Bodybuilding Basics - Shoulder Training
Peter Chown
Need an emergency increase in shoulder size? This instalment of the Bodybuilding Basics Series focuses on sticking slabs of muscle on your shoulders fast. 6 weeks on this beginner workout followed by 6 weeks on the more advanced and you might just need a new set of t shirts.
Training for Huge Shoulders
Nothing looks more impressive than a massive pair of shoulders on a bodybuilder. Look at bodybuilders like Gary Strydom, Kevin Levrone and Jay Cutler, these guys are known for huge wide thick shoulders, they look like melons on the end of their clavicles! Obviously they have very good genetics to build them but also they have worked them very hard with the bodybuilding basics.
In this article we will just concentrate on the deltoids, the muscle at the end of your clavicles. As in the name you will find three heads to this muscle, the anterior deltoid (the front), medial deltoid (side and also what will make you nice and wide) and the posterior deltoid (the rear). All three heads will need to be developed equally to create a nice balanced look to the delts using a mix of compound exercises and isolation exercises.
I see quite a few common mistakes in the gym when it comes to training shoulders and I do not want to see you guys making the same mistakes ok? The main one is too much weight, I see this all the time, especially with the isolation movements. I see guys doing lateral raises with the big dumbbells just swinging them up, using the legs and momentum; you’ll find the delts are hardly doing any work at all! Laterals work the medial (side head) of the delts and they are quite a small muscle so keep your exercise form strict and work your muscle and not your ego and every other muscle in the body! When you do your exercises, and this applies to all body parts, use full range of movement. It’s a pet hate of mine when I see people train, pile the weight on whatever exercise they are doing and then move the weight a few inches and develop the whole muscle!
As I said earlier you want a mix of compound and isolation exercises to fully work the delts.
Examples of great shoulder mass compound exercises:
Standing military press
Seated/standing dumbbell press
Arnie Press
Clean and press
Upright row
Examples of great shoulder isolation exercises:
Side lateral raise
Front raises
Rear lateral raise
Lying lat raise
Cable Raise
I will give you a great basic shoulder workout for you to do for your next shoulder workout ideal for beginners and intermediate bodybuilders. here you go:
Beginners Shoulder Mass Workout
Seated dumbbell press
A basic mass builder and the mainstay of my current shoulder workout. You can do this with the bench up or down but will find as you get stronger it will be best to have the bench up so you can lift maximum weight (in good form of course!). Were bodybuilding here – so we want maximum support to really allow us to focus on the delts without the core and lower back limiting the work the shoulders are doing. Make sure you keep your spine in neutral and that mid section pulled in to activate your core muscles to protect your lower back. And remember full range of movement!
Standing side lateral raise.
Video coming soon!
This is an isolation exercise but great for adding some width to the medial head of the delt. When you do this lean ever so slightly forward with the back still in neutral, and with the elbows slightly bent raise your arms out to the side and slightly forward. This will be a bit different to what you see in the gym but you will feel it right in the medial head, just be strict with the form and don’t worry about the amount of weight you are lifting because if you are doing it properly you will feel it with just a few kg’s!
Bent over lateral raises
Another isolation exercise but focusing on the posterior head of the deltoid. Bend at the hips so you are almost parallel to the floor and keep the spine in neutral (if you have trouble keeping neutral in this exercise then perform it laying face down on a slight incline bench) with the arms slightly bent bring your arms out to the sides and squeeze the shoulder blades together and do not shrug your shoulders while doing it, if you are the weight is too heavy.
Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise, strict form and weights you can handle properly. It’s a very basic routine but one that will work well. There are no magic exercises, stick with the basics and they will reward you plenty!
More Advanced Shoulder Mass Workout
Here is a more advanced programme if that doesn’t quite turn you on enough. If this isn’t tough, you didn’t do it right!
Arnold Press
Similar to the standard dumbbell press but starting with your palms facing towards you as if you have just completed the positive part of a dumbbell curl. As you press up rotate your hands round until your arms are straight but just short of locking out and palms facing forward the same as a normal dumbbell press. The advantage of this is slightly more range of movement so giving the shoulders a bit more stimulus.
Barbell Upright Row
A basic compound movement that hits the medial delts pretty hard and also the traps. Using a barbell take a wide overhand grip with the barbell resting on your quads and then pull the barbell up but making sure the elbows stay higher than the hands and keep that spine in neutral! If you want to target the traps more then take a narrower grip. If this exercise hurts your wrists at all then try it with an EZ bar and it should help you.
One Arm Lateral Raise
Similar to the standard lateral raise but as you are using only one arm you can concentrate fully on one delt at the time for maximum growth and burnage! One littlw twist that will help though is hold on to something solid like the crossover machine and lean slightly over towards the side that you are working. This will isolate the delt that much more to make them more massive!
Cable Lat raise
A good one this and as above do them one arm at a time and start with the cable behind your legs to give the exercise a slightly different feel.
Bent over lat raise
As before
Attack one of these for 4-6 weeks and your shoulders should be huge, round and hungry for a new challenge. Make sure you overload but don’t let me catch you swinging the weight around or we will be having words ok?
Final few points on shoulder training
If you drop the weight, don’t drop it on your foot.
If you’re not growing you’re not eating enough of the right stuff.
Don’t forget the rear delts! Be rounded, you will look better and be less prone to injury.
Happy training!!!
About the Author
Peter Chown is a natural bodybuilding champ and always worth listening to. 2006 INBA Natural Mr Universe and 2005 INBF World Heavyweight Champ – and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He is huge, muscular, ripped and strong and does not inject steroids into his ass, his arm or his eyeballs. He just works damn hard and eats right. He will not get all fancy and technical; he is just here to tell us what to do and how to do it. He knows what works. We like this.
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