Deltoids!

[bigbike]

I am looking for a few good deltoid exercises. A little background-44 yr.old female, who has been training for 10 yrs and has never been able to develope much in the way of deltoids. Biceps no problem, tri's no problem, back and deltoids big problem. Exercises that I do-seated barbell extensions, seated dumbbell extensions, side lateral raises, front raises. I do 3 sets of each 8-10 reps (or until failure). I eat about 90 grms protein each day (have to watch, cause I am diabetic and kidney failure runs in my family). I do the vitamin thing, as well as eat lean (little fat). What am I doing wrong? I want to compete in a show next year and really want these damn things to grow!

[Sweetness]

I also have a deltoid problem. I dunno wtf it is but those buggers seem to be stubborn. I decided one day I was going to beat them into submission. So I made up a variation of the clean and press and since then, I have actually noticed gains LOL. They are porportionally still smaller, but I am hoping that given time, they will respond to the increse in inensity that the modified presses provide. P.S. if you do more rear lateral raises, it may help your overall back development. Cant hurt I guess. Good luck.

[Telly]

Bigbike,

When you say barbell and dumbell extensions, are you referring to presses. If so then fine, if not, then you need to start doing presses.

Are you training shoulders on their own. If not start doing that, or put them first in your workout before you work any other muscles.

Another exercise which is great for delts is pull-ups/chin-ups with palms facing away from you. They are a great mass builder for your upper back, but they are also great for the delts. Even if you have to use a box or platform to rest your feet on if they are too difficult to perform until you build your strength up. Do three sets of as many reps as you can. You will notice a difference in your whole upper back/shoulder area.

When doing rear laterals, try doing them one arm at a time. Instead of seated, stand and bend at the waist (and knees to take pressure off the lower back) so that your body is almost perpendicular to the floor, using a bench or something to rest your non-working hand on to stabilise yourself. Then extend your working arm straight out, but don't use any momentum. This is a great variation of the seated or standing rear laterals.

Hope it helps. Good luck

[bigbike]

There are 2 exercises that I do not possess the strength to do. One is pull ups or chinups and the other is dips. Being a woman has its down falls. Being a woman who has had lots of back injuries over the years is really suckie.

[Telly]

Bigbike,

I hear you, but have you tried doing pullups using a block or platform under your feet. That way you can push off from your legs to help you get up. That will get your strength levels accustomed to lifting it's own body weight. Call it cheating, call it whatever you like, but you will be surprised how much benefit you will derive from it.

Give it a try, you have nothing to lose

[freaker]

I would suggest you definitely prioritize shoulders. As far as good exercises to do, I would say of course presses. I think DB presses where you keep your shoulders back to really focus on the side delts are the best. The side delts seem to respond better to deliberate movements rather than explosive heavy lifting, that seems to develop the front delts and traps for me. I'd suggest a lot of side raises, bent-over raises with a good contraction(pull your shoulders blades together and squeeze) to also develop the back, upright rows with a wide grip or dumbbells, maybe even cleans and snatches. Also, make sure to pull your shoulders blades together and squeeze for all back movements, that will develop your rhomoids and give your back and rear delts a thicker look. Use lighter weight at first and really focus on perfect form using only the target muscle to lift. You may want to experiment with different rep ranges and supersets or drop sets too.