#shoulder routine

My shoulder/arm day looks like this:

Dumbbell or barbell shoulder press.

3 sets of lateral raises.          ]

3 sets of rear lateral raises.   ] These are often done in a circuit.

3 sets of upright rows.           ]

3 sets of machine lateral raises.

3 sets of heavy barbell curls.

3 sets of dumbbell curls.

4+ sets of heavy triceps bench press.

3 sets of cable triceps extensions (overhead).

3 sets of triceps pull downs.

ENFP: "INTJ, you have such defined shoulders! Tell me your secret ^_^"

The 10 “Commandments” of Shoulder Training (THOU SHALT NOT!!)

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If you want to build bigger shoulders there are definitely some things that you are going to have to do, and other mistakes you will have to avoid in your shoulder training. In this video, I’m going to give you the 10 “commandments” of shoulder training to help you not only build…

Low Rep Shoulders 5 Sets

     Military Press: 5 Reps

     Arnold Press: 5 Reps

Superset: 5 Sets

     1 Arm Lateral Raises: 5 Reps

     Front Raises: 5 Reps

Superset: 5 Sets

     Rear Delt Flyes: 5 Sets

     Barbell Shrugs: 5 Reps

Superset: 5 Sets

      Full Frontals: 8 Reps

      Full Lateral Raises: 8 Reps

FOCUS

Tip #1 - It's ok to train shoulders with a lot of volume

Shoulders can handle volume, and I mean lots of it. I believe that part of my quality shoulder developmenthas to do with being a swimmer until the age of 25.

Doing thousands of reps every single day gave me a good base with regards to capillarization and blood flow. When I started lifting weights my shoulders grew immediately.

That being said, if shoulders are a focus of yours, you can definitely train them twice a week, You can also work them once a week as a separate muscle group and then combine rear delts with back workouts, and medial and front delts with chest for a second session.

Tip #2 - Add the clean and press to your training

Learn the clean and press. If you have somebody qualified to teach you, the clean and press is a great tool that will stimulate the nervous system.

Doing a couple sets at the start of your shoulder workout will greatly improve the effectiveness of the actual hypertrophy work. There is no need to go heavy. Try 4 sets of 8 at 60%.

Tip #3 - Apply inward pressure when pressing

Bend the bar together. All to often, the shoulder press becomes a triceps press. This isn't wrong, but it's not what you are trying to accomplish.

If you are working with a barbell, always apply inward pressure as if you were bending the bar together. If you use dumbbells, always keep the thumb lower than the rest of the hand.

Tip #4 - Slow your shoulder reps down

Slow it down. That goes for any exercise, but shoulder training in particular is often done in a sloppy and rushed fashion. This leads to inflamed shoulders, overdeveloped traps and general discontent.

If you initiate the positive phase through momentum or inertia the body does not get a chance to activate the muscle fibers properly. Always create tension on the part of the shoulder you are trying to train before even starting the motion.

Tip #5 - Shorten and tuck your abs

Tuck the abs in. If you watch the majority of people doing seated dumbbell presses from the side you will notice that their lower back is far away from the chair. In fact, they are always in an incline bench position. This is great for chest, but not so great for training shoulders.

Slide all the way back and shorten your abs. This will provide stability and proper shoulder recruitment.

Tip #6 - Initiate medial delt exercises with the elbow

Move the elbow. The elbow, not the wrist, should be the one initiating any exercises targeting the medial delt. 

Most trainees think of moving the wrist first. This leads to an insolvent of the traps. The body always registers intention, so if the first muscle moved is not your target muscle, your set is pretty much done (this goes for all exercises).

Instead of ripping up the wrists, imagine having strings at your elbows, pulling them toward the ceiling.

Tip #7 - For side raises, tip your dumbbells

Turn the wrist. The medial delt works best when the dumbbells are angled slightly downward.

So when you start any type of side raise have the dumbbells pointing at one o'clock/eleven o'clock respectively.

Tip #8 - Toss upright rows aside

Do not do barbell upright rows. I know, I know...." I know this dude he is huge and does upright barbell rows, and besides, bodybuilders have always done barbell upright rows." True, but by that logic we would still travel in horse carriages.

Upright barbell rows are tough on the wrist and shoulder (especially when trainees pull above chest level). Also, they do not allow for the downward angle described in point 7.

Instead try v-pulls. Stand in a stagger step, slightly leaning forward, dumbbells in front you with he palms facing back. Start moving the elbows up and out outward so that the dumbbells follow a V pattern. Drop the thumbs going upward.

Tip #9 - Work your upper back

Do not neglect the upper back. The majority of shoulder injuries comes from overload of the frontal part of the torso through pressing while not creating a properly balanced back. Reverse shrugs, face pulls, j-pulls and wall slides should be done before any upper body workout.

I normally HATE this day of training, but I'm seeing strength improvements and it's becoming much more enjoyable.

Seated dumbell press: 16 x 10 / 22kg x 5 / 20kg x 3 / 16kg x 8

Frontal Barbell raise: 15kg x 10 / 17kg x 10 / 17kg x 10

Cable lateral raise: 5kg x 10 / 5 kg x 10 / 5kg x 5

Shrug: 70kg x 10 —->  into Barbell Trap Pull-up 35kg x 10 /3 SUPA SETS in total.

Cable reverse: 2.5kg x 10 / 3 sets.. these are horrid.

Serious 10 minute ab blast, naiiiiled it! 

What's up tribe!

I was looking through some of my old notebooks and I came across one of my good ol' shoulder routines. While benching with this guy at the gym at the begining of the year, he mentioned that if I want to increase my bench as well as prevent shoulder injury one of the best thing to do is have a shoulder routine. Now, I know how working your shoulders can help your bench. I didn't, however, think about how it can prevent injury.  It makes since though. If your shoulders can support the weight that your trying to lift, you just might hurt yourself. And if any one out there is anything like me, I hate being out of the gym for something silly that could have been prevented.

With that said, here is a shoulder routine that I put together that I was doing every other week. Most times I just added some exercises in on my leg days, but every other week I would throw in a full routine.

Warm up set of Military Presses 2 sets 15-20 reps (Normally a weight that could mannage really well) Military Press (Working set) 4 sets Drop set style 12 reps, 10, 8, then 6 Side/Lateral Dumbell Raises 3 sets 8-10 reps Delt Raises 3 sets 10-12 reps Upright Rows 3 sets 8-12 reps   Shrugs 3 sets 12-15 reps  External Rotation 3 sets 10-12 reps Internal Raises 3 sets 10-12 reps

This is just a routine I used. Of course if you would like to use it, all sets and reps can be modified to your fitness level and goals. But that's it! Oh yeah you do use it, let me know what you think.