This may be a dumb question but i recently started doing free weights, i do bicep curls, tricep kick backs, overhead press (military press), incline bench press, etc

my question is i want my arms to get firmer, smaller, more muscular but i don't want to get broader shoulders. i don't wanna look like a linebacker!

since shoulders don't really have "fat" on them like the rest of my arms do will doing shoulder type exercise make my shoulders get wider and broader in width? this is not my goal at all! any help would be appreciated!

Shoulders do hold fat, just like the rest of your arms--it might just be marbled in with your muscle more. With good diet and weight training you should be able to swap out lots of that fat for muscle which will mean that your shoulders look tighter and more shapely. You are unlikely to look like a line backer so long as your diet is on track.

WELLL, ARE YOU EATING IN A CALORIC DEFICIT? IN OTHERWORDS, ARE YOU IN FAT LOSS MODES, AND actually EATING LESS THAN YOUR BODY NEEDS EVERYDAY?

iF THIS IS THE CASE, THEN no, YOU WONT BUILD BROADER SHOUERS...... ITS PRETTY HARD TO BUILD ANY MUSCLE AT ALL WHEN IN A DEFICIT, BECAUSE YOU NEED A SURPLUS TO BUILD


THAT BEING SAID, ID YOU DONT WANNA WORK YOUR SHOULDERS, THAN DONT WORK YOUR SHOUDERS, OR FOCUS ON DIFFFERENT MOVEMENTS LIKE LATERAL, FRONT AND REAR DELT RAISES... YOU WONT BE ABLE TO LIFT AS HEAVY.... A STRAIGHT SHOULDER PRESS, OR PUSH PRESS IS A HEAVY EXERCISE... A GREAT EXERCISE, I THINK.. BUT YOU DONT HAVE TO SDO IT IF YOU DONT WANT TO

Apologize for ^^^^^
didnt realize i had the caps on tillit was too late and i wasnt going t go back and re-type. Im lazy like that

Also, a lot of OTHER exercises work the shoulders, more indirectly, for instance, PLANKS, regyular and side planks... fantastic shoulder exercise though the focus is on the core

You can't actually add/subtract bone to your shoulders so they aren't going to broaden in that sense.

They CAN become much more shapely, though, and I actually think of that is a very good thing. I sometimes use sloppy language (working on that!) here and say that lifting broadens your shoulders but what I typically mean by that is that they appear broader because you're also losing around your waist and they are more shapely so they are more noticeable.

Thank you ladies for your replies, no worries about the CAPS mkroyer, i'm lazy too and wouldn't have retyped it either haha.

I am going to try to incorporate some more of those exercises such as lateral raises, thanks for the suggestion!

@ runningfromfat Thanks for your response too. i would be fine with them staying the same size and getting more shapely, i just didn't want them to be increasing width wise if that makes any sense cause i am definitely not looking to look like i have huge 80's shoulder pads or football padding on.

i'm just super paranoid that what i am doing is wrong! but both of your responses have reassured me! thanks again!

no problem! Youre welcome

I realize every one is different, and everyone has THEIR OWN ideal of beauty and perfect body type.. I also personally prefer the "broader", moer define shoulder look, because of tyhe reason runningfromfat stated (it gives the illusion of a tinier waist) It takes a good deal of muscle to do that though
If you really wanted to decrease the size of your shoulder muscles, theres no reason you cant let them atrophy *stop doing shoulder work in your lifting sessions) It would definitely be hard to avoid though... so many exercisies use your shoulders as a secondary muscle group, KWIM?

I've been doing curls, overhead presses, you name it and I have developed great looking deltoids, biceps, triceps, etc. You will not look like a linebacker unless you take testosterone. You're just going to look strong, with well-defined muscles. Enjoy the new shoulders.

I've read that tricep kickbacks are useless, but if they work for you, do them.