated to men by default, but I figured we could handle it. After all, we're a couple of strong, independent chicks. And the whole thing went pretty smoothly -- until it came time to life the large TV onto the high dresser. I could not lift it above my head, no matter what. The lack of strength I had in my shoulders was painfully evident.

Shoulders are an oft forgotten part of the body, but they're just as important as the bigger muscle groups--working on them will not only increase your strength but help prevent injury too. Here are some exercises that will tone your shoulders, making them sleek, sexy and best of all, strong:

• Overhead Press. Standing with your knees slightly bent, lift some light weight to about ear length, the press them up, angling them slightly in front of you. Light weights are the key here -- I've been lifting weights for a while now and I still can't lift more than 5lbs above my head. If you feel any sort of pain or discomfort in your shoulders, skip this one and opt for any of the below. For more of a challenge, do them on an exercise ball or standing on one leg.
  
• Front raise. Standing tall with your legs slightly bent, hold a set of dumbbells in front of you, with your palms facing your legs. Slowly raise your arms up without bending them at all. Again, you'll probably want lighter weights. Do reps slowly to make them more challenging.
  
• Lateral Raise. Holding your arms straight at your side, with your knees slightly bent, raise your arms arms up sideways without bending at the elbow. Only go shoulder height--any further and you could injure yourself. If this is too difficult, bend your elbows at the bottom of the exercise, and keep them bent as you raise your whole arm to shoulder height.
  
• Fly. Sitting on an exercise ball ,with your feet flat on the floor hold a medium weighted dumbbell in each hand. Bend over until your torso is above your knees, keeping your arms straight down and letting them hang on either side of your legs. Slowly, raise your arms up to the sides without bending your elbow. Go as high as your shoulders and then slowly let them drop down again. Make sure you squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the motion. This exercise will tone your whole back but especially the area around those shoulder blades.
  
• Upright row. Standing straight up, with your knees slightly bent, hold a pair of medium dumbbells in front your you, with your palms facing your legs. Keeping the dumbbells close to your body, raise them up to your chest, bending your elbows.

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