shoulder/chest/back routine

[MIKE]

basically im looking to put on size and strength for shoulder, chest, and back. im also doing cardio in the mornings for about 20 min. i just really want to put on a good amount of size with my upper body as much as possible. my arms are a decent size so im not too worried about how my routines go for them. what kinda splits do you recommend and also what exercises/sets/reps do you think i should go with for maximum size and strength also is possible in the same routine.
here is my equipment while im home on break from college

flat, decline, not much of an incline but technically it is incline bench

tricep bar
ezcurl bar
2 dumbbells
pulldown tower
cable rows for back (kinda half assed version i made with the tower)
leg extension

if you guys can help me out for this month, would greatly appreciate the advice
thanks

[zackdarnell]

Are you also training legs?

You say you have 2 dumbells....what weight are they?
Do you have a barbell?

We need to know this before we can make you a routine.

[MIKE]

whatever weight i want to put on the dumbbells and yeah i have a barbell for the bench.
yeah im training legs but i dont have a squat rack so im doing alot of extensions and lunges with dumbbells and calf raises, etc...

[zackdarnell]

How about this:

Chest:
Bench Press (alternate w/ dumbells)
Incline Dumbell Press (alternate w/ barbell)
Incline Flyes

Back:
Deadlifts
Pullups
Bent-over barbell rows

Shoulders:
Military Press
Lateral Raises

[MIKE]

thats it? only 2 exercises for shoulders? im used to doing about 4 exercises per body part ranging from 4-2 sets each. normally the first 2 exercies are 4 sets and the third varies to either 3 or 4 and the last varies from 2-3 depending how i feel about my workout that day and how little energy i have left

[zackdarnell]

Originally posted by MIKE
thats it? only 2 exercises for shoulders? im used to doing about 4 exercises per body part ranging from 4-2 sets each. normally the first 2 exercies are 4 sets and the third varies to either 3 or 4 and the last varies from 2-3 depending how i feel about my workout that day and how little energy i have left

Yep, thats it. Shoulders are a relatively small muscle group and very easy to overtrain and or injure. If you felt you needed to, you could always add in some upright rows OR bent-over lateral raises.

[hawkpfc2]

I disagree with your statement that shoulders are easy to overtrain. They tend to recover very rapidly and they are capable of taking a lot of work. For shoulders and traps, I do something like this

2x military press or dumbbell shoulder press
2x side laterals
2x bent-over laterals
2x shrugs with barbell in front
2x shrugs with barbell in rear

Shoulders will grow pretty well no matter what rep range you give them I find. That is my advice for now.
Ben

[Bobsgotabs]

Yes, shoulders are easily overtrained/ injured. The front delts take a lot of the brunt when it comes to chest day, whether it be flat barbell/dumbell presses, incline barbell/dumbell presses, dips, crossovers, etc. Thus, the front delts are a secondary muscle there. Next, the rear delts come into play when doing a lot of pulling exercises, whether it be rows of some sort, or chins/pullups/pulldowns. Yes, the degree that they are brought into training can be controlled by using the targeted muscles, but they are still brought in to play. Thus, if not careful, they can be worn on pretty quickly. I know this from experience, for my front delts took too much of the brunt of chest training for the first 3 years of my training before I developed enough of a mind/muscle connection to lessen their use. The same goes with back, where the mind/muscle connection is harder to obtain, since most people use WAY too much weight.


Bob H

[zackdarnell]

Originally posted by Bobsgotabs
Yes, shoulders are easily overtrained/ injured. The front delts take a lot of the brunt when it comes to chest day, whether it be flat barbell/dumbell presses, incline barbell/dumbell presses, dips, crossovers, etc. Thus, the front delts are a secondary muscle there. Next, the rear delts come into play when doing a lot of pulling exercises, whether it be rows of some sort, or chins/pullups/pulldowns. Yes, the degree that they are brought into training can be controlled by using the targeted muscles, but they are still brought in to play. Thus, if not careful, they can be worn on pretty quickly. I know this from experience, for my front delts took too much of the brunt of chest training for the first 3 years of my training before I developed enough of a mind/muscle connection to lessen their use. The same goes with back, where the mind/muscle connection is harder to obtain, since most people use WAY too much weight.


Bob H

Great explanation by BOB.

[MIKE]

so what would u consider a good routine for shoulders bob?

[Bobsgotabs]

As far as shoudlers, it all depends on what needs work, and what doesn't. If your front delts overpower your chest, then stay away from heavy dumbell presses. Instead, work on traps, side delts, and rear delts. I personally train shoulders every other week, since they tend to dominate my chest. I start off with smithmachine shrugs. I use the smith machine, because it allows me to bull my neck putting more direct stress on the traps. Then, its an easy(relatively speaking) movement of straight up and down. Then I move to dumbell shrugs, having the handles rest on the front of my quads. There, its a different contraction than the regular shrugs. Then, I move onto side laterals. Heres where most people fall astray. Side laterals are one of the easier exercises to cheat on. To make things easy, and to put most of the stress onto your rear delts, rest the handles of the dumbells facing inline with your body, onto your side thighs/hips area. THEN raise the dumbells out to the side, rotating your wrists slowly counterclockwise at the top of the rep. THIS will put all of the stress onto your side delts. Nice, slow, and controlled. None of the full body motions that you see the guys hoisting 40 lb dumbells for side delts. Next, I move onto the pec dec for rear delts. There I just use constant tension, and slow reps. At the end of the rep, I try and hold for a second, and start over again. Thats just a basic shoulder routine that I do. Sure, you can do tons, and tons of variations with cables and other movements, but it's quick, basic, and effective. As far as my delts overshadowing my chest, heres a pic from a few months ago where my delts STILL overshadow my chest.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attach...&postid=629174

[MIKE]

well id like to put on as much strength for bench press so front delts and lats need the most work cause my tri's are pretty strong, arguably my most advanced bodypart

[Bobsgotabs]

You want to improve bench press strength? Are you training for a competitive sport, or just want to press large numbers?

Bob H

[MIKE]

all sports, including martial arts, im very much into competitive sports and i also just want to put up mad numbers for 2 reasons. one being for myself and sports, 2 because im only 5'9 and dont have the genetics that everyone else has so i like shocking people being my size and putting up numbers that they would never think

[ex-static]

and kill yourself in the meantime?

I dont see a point in pushing big numbers just to show off. Work on your size, and your physical stature alone should make people look twice. rather than sayin I migth look like shiznit but I can lift 500lbs

But hey... each to thier own.

[HITKING]

MIKE I consider my shoulders my most developed body part, next to legs, and what has worked for me is just one exercise - over head press. I use a hammer delt press machine since you don't have this I would suggest doing barbell OHP. I usually do one or two breakdown sets after my to failure set on delt press. You might do this with OHP or dumbell laterals followed immediately by OHP (you will have to use less weight than normal). Go fairly heavy on OHP and use 6-8 or even a 5-7 rep range.

OHP and its derivatives, be it machine or with dumbbells, in this best exercise for shoulders. It works both the front and side heads of the muscle.

[MIKE]

HITKING, if i do barbell presses, front or back of the head or both?
thanks
ex static, i didn't mean i want to stay the same size, i just am not 6 ft 3 225lbs, im only 5'9 5'10 165. strength is key to me in any sport, not just size but i do want both. its also nice to put up numbers in the gym but thats not my sole reason.