Shoulder Development

[ms_mac]

Looking for a program that focuses on shoulder width\development. My shoulders have always lagged behind and I am tired of hearing that "its genetics"...I have been training for many many years but I am not happy with the shoulders. Any suggestions?

[Cara0915]

Well, what are you doing now? Are you doing a body part split?

On my shoulder days I like to start with OHP, do 4-6 sets then from there I do 2 things each for sides, front and rears. Totally smokes my shoulders

[tahinilove]

I'd definitely consider hitting shoulders 2x a week, maybe an upper/lower body split instead of standard bb?

I agree with Cara0915 - heavy OHP really gets the shoulders!

[megdaig]

Heavy OH presses in the smith machine has helped me grow, more so than DB presses because I can go heavier and really focus on time under tension.

[MadCatLady]

I borrowed DLBs shoulder routine and scaled it down a little. Did that once per week and had success - my shoulders are much improved since last year. I was only working them one a week and it's not for everyone. But I liked it.

[thehobbes]

Do heavy heavy bb overhead press, I do mine seated so I don't hit the basement lights on the ceiling lulz, but you can push a bit more wt seated so go with that if you just want those puppies to grow. Once I started getting into lower reps on those things (only do em 1x a week) my shoulders improved big time, now my ohp is a lot closer to my bp than it used to be. Also do plenty of prehab rc work so you don't hurt anything.

Heavy ohp = juicy shoulders of peace.

[kimm4]

Agreed with the ladies here. Heavy BB overhead press is the way to go. I haven't used DB's for overhead pressing in years. I also throw in Bradford presses every other week. You'll need to go lighter on these, but they are great for building shoulders.

Other staples in my routine:

Upright rows (heavy DB's using a wider width and stopping at the pec area)
Facepulls
Front side T's (lighter weights for these)
Front raises (using plates, BB and if I use DB's I do 1 arm at a time)
Side lateral DB's (again I focus on 1 arm at a time)

I know a lot of people don't do direct trap work, but I feel building up my traps has only helped me get stronger with my overhead pressing numbers.

I'll normally throw in some heavy HS shrugs or heavy shrugs from the standing calf machine.

Make sure you're hitting all 3 parts of your shoulder. This creates an overall balance of a healthy shoulder and gives you the nice rounded/boulder shoulder look.

[gobbles23]

I haven't done oh presses in ages....Upright cable rows are my new favourite!!

[ms_mac]

OHP's are a staple in my shoulder routine. I am thinking I may go to training them twice a week....heavy\low reps on one day and higher reps for the second workout. Does that make sense? Also going to look into DLB's plan. Searching for a new plan right now as I do tend to get bored after about 8-10 weeks on a program. My problem is I hate going over the 6-8 rep range but I just need to suck it up and go for the higher reps in order to meet my goals...

Thanks for the input guys.

[schnauzer20]

What is DLBs shoulder routine? Is this posted somewhere? I also need help with shoulders.

[PitBullPretty]

Heavy OH presses in the smith machine has helped me grow, more so than DB presses because I can go heavier and really focus on time under tension.

This is good advice and I concur.

Also...pick up a Musclemag/Flex/etc. Look through it and find out what the pro men are doing. Lift like that. Shoulders grow from obnoxious pumps and heavy weights.

I don't ever follow a "plan." The only thing I know when I walk through the door to the gym is what body part I'm annihilating, and if it's shoulder day, that I will warm up with lateral raises. After that I pick and choose my lifts by how I feel until I've killed all three heads of the deltoid.

Plans are good for getting you started, after that they're good for wasting your time.

[megdaig]

This is good advice and I concur.

Also...pick up a Musclemag/Flex/etc. Look through it and find out what the pro men are doing. Lift like that. Shoulders grow from obnoxious pumps and heavy weights.

I don't ever follow a "plan." The only thing I know when I walk through the door to the gym is what body part I'm annihilating, and if it's shoulder day, that I will warm up with lateral raises. After that I pick and choose my lifts by how I feel until I've killed all three heads of the deltoid.

Plans are good for getting you started, after that they're good for wasting your time.

Just realized you won your pro card. How awesome! Congrats, you look amazing.

[ms_mac]

What is DLBs shoulder routine? Is this posted somewhere? I also need help with shoulders.

Here you go: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/delt...s-workout.html

This is good advice and I concur.

Also...pick up a Musclemag/Flex/etc. Look through it and find out what the pro men are doing. Lift like that. Shoulders grow from obnoxious pumps and heavy weights.

I don't ever follow a "plan." The only thing I know when I walk through the door to the gym is what body part I'm annihilating, and if it's shoulder day, that I will warm up with lateral raises. After that I pick and choose my lifts by how I feel until I've killed all three heads of the deltoid.

Plans are good for getting you started, after that they're good for wasting your time.

LOL! Thanks for the feedback....and congrats.

Just realized you won your pro card. How awesome! Congrats, you look amazing.

So I decided to give shoulders their own day. I have always trained them with another body part, so this is a start. I will try it for a while and see how it goes. Here is what I did today:

OHP
4*5,4,4,3 - 60lbs

Arnolds
4*8 - 25lbs

Cable Side Laterals
4*8

BB Front Raise
4*8 - 30lbs

Bent Over Rear Lateral
4*10,10,8,8 - 25lbs

BB Upright Row
4*10 - 40lbs

BB Shrugs
4*12 - 100lbs

DB Press - drop set:
25lbs*15, 20*10, 15*6
25*8, 20*5, 15*5

Thoughts?

