Exercises for delt mass. How to pump up your shoulders: a classic set of exercises

Broad shoulders and a narrow waist is the dream of any athlete, because refined proportions are now more important than shapeless muscle mass. And, it would seem, pumping up your shoulders is quite simple: do the base to failure and you will have deltoids like cannonballs. After all, it’s not a shin. But with training the deltoid muscles, this scheme fails. To pump up voluminous 3D shoulders, you need to train them in a special, technical, thoughtful and original way. But how exactly to do this and how to pump up your shoulders width, according to scientific research, read in this article. The most interesting things about training and sports nutrition on our telegram channel

Introduction

My story today is another article about research conducted by a modern bodybuilding guru named Bret Contreras. I have already talked about how science advises, and, and today it’s time to learn about shoulder training for mass, and what exercises are best suited for this.

To be honest, Contreras’s previous conclusions were far from clear-cut, but the results of his research regarding shoulder training simply amazed me. But if you have not yet heard about his experiments, let me remind you.

In 2010, Bret Contreras, a famous American fitness trainer, scientist, writer and experimenter, conducted research to identify the most effective exercises for each muscle group. As equipment, he used a medical device, an electromyograph, which determines the electrical muscle activity of contraction muscle fibers.

That is, Contreras took it and found out which exercises make our muscles work to the maximum and are, accordingly, the most effective for muscle growth. The results of his research were simply shocking. Contreras crushed many exercises that were considered unambiguously the best, while others he exalted to the skies. According to his results, the best exercises are now:

For the chest -
For biceps – pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a narrow reverse grip
For triceps – extension of arms on the upper block with a rope handle

But let's get back to mass training for shoulders. Even during the “golden” era of bodybuilding, athletes knew that the deltoid muscle consisted not of three, but of seven separate muscle bundles. They perform flexion and extension, adduction, horizontal spreading and adduction, internal and external rotation.

This means that the basic shoulder exercises that we are told about in the literature are clearly not enough to develop all individual segments of the deltoid muscle. The meager set of exercises that ordinary gym-goers perform is the main reason for their lack of the sought-after 3D shoulders, which are characteristic only of bodybuilding stars.

Conclusion: to give your shoulders the shape of a ball, you need to pump not three deltoid bundles, but all seven, so the range of shoulder exercises should be wide and varied.

This was the introduction, and now I propose to move on to the main part of the story and learn about how to pump up your shoulders. , and what exercises the rebel Contreras considers best for this. So…

The best exercises for the anterior deltoid

The anterior deltoid is rarely a lagging muscle group; the posterior deltoid and deltoids are usually lagging behind. The difficulty in developing these bundles is the inability to isolate each of them and make them work solo. But such problems do not arise with the anterior delta, because it takes an active part in all chest exercises. Heavy bench presses put a lot of stress on the front muscle, and it grows without any effort. But if, nevertheless, the anterior delta lags behind in development, science names the three best exercises for this muscle segment.

Bench press

I’ll say right away that this is not a typo. At first I myself did not believe that this basic exercise for the middle delta turns out to be the best for its anterior bundle. But Bret Contreras says there is no other shoulder exercise that works the anterior deltoid as much as the overhead press. And imagine my disappointment when I realized that in trying for years to level out the imbalance in the gap between the middle and front bundles, I was only aggravating it.

The thing is that even sitting on a bench with a horizontal back, during the press we necessarily lean back, thereby removing the load from the middle, weaker delta and shifting it to the front, stronger one. And if you consider that most standard bench presses (for some reason unknown to me) have a slight slope back, pumping up shoulder width with such an exercise becomes very problematic.

An unpleasant picture emerges: the overhead barbell press is a complex and traumatic movement that “kills” the elbows and. And instead of pumping up the shoulders in width, it gives them thickness, causing them to visually “slide” forward. Question: why the hell is it even needed?

