theELORE Fitness family, welcome.
Hope you had a fantastic week and are feeling tired (from working out of course)!
Next time you enter the gym, you can try the Hulk Hogan entrance and rip your top as you circle your hands and put them to your ears. Why would you want to do such a thing, you ask? Because you're physically fit.
To get your muscle count up, let’s jump right into the next GETBIG Series post – The SHOULDERS.
Anatomy
The shoulder has the largest range of
motion in the body. It is also one of the most complex muscle groups in terms anatomy are there are several bones, joints, ligaments, nerves, bursae, vessels etc. The shoulder is made up of three bones – the scapula (shoulder blade), clavicle (collar bone), humerus (arm bone). As you can see it connects many parts of the upper body together in various sockets which require many ligaments and connective tissues. Due to the vast amount of sensitive tissues, shoulder injuries are the most frequent when it comes to gym goers. I know this from personal experience through tendonitis and minor tears. Out of all the muscle groups, I highly suggest paying special care and attention to your shoulder. It is easy to injure, extremely painful when you do sustain an injury and can keep you out of physical exercise for a long time, so once again please ensure proper form with shoulder exercises; I cannot stress that enough.
In terms of exercises and the amount of weight to lift, you want to combine heavy indirect training with light direct training. Exercises like the bench press, rows, barbell shoulder press are multi-muscle exercises which you can lift moderate-heavy weight which indirectly/directly targets your shoulders whilst recruiting other muscles to help stabilize and take the weight off. When it comes to shoulders, you DO NOT need heavy direct weight training. This has been proven to damage your shoulder over time and makes you more susceptible to injuries.
There are 3 main muscles within the shoulder. The front delt (anterior), side delt (medial) and rear delt (posterior). Equal attention to all 3 will give you a nice rounded shoulder.
Exercises
Try out the exercises below which have helped me shape and grow my shoulders. I tend to begin with indirect heavy training, followed by light direct training at the end to make sure I hit both type 1 and type 2 fibres. If you can get your shoulders and traps bigger, your entire upper body will appear wider which in turn will give you that V shaped body (small waist, wide upper body).
PLEASE WARM UP BEFORE YOU DO ANY SHOULDER MOVEMENTS.
Standing Barbell Press
This in my opinion is the number one shoulder exercise in terms of mass development. It targets all 3 muscles in the shoulders, your traps, back AND core.
I would highly suggest using moderate weight for this exercise. I’ve seen people fall backwards for attempting to use too much weight, so pick a moderate weight that gives you 6-8 challenging reps, then progressively overload weight as it becomes easier for you. Its very key to also tighten your core throughout the duration of the exercise. It’s a great way to keep the abs engaged and get rid of that stubborn belly fat.
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
This is my second favourite shoulder exercise. I do this exercise mid-late workout, once my shoulders are nicely warmed up and pre-exhausted (this targets the side delt). Many beginners, (including myself back when I started) have trouble with the form. I see many individuals lift heavy weights and do what I like to call – The Flappy Bird. Where they use there backs and flap like a bird to get the weight up. As you already lifted with moderate weight, you don’t need heavy weight for this exercise. Just pick a light weight and volume train with this exercise (12-20 reps).
Here are a few tips for correct form:
Lean forward slightly. A straight upper body also recruits your traps as you are on an even plane which you do not want.
Lift the weight till your arms are straight out and on a horizontal plane across your body. Don’t go to high or too low.
Bring the weight down slowly, BUT, not all the way down. Stop just before the dumbbells hit your side so you keep the tension on your shoulders. Bringing the weight all the way down releases the tension.
Lift both dumbbells simultaneously
Front Dumbbell Raise
Again, heavy weight is not needed for this exercise. Don’t be a flappy bird. This exercise targets your front delt and helps build the separation between your shoulder and upper arm.
Like the side delt dumbbells raise this can be a little tricky with regards to form. Here are some pointers:
Stand with a straight torso and good upper body posture for stability.
Lift the weight in a stationary position, (no swinging) out to the front with a slight elbow bend. Do not go too high.
Lower the weight slowly BUT, not all the way down back to your thighs. Stop just before to keep the tension.
Lift both dumbbells simultaneously.
Seated Bent Over Fly
The rear delt is a tricky muscle to target. It sits right at the back of your shoulder (hence-rear delt, duh captain obvious), and is hard to directly train if you do not know what you are doing. The easiest rear delt exercise I find are the seated bent over fly’s as shown below in the diagram.
The bench helps stabilize your back and core and makes it easier to focus directly on your rear delts. Some tips to note:
Look down the entire time.
Pick a light weight to start, to try and get the form right.
Like with the side and front delt raise, do not go past horizontal and do not lower the weight all the way down. Keeping tension is key.
To conclude…
Basically, because compound lifts such as the bench press, shoulder press, deadlift etc. recruit shoulder muscles and exhaust them, you don’t need to lift heavy for direct (side, front and rear) shoulder training. Heavy weight mixed with light weight will get you boulder shoulders in no time.
Oh and…. DON’T BE A FLAPPY BIRD.
That’s it for this week! Continue to send your questions and feedback to @huuusss_p. I love the positivity you all are showing!
Much love,
Hussain
Thank you! :)