[stephanielynn76]

I can commiserate ms-mac. I've been on a quest for boulder shoulders for years now… I'm still waiting. I have tried everything. I've done every exercise mentioned in this thread (including others I've read about in articles and such). I've done high-weight-low-rep, low-weight-high-rep, and a combination of both. I've gone from training them 1x/wk to 2x's/wk. You KNOW I've eaten to support growth… and while I have seen some progress… it's just not enough. I honestly think the issue is that I have very long arms and they are just going to take a long time to fill out. It's frustrating. The waiting sucks.

So, my newest strategy is "every day is delt day.' That's what I'm going with.
#1 I usually train 3 days/wk (p/p/l). If I can get a 4th day in there it's an extra shoulders/triceps day (because my triceps suck too).
#2 My typical "push" workout has a shoulder emphasis. I train the front, side, and back of my shoulders. I do heavy OHP's and killer drop sets.
#3 On leg day I throw in some lateral and front raises to burn them out again.
#4 On back day I throw in rear delt work.

^^Basically, if I'm at the gym at all… some type of delt exercise will be preformed. The only exception would be if I felt they weren't recovered enough… but that's not usually an issue. I'm going to try this for awhile. I will let you know how it goes.

[ms_mac]

I can commiserate ms-mac. I've been on a quest for boulder shoulders for years now… I'm still waiting. I have tried everything. I've done every exercise mentioned in this thread (including others I've read about in articles and such). I've done high-weight-low-rep, low-weight-high-rep, and a combination of both. I've gone from training them 1x/wk to 2x's/wk. You KNOW I've eaten to support growth… and while I have seen some progress… it's just not enough. I honestly think the issue is that I have very long arms and they are just going to take a long time to fill out. It's frustrating. The waiting sucks.

So, my newest strategy is "every day is delt day.' That's what I'm going with.
#1 I usually train 3 days/wk (p/p/l). If I can get a 4th day in there it's an extra shoulders/triceps day (because my triceps suck too).
#2 My typical "push" workout has a shoulder emphasis. I train the front, side, and back of my shoulders. I do heavy OHP's and killer drop sets.
#3 On leg day I throw in some lateral and front raises to burn them out again.
#4 On back day I throw in rear delt work.

^^Basically, if I'm at the gym at all… some type of delt exercise will be preformed. The only exception would be if I felt they weren't recovered enough… but that's not usually an issue. I'm going to try this for awhile. I will let you know how it goes.

I am thinking that is my problem too. Long arms...UGH! Seems being tall has a lot of disadvantages when it comes to building. I like your plan of attack though. I never really thought of training delts every day....hmmmm. Let me know how it goes.

Hope everything is well with you. Sounds like you're back in the gym on a regular basis. Thats good news....just take care of yourself.

[PitBullPretty]

Thanks, ladies. I genuinely appreciate the congrats. <3 <3 <3 <3

[faithandfit]

For me- what works is high volume with a mix of heavy weight and light weight.
Arnold Presses, Shoulder Presses, Upright row, cable raises, lat raises- all varied.
I do mostly the same exercises but switch the order. But what has made a HUGE difference is hitting the Arnold Presses and DB presses right after my warmup and THEN hitting detail work!

[stephanielynn76]

Thanks, ladies. I genuinely appreciate the congrats. <3 <3 <3 <3

Soooooo exciting!!! You are awesome!

[stephanielynn76]

I am thinking that is my problem too. Long arms...UGH! Seems being tall has a lot of disadvantages when it comes to building. I like your plan of attack though. I never really thought of training delts every day....hmmmm. Let me know how it goes.

Hope everything is well with you. Sounds like you're back in the gym on a regular basis. Thats good news....just take care of yourself.

I know girl… long limbs can be both a blessing and a curse. When it comes to adding enough mass to look like I actually lift… it's mostly a curse. I suspect time, consistency, and eating to support growth is the only way to get there. I will give this strategy a few months and report back. And yes, I'm back at it regularly now! Yay! I still struggle with recovery issues but I'm listening to my body and resting when I know I need to.

[mtnliones5]

For me- what works is high volume with a mix of heavy weight and light weight.
Arnold Presses, Shoulder Presses, Upright row, cable raises, lat raises- all varied.
I do mostly the same exercises but switch the order. But what has made a HUGE difference is hitting the Arnold Presses and DB presses right after my warmup and THEN hitting detail work!

I feel like doing Arnold presses has helped me get over a big strength hurdle. I can't do as much weight doing Arnold's but they have sure helped me do regular presses better!

But I have a question. Why don't most of you ladies use dumbbells? Better results with bb?

I have progressed to the 30 lbs dumbbells for presses but they are becoming really difficult for me to get up into place to press especially if I have already bench pressed. Would it be wise to switch to a barbell now?

[stephanielynn76]

I feel like doing Arnold presses has helped me get over a big strength hurdle. I can't do as much weight doing Arnold's but they have sure helped me do regular presses better!

But I have a question. Why don't most of you ladies use dumbbells? Better results with bb?

I have progressed to the 30 lbs dumbbells for presses but they are becoming really difficult for me to get up into place to press especially if I have already bench pressed. Would it be wise to switch to a barbell now?

BTDT. Used to do 8-10 rep sets with the 45's. I found I could do even heavier weight with plate-load machines or on the smith. Still waiting for huge shoulders…

[jessica693254]

its really the nice perspective of doing the workout,shoulder needs to be shaped properly and workout is crucial......... need to keep working hard!!!!!!!!