Have you ever seen movie stars who had to get jacked for a movie? The one big trait that allows them to look super aesthetic is the big and broad shoulders that they have built.
This wide shoulder look, looks incredible and shows a sign of dominance in a physique. Although 90% of movie stars do go on performance enhancing drugs (anabolic steroids) when they have to get fit for a movie, this does NOT mean that you can not do it naturally.
I have met SO MANY natural gym goers that have amazing delts (shoulders) simply because they have been training right, eating right, and sleeping right.
Come, let's show you how to build some boulder shoulders!
In this article I'm going to show you the anatomy of the shoulders, ways to prevent injury, as well as shoulder exercises and my own personal shoulder workout plan!
Let's dive in!
Shoulder Anatomy
Before I show you some exercises that target the shoulders, it is IMPERATIVE that you know some basic shoulder anatomy before trying to build some massive shoulders. There are 3 main parts of the shoulders, these parts are called the DELTOIDS. When people say this word they are simply talking about shoulders!
The 3 main parts of the shoulder are the FRONT DELTOID, the SIDE DELTOID and the REAR DELTOID.
Refer to the diagram below to see where they are on the body.
FRONT DELTOID: This is the part shaded in RED, it is the part of the shoulder that is most used during pushing activities, this deltoid is also a secondary muscle to chest exercises. This part of the shoulder is able to push the most weight and can handle the most mechanical pressure.
SIDE DELTOID: This part shaded in GREEN, it is the deltoid that is responsible for the majority of the width of your shoulders! It is the deltoid that can handle the least amount of weight, however once it is properly built along with the other delts, this part will STAND OUT!
REAR DELTOID: This is the part shaded in BLUE, This is the delt that is seen more at the back of the shoulder, it's actually widely considered a back muscle, but it still adds great aesthetic to the shoulders!
It is EXTREMELY important to understand the anatomy of any muscle group before you intend to train it, this is so you know if your training it properly, if you are feeling the muscle being trained and to know where and how you possibly sustained an injury.
Shoulder Exercises for EACH Delt
If you have read some of my other posts about how to work different muscle groups, you may have noticed that this section usually includes a wide variety of exercises.
However, the shoulders are the most simple body parts to train. There are only a few simple and fundamental shoulder exercises that you need to sculpt incredible shoulders.
Let's check them out!
Front Deltoid
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Military Press
Shoulder Press Machine
Side Deltoid
Chest Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Cable Lateral Raises
Lateral Raise Machine
Rear Deltoid
Dumbbell Rear Delt Flies
Rear Delt Machine
My general guideline is to choose 1 Front Delt, 2 Side Delt and 1 Rear Delt exercise for a full shoulder day!
Also make sure to look up these exercises on the internet to get a basic understanding of good form and technique.
Progressively Overloading the Shoulders
Progressive overload in fitness is the act of doing more than last time, by doing either more reps or more weight than you did last time, you will activate muscular hypertrophy. This is where the muscle fibers get better activation and stimulates growth.
Doing these exercises with good form and full range of motion will give you the best results for shoulder gains!
Also make sure to take care of your nutrition and get good rest because that is going to be the main factor in determining if you grow your muscles or not.
Injury Prevention
Shoulders are one of the key muscles to an aesthetic physique, however they are one of the most prone to injury!
The main reasons for shoulder injury is the lack of good form when doing exercises that involves shoulders and the absence of a warmup of the shoulders.
I had a shoulder injury about 3 months ago due to me neglecting good form as well as not warming up my muscles, DO NOT make the same mistake as me.
To make sure you are doing good form, be sure to be using good RANGE OF MOTION (ROM) as well as exhibit slow and controlled reps for injury prevention as well as to stimulate hypertrophy.
By also doing a warmup set to prime your muscles, you heavily decrease your chances of injury. But there is one more thing you must look at when looking to prevent injury in the shoulders, and that's the rotator cuff.
Rotator Cuff
The rotator cuff is also a key part in working your shoulders, the rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that hold your shoulder joint in place and allow for your arm to move properly.
It is important to warm up your rotator cuff before doing any pushing exercises, this includes front delt exercises as well as other exercises that use the front delt such as chest exercises and some tricep exercises too.
Here are two great rotator cuff exercises to help strengthen your shoulder's injury immunity.
Dumbbell External Rotation
Band Pull-Apart
Make sure to look up these exercises on the internet to understand good form and technique.
YourFitnessHelper's Shoulder Workout
Before we end it off, let me show you my personal shoulder routine!
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 2x failure (drop-set last set 2 times)
Chest Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raises 2x15 +partial reps to failure
Cable Lateral Raises 2x10
Rear Delt Flies (machine) 2x10
This is my routine, this a little advanced because my muscles are more used to the gym and I like to push them really hard for maximum growth.
I know this is not so feasible for beginners which is why there is a beginner shoulder workout routine below!
Beginner's Shoulder Workout
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x10
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise 3x15
Rear Delt Flies 2x10
Notice how the exercises are practically the same as the slightly advanced one, the only difference is the way I train by using partial reps and going to muscular failure on a lot of my exercises. Try implementing these techniques when you get more advanced in the gym!
Before I sign off, here are some extra tips that I HIGH URGE YOU to follow!
Additional Tips for Muscle Gain
Nutrition: Make sure to get a good protein intake as well as eating whole and healthy foods! Gains are made in the kitchen!
Sleep: Aim for about 7-9 hours of sleep every night for adequate rest and recovery.
Progressive Overload: Make sure you are doing either more weight or more reps than the last time you did an exercise in the previous workout. This will ensure your muscles are under a lot of pressure and will be the basis of your training.
Consistency: You must be consistent in your training, recovery and nutrition. If you are not consistent, you will not grow!
Rest and Recovery: Allow your muscles good rest in between workouts, do not train a muscle group if it is still sore from it's last workout. The golden rule is to wait 48-72 hours before training a muscle group again!
Form and Technique: As mentioned earlier, learning good form and technique (via peers or internet) is crucial to avoid injury and to get maximum benefit from your exercises
Variation: Switch up your routines every couple of months to avoid plateaus in your exercises.
Overall, the shoulders are on of the most important muscles to train if you are looking for an aesthetic upper body look. Also the ability to understand the anatomy of your muscles is crucial to being able to grow them. Furthermore, picking a good routine and making sure you warm up your shoulders is crucial if you want to succeed in the gym. Finally, the ability to push yourself harder every time in the gym as well as being able to eat, sleep and train good is 99% of the work put into your fitness journey.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great time sculpting those HUGE DELTS!
Just a young man trying to bring fitness to the world!
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