Easy warm-up that wakes the shoulders before you load them.
Keep the movement smooth and led from the shoulder, not the wrists.
Backward arm circles take the shoulders through big, controlled rotations with nothing but your arms' own weight, waking up the delts and the small stabilising muscles around the joint before pressing or pulling. Circling backward gently encourages the shoulders down and back, the opposite of the hunched-forward position most of us live in. They earn their place at the top of any upper-body session precisely because they cost nothing and prepare everything.
Backward circles roll the shoulders down and back, countering desk posture and grooving the position you want under a bar. Forward circles are fine too, but if you only do one direction, backward pays better.
Around 10 to 15 slow circles, starting small and growing bigger, is plenty for a warm-up. If your shoulders still feel rusty, do a second round rather than speeding up the first.
No, there is no meaningful resistance, they are preparation, not construction. They increase blood flow and range before loading, for actual delt growth you want presses and raises afterward.