I remember reading an interview with one of our professional bodybuilders, who came to the USA and trained for a year under the guidance of Charles Glass. His surprise knew no bounds when it turned out that the coolest trainer in bodybuilding openly dislikes classic bench press from behind the head with a barbell and recommends performing it in a bench press machine, sitting with your back to the gym. The bench of such exercise machines is located at an angle, the trajectory of the press is forward, but at an angle. In this case, the load on the front deltoid is removed, while on the middle and rear deltoid, on the contrary, it increases.

The same Alexey Shabunya, the famous Belarusian bodybuilder openly admits that he rarely does the overhead barbell press, because he feels severe discomfort from it. He, not caring about all the canons of training shoulders for mass, prefers flyes with dumbbells as the best exercise for the middle delta. And most importantly, the question of how to pump up the width of his shoulders does not bother him at all; Alexey has truly voluminous and powerful 3D shoulders.

Bent-over barbell chest press

This exercise for the anterior deltoid did not come as a surprise to me. Even without knowing about the results of Bret Contreras's research, I realized a long time ago that this exercise is not for the upper chest, but specifically for the anterior deltoid.

Bent over barbell press is not an exercise for the chest, but for the anterior deltoid.

The load on the chest during an incline bench press, according to the electromyograph, increases by only 5%, but on the anterior delta by 40%.

Conclusion: This exercise is not suitable for pumping up the upper chest, but it is perfect for the front deltoid.

Army press

This is a classic pressing movement for development. shoulder girdle takes third place in our hit parade, once again proving how far the stereotypes of traditional bodybuilding are from real life. Army press- this is a really cool exercise for the front deltoid, but in terms of its effectiveness it is much inferior to the previous movements.

But oddly enough, I do military presses quite often, but not for the shoulders, but for the chest. Or rather, for a very small but extremely important muscle segment called the subclavian muscle. It is this that is the most difficult section of the upper chest to build, without which the upper section pectoral muscles looks unfinished.

I do the military press at the very end of the chest workout, because the front deltoids are already tired and will no longer be able to engage in the work. Thus, most of the load will fall on the small, inaccessible, but extremely important subclavian muscle. Unlike the traditional military press technique, I perform this exercise by pressing my elbows as close to my body as possible and squeezing my pectoral muscles.

Conclusion: The classic overhead press turns out to be the best exercise not for the middle, but specifically for the front deltoid. And excessive enthusiasm for this exercise does not contribute to the expansion, but, on the contrary, to the narrowing of the shoulders.

The best exercises for the middle delta

The middle bundle of the deltoid muscle is responsible for the visual width of the shoulder girdle and creating that same V-shaped silhouette that is so valued nowadays. Therefore, the bulk of shoulder training is always spent on pumping the middle deltoid. However, the results of Conteras's study suggest that the exercises that we thought were most effective for the middle beam are not so. The best movement for growing shoulder width, which is many times faster in impact, is an exercise that is extremely rare in our gyms:

Horizontal pull of the upper block with rope handle

And here I was shocked for the second time, because I saw how professional bodybuilders do this exercise, but I thought that it was aimed at developing the muscles of the upper back, namely the trapezius. But science says the opposite: performing a horizontal row of the upper side, but with the obligatory extension of the arms to the sides, is many times more effective than all other exercises for the middle delta.

Horizontal rope row - the best exercise for the middle deltoid

The second important aspect of high returns from horizontal traction upper block with a rope handle is that the trajectory of this exercise has no “dead” zones. The middle delta is actively involved in work and does not relax for a moment. I regularly do this middelt exercise during shoulder mass training, and I can say that it really engages previously untouched segments of the deltoid muscle, making the shoulders look like cannonballs, round and large.

I just want to add that I (perhaps due to my height) feel the work of the deltoids better when I stand not directly towards the machine, but leaning back a little. Thus, the trajectory of this exercise for the middle delta turns from horizontal to inclined, turning off the core muscles from work.

Retracting the arm to the side on the lower block

But I knew about the effectiveness of this exercise for the middle delta for a long time, intuitively feeling its high effectiveness. As it should be, at every shoulder workout for mass, I do the usual lateral raises with dumbbells, but only in order to tire them and the trapezius, which always impudently gets involved in the work. And when the shoulder muscles are thoroughly tired, I move on to the main dish of my deltoid feast. I begin to move my arm to the side on the lower block.

I can say with all sincerity that in no other exercises for the middle delta do I feel such a high involvement of this segment in the work. And it is very difficult for an ordinary gym goer to find the answer to the question of how to pump up shoulder width without performing this isolating exercise on the middle delta.

The secret to the high impact of this movement lies in the elongated trajectory of the movement. Externally, moving the arm to the side on the lower block resembles the same movement with a dumbbell. But thanks to the low location of the simulator block, already in the initial phase of the movement, the middle delta ends up in an unusually stretched position, which remains constant during the movement.

This is a really cool exercise, I also like it for its variability, since it can be performed in two versions:

The lower block cable is located in front of the housing. In this case, the front (so to speak) part of the middle delta is included in the work.
The lower block cable is located behind the housing. Then the posterior part of the middle delta and the posterior deltoid bundle itself are more actively involved in the work.

Pulling the arm to the side on the lower block is also interesting because by changing the position of the body (standing straight or tilted), you can constantly load your shoulders in different ways, bringing into the work all the new muscle bundles that were relaxing before. Of course, my deltoids are still not far from ideal, but after I started doing this exercise, their shape improved significantly.

Bent-over dumbbell flyes

Having read about this exercise as one of the best for the average delta, I sinfully thought that Bret Contreras must have mixed something up by drinking too much tequila out of scientific fatigue. Because bent over dumbbell flyes are the best exercise for the rear deltoid, but not the middle deltoid.

I think our fitness guru himself was a little taken aback when he received such results, but the fact remains: bent over dumbbell flyes, in addition to the rear ones, also quite heavily load the middle bundles of the deltoid muscles. But if a number of conditions are met:

The hands should be positioned in one line, and not be parallel, as we are used to. Required condition– the little finger should point up.
The breeding itself occurs not only to the sides, but also a little forward.

At the next mass training session for shoulders, I included these bent-over dumbbell flyes into my set of exercises and honestly tried to catch the moment when the work would come into play. medium bun. I felt my rear deltoid unusually strong and sharp, and I think these bent-over dumbbell flyes are a really cool way to pump them up. But I cannot say that this movement is aimed at increasing the muscle mass of the middle deltoids. Sorry Contreras, but my mid-deltas don't agree with you here.

The best rear delt exercises

The posterior segment of the deltoid muscles is an extremely small, but extremely important muscle segment that allows you to make your shoulders like balls, round and proportionally developed. But the whole problem with training the rear deltoid is that it is extremely difficult to work it in isolation, excluding other parts of the deltoid muscle from work.

And the results scientific research this is actively confirmed, since the best exercises for the rear delta are the same:

horizontal thrust upper block
Bent-over dumbbell raises in the variation described above

In other words, these two movements build muscle mass equally well in both the middle and rear deltoids. And although there are many other exercises for developing the posterior bundle (the same reverse flyes in chest machine), but according to electromyograph indicators, all of them are significantly inferior to these movements in terms of the number of muscle fibers involved in the work.

This strange situation is slightly diluted by another exercise for the rear delta, which Bret Contreras called the third most effective. These are horizontal pull-ups on a barbell or Smith machine. But you just need to pull yourself up not to the belt, but to the head. In this case, the load on rear delts becomes maximum.

Horizontal pull-ups - a rare exercise for the rear deltoid

In my opinion, this is a technically difficult movement; it can be easily replaced with a rear deltoid exercise that is similar in biomechanics. Namely, bent over barbell pull. But you just need to stand strictly parallel to the ground and pull the barbell towards the shoulder girdle. I do this rear delt exercise from time to time, but I do it exclusively on my favorite Smith machine.

If we summarize all of the above about the most effective exercises for the rear deltoid, it turns out that it will not be possible to isolate it 100%. In any case, the middle bundle of deltoid muscles will also be included in the work.

Conclusion: You need to start training your shoulders with these two exercises, trying to load the back beam to the maximum. Only targeted specialization in the development of this segment will make it possible to make 3 D-shaped shoulders.

Conclusion

If I had shoulders like cannonballs, when I read about such unconventional research results, I would simply laugh and continue training my shoulders for mass the old-fashioned way. But I still have to work and work on my deltoids. Therefore, I am constantly looking for new methods of training them.

Although the effectiveness of some of the exercises described by Bret Contreras raises questions for me, the lion's share of the information he voiced became extremely useful for me. In any case, the two most effective shoulder exercises: horizontal rows and dumbbell raises are firmly established in my training arsenal. I recommend trying it!

And in conclusion, I suggest you look at the unconventional shoulder training of the charming Dana Linn Bailey, an Internet star and part-time Miss Olympia 2013 in the Women’s Physique category .

I want to hope that my story will be useful to you and will help you make a breakthrough in training your deltoid muscles, increasing their volume and significantly improving their shape. May the mass be with you. And strength!

To effectively and quickly pump up your shoulders and back, you need to adhere to a certain training schedule, and also perform special exercises, which will help increase muscle mass of this particular muscle group. Your back and shoulders should be trained regularly and with a weight that suits you individually.

In this article we will tell you how to properly strengthen your back and shoulders at home and in the gym using various exercises. Several training programs proposed in this article will help you decide which exercises you can use to pump up your deltoids. Each of the complex shoulder exercises will help pump up the entire shoulder girdle and all the deltoid muscle bundles.

The human body consists of a large number of muscles. The main ones are the chest, back, shoulders, legs, arms and abs. Each of them contains a lot accessory muscles, which are involved in working with large muscles.

In this case, you need to pump up the muscles of the back and shoulder girdle. During exercise, muscular systems can and should be combined. Many experts believe that you need to combine one large muscle system and one small one in one workout. For example, back and biceps. The training should begin with the large muscle system, because a small load at the beginning of the lesson will lead to poor results from the large one. Therefore, many people believe that it is impossible to train two large groups muscles. For example, chest and back.

Many experiments were carried out, during which they found that the back and chest can be pumped together, only the chest needs to be loaded first.

Why shouldn’t you pump your back and chest together? Because if a person pumps up both his chest and back one day, then the next day he will have to pump up his arms, that is, triceps and biceps. It is not wise to train two large muscle groups first and then two small muscle groups. In addition, a large amount of anabolic hormones, such as testosterone, growth hormone and others, are released precisely when training with heavy weights. Therefore, when training large muscles their more significant synthesis occurs.

Scientists conducted an experiment in which one group of people trained just their biceps, and the other group trained their biceps after training their legs. As a result, it was in the second group that a much greater release of anabolic hormones was detected.

There are three large muscle groups functioning in the human body: chest, legs, back. They need to be supplemented with small muscle groups: biceps, triceps, deltoids (shoulders).

The result is three main examples of splits:

back-biceps;
chest-triceps;
legs-shoulders.

It is advisable to train in this sequence in order to save strength for subsequent sessions.

Next combination:

back-triceps;
chest-biceps;
legs-shoulders.

This combination is similar to a full body.

Basic exercises

You need to start training with basic exercises. Let's consider them further.

Sitting lat pulldown to the chest

This exercise is the main one for pumping up the shoulder sector and muscles. The goal is to expand and tighten the muscles of the back and deltoids (shoulders). When performing this exercise, you need to focus on the work of these muscles. If you include biceps in the work, you will not get the desired effect from the workout.

Performance:

You need to grab the bar with straight hands; bending them is not recommended.
Hands should be used as hooks. In this case, use only your forearms and broad muscles.
Try to take this position, while contracting the broad muscles as much as possible, and then slowly return to the starting position.
First, do ten to fifteen reps to warm up using light weights.
Next, do three heavy approaches, with gradual increase weight.

Raising dumbbells to the sides while bending forward

This will help you tone your shoulders and back in the best possible way.

Performance:

For execution this exercise, in a standing position, you first need to slightly spread your legs and bend your knees.
The torso needs to be tilted forward, arching your back at this time.
Dumbbells should be held in hands that are slightly bent at the elbows.
You need to inhale and move the dumbbells to the sides.
After completing the reverse movement, exhale.

This exercise mainly works only the deltoids, especially the back of them. By bringing your shoulder blades together at the end of the session, you also activate the lower and middle parts trapezius muscles backs. The same exercise can be performed lying on inclined bench, resting his chest against her.

Vertical thrust

This is another effective exercise for pumping up your shoulders and back muscles.

Performance:

To perform it, you need to take a standing position and place your feet shoulder-width apart. The back should be straight, and the bar of the bar should be located below, near the hips, with an overhand grip.
Next, you need to inhale and stretch the bar up along your body, while raising your elbows to the maximum height, until the bar touches your chin.
Then you need to slowly return to the starting position, while gradually straightening your arms.
After finishing, exhale.

While performing the exercise, try not to make sudden movements. It mainly works the upper trapezius muscles of the back and the deltoids, brachialis and forearm muscles. It trains the sacrolumbar muscles and buttocks less. Please note that the wider the grip, the more the deltoid muscles will be activated, and the less the trapezius muscles.

Proper organization of training

To ensure maximum benefit from your workouts, follow these rules:

It is better to make up a workout of basic exercises that are aimed at working the entire delta. It is necessary to inflate a separate bundle only if the load placed on it was not enough, and it began to lag behind the rest in development. In other cases, isolation exercises are not necessary.
You can also work out in gym, and at home. The main thing is that dumbbells and a barbell are present during training. The weight needs to be selected so that with one approach you can do at least eight or ten lifts.
It is not recommended to take too much weight to give the shoulders definition and width. It is necessary to increase loads by working with heavier equipment when the main goal is to increase muscle strength. In this case, you need to lift the devices from five to eight times and perform it in four to five sets.
Beginners are advised to master and become automatic in performing one or two basic presses. They are great trainers deltoid muscle, provide an even load on the entire shoulder girdle. When it is sufficiently trained, it becomes clear which of the beams requires more training. During this period, isolation exercises can be added to the training, which are chosen depending on which muscle group needs additional work.

Relief exercises

This training consists of seven stages:

Army press in sitting position- 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions with a two-minute break.
Standing dumbbell raises - superset: 3 sets of 10-12 without rest.
Bent-over dumbbell raises - 3 sets of 10-12 with a rest of 60-90 seconds.
Raising your arm in front of you in a crossover - 3 sets of 10-12 without rest.
Crossover chin pull – 3 sets of 10-12 with a rest of 60-90 seconds.
Hand raises in the butterfly simulator - 3 sets of 10-12 without rest.
Raising your arms to the sides using an expander - 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions with a rest of 60-90 seconds.

Shoulder training program

This training program consists of seven effective shoulder exercises.

Standing barbell press

This is the main exercise for training the shoulder muscles. The main role in it is played by the emphasis on the middle delta bundle. But pumping of this area occurs only with the active participation of the anterior and posterior bundles.

How to do:

Stand up straight and place your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take the projectile with a direct grip and raise it to the level chest.
Raise the projectile, exhaling at the end point.
To have a break.
Inhaling slowly, lower the barbell to its original position, that is, to chest level.

General tips for doing this:

It is not recommended to take the maximum weight;
your back needs to be slightly arched;
Dumbbells can be used as a projectile.

Bench Press

This is a basic exercise that completely helps pump up the muscles in the shoulder girdle. Unlike the previous one, it must be performed in a sitting position.

How to do:

Sit on a sports bench.
Arch your back a little.
Take the projectile with a wide grip.
At the same time as you exhale, lift the barbell while fully straightening your arms.
While inhaling, lower the projectile behind your head.

General tips for doing this:

The bench press must be performed slowly;
You can diversify the exercise by lowering the projectile behind your head and towards your chest.

Dumbbell press

Ideal for pumping up the deltoid muscle at home. The exercise is not only effective, but also accessible, since it is performed not with a barbell, but with dumbbells. Exercise with data sports equipment also suitable for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to engage in gym, but wants to pump up his shoulders.

How to do:

In a sitting position on a bench with your back, keep your back straight and straight.
Make sure your chin is parallel to the floor and your gaze is straight.
The projectiles must