Is Bench Press Enough For Shoulder Development?

[jstudabaka]

I've been bulking for a while now and, lately, I've been crunched for time to workout. So I've been trying to stick to the essentials. One thing I cut from my routine was shoulder exercises... inadvertently at first, but now purposely. After doing a day with a lot of bench presses, my shoulders are usually pretty fried. And, seeing as how time has been an issue, I'm reluctant to devote time to a muscle that I feel I hit pretty well regardless. The staples of my routine are a day where I do big compound lifts for my chest and triceps; a day where I do my biceps and back; and a day where I hit my legs. Mixed in, I do ab work and cardio. Honestly, I don't think cutting out specialized shoulder lifts has hurt me too much. My shoulders don't look much worse, and when I do a set here and there of shoulder presses, my lifts haven't lost much either. Do you think lots of bench presses and push-ups are enough to keep your shoulders in decent condition while you're bulking?

[jmonty]

i'd suggest at least a few sets of some type of overhead presses, as well as something for the rear delts to help prevent injury. also, i think incline benches would be more efficient for targeting shoulders and chest if time is a big issue.

[shay14]

no bro, do at least military press, compound for shoulders

[Tommy W.]

You need to work all 3 heads of the delts.

an imbalance is one of the biggest reasons for shoulder problems in the future.
I see very few people work their rear delts which is unfortunate. Even though they're worked indirectly with other exercises it's always a good idea to throw in some bent over lateral raises or something.

tw

[soulstealer]

You need to work all 3 heads of the delts.

an imbalance is one of the biggest reasons for shoulder problems in the future.
I see very few people work their rear delts which is unfortunate. Even though they're worked indirectly with other exercises it's always a good idea to throw in some bent over lateral raises or something.

tw

I couldnt have said it better this is specifically the reason I start prioritizing my rear delts on shoulder day..... as they front delts get worked with all pressing motions and rear delts I feel dont get the same stimulation during a back workout...

[GNU]

If you guys actually read what the guy is saying he's pretty strapped for time as it is and is looking to lose the shoulder exercises altogether, not start including more isolation exercises for the rear delts. although i do agree with both the last 2 posters, i dont think this will work for him in terms of time constraints.

I personally find i get a pretty decent shoulder workout from incline chest press but if i were you, i 'd try and throw in some overhead presses of some sort while bulking and strapped for time. then later down the track try and incorporate more of an overall delt workout. just my 2c

[killatiger]

no bench press is not enough, it will develop your front delts but your medial delts and rear delts will suffer. I agree even though you have time restraints you need overhead presses and some lateral and rear delt work.

[Tommy W.]

If you guys actually read what the guy is saying he's pretty strapped for time as it is and is looking to lose the shoulder exercises altogether, not start including more isolation exercises for the rear delts. although i do agree with both the last 2 posters, i dont think this will work for him in terms of time constraints.

I personally find i get a pretty decent shoulder workout from incline chest press but if i were you, i 'd try and throw in some overhead presses of some sort while bulking and strapped for time. then later down the track try and incorporate more of an overall delt workout. just my 2c

I'm sure he'll find plenty of time to sit in the doctors office with rotator cuff issues later on.

tw

[Fresh_902]

If you want to maintain your health while building a better physique, the first thing you need to do is accept the fact that you can't exclude such an important muscle-group in your training-program.

We're not talking about calves or abs. Take the comments above seriously or you will get hurt. Everyone here is saying this for your own good bro..

Do yourself a favor and stay in the gym for 15 min's longer on your Leg-day, and do some exercises for your rear- and side delt's!

[jstudabaka]

Actually, for the longest time I was doing a "hit the three heads" type shoulder routine. But, thing is, it wound up consuming a whole day's worth of upper body work, since I couldn't really get my chest, triceps, or biceps on a day when I was hitting my shoulders. Honestly, I kind of feel that my rear delts get hit when I do variations of row exercises. And I do a lot of incline presses, so my front delts get some work. I could see my rotators getting screwed, though. Usually on leg day, I feel like such **** that I don't want to do anything else, but I think I could manage a few isolation exercises to keep my shoulders up to par. That's a good suggestion

[Majestyc]

For a complete shoulder workout, hit all three heads of the deltoids (anterior, medial, and posterior). Do at least one exercise for each head.

This is my current shoulder routine:

Barbell Military Press (Anterior)
Cable Lateral Raise (Medial)
Cable Rear Lateral Raise (Posterior)

[dazzlepecs]

i super-set bench with lateral raises.. I dont do any other shoulder excercise and have relatively good development

[trojannation]

The only shoulder work I do is rear delt work, and my shoulders are one of my standout bodyparts. I think a lot has to do with genetics, and for some people bench is enough to get good development in the anterior and medial heads (myself included).

[Dan91]

if your pushed for time work your chest shoulder tri's 1 day back bis another then legs another thats you week sorted with simply 3 gym visits.

[NJLifter14]

u need more than bench

[Maverick777]

shrugs, military press, forward and side freeweight extensions

[rocketman44]

Balance is a key with shoulders as much as, and actually probably more, than any other muscle group. Try to find some time for at least a few sets of medial and posterior delt work, because the bench press is basically helping only your anterior delts.

[Tommy W.]

I can not stress enough how much you want to avoid shoulder problems.

The shoulder joint is the most complicated and delicate joint in the body and it is very sensitive. When you start having problems, your training regimen will drastically change. Benching will be a distant memory. It's nearly impossible to train around the problem without continuing to aggrevate it. You can't even squat as you wont have the ROM to get your hands in place on the bar behind your head.

The issues will silently creep up on you then one day you go train and it starts to hurt a little. No problem as you just train through the pain. The nightmare has begun.

I'm speaking from experience on this one.

There are different levels of injury. Mine happened to be as described.

tw

[ZiPP]

nope, if you just do chest exercizes for shoulder development your physique will develop out of preportion because your not working all your shoulder muscles, need some flys and stuff in there too for side and rear delt

[scrawny2studly]

If your shoulders are getting hit so much on bench exercises, you're doing them wrong. Check online videos for proper bench technique.

[Nasbin]

I've said this before and I'll reiterate because it's such a common misconception. Disproportionate deltoids are a symptom of disproportionate push-pulling in a routine, not a shortage of ****ty isos like bent-over-laterals that make you look dumber than the 140 lb kid doing db curls in the squat rack.

If you really want to do both your bench and overhead press justice (and I'd think you want to), you ought to split them up into separate days. That means abandoning your traditional chest/tris/abs, back/bis bb mag split and splitting up your workout into movement patterns. Do horizontal push/pull (bench, bent over rows) on upper day 1, vertical push/pull (shoulder press, pull-ups or pulldowns) on upper day 2.

Progressive overload is the single most important principle in weightlifting, which is precisely why heavy compounds take all precedence over weak isos with next to zero potential like front raises or hell, "finishing movements" like BW-god-damned pushups. Don't even think about neglecting your overhead press unless you've had the gross misfortune of injuring yourself.

[mattoondah]

I don't know, powerlifters strictly training bench/squats/deads (and not those messing around with accessory work) have some pretty decent size on their shoulders from just bench.

Ask yourself this, if a guy went to the gym and all he EVER did was bench and a compound back exercise, no isos, no legs, just bench and one compound back exercise, and he started doing sets at 135 on the bench and in a year or two, or three he was doing sets at 315.... do you think he'd have crappy tiny shoulders because he didn't also do shoulder specific exercises?? Maybe shoulders wouldn't be as huge as they could be, but I bet they'd be pretty damn big compared to when he was putting up 135 for reps. I think if you get strong in bench it is INEVITABLE that you will pack some mass on your shoulders. ...and tris. ....and who knows maybe even chest!

[palisicky]

I've been bulking for a while now and, lately, I've been crunched for time to workout. So I've been trying to stick to the essentials. One thing I cut from my routine was shoulder exercises... inadvertently at first, but now purposely. After doing a day with a lot of bench presses, my shoulders are usually pretty fried. And, seeing as how time has been an issue, I'm reluctant to devote time to a muscle that I feel I hit pretty well regardless. The staples of my routine are a day where I do big compound lifts for my chest and triceps; a day where I do my biceps and back; and a day where I hit my legs. Mixed in, I do ab work and cardio. Honestly, I don't think cutting out specialized shoulder lifts has hurt me too much. My shoulders don't look much worse, and when I do a set here and there of shoulder presses, my lifts haven't lost much either. Do you think lots of bench presses and push-ups are enough to keep your shoulders in decent condition while you're bulking?

shoulders are more important than chest your shoulders are sore cause they are weaker than your chest so your shoulders are stopping your chest from growing they are holding your bench back and if you do shoulder press and your tricep is weak than the tricep will stop your shoulders your only as strong as your weakest muscle in a coumpound movement

[DCSpartan]

shoulders are more important than chest your shoulders are sore cause they are weaker than your chest so your shoulders are stopping your chest from growing they are holding your bench back and if you do shoulder press and your tricep is weak than the tricep will stop your shoulders your only as strong as your weakest muscle in a coumpound movement

thanks for bumping a 5 year old thread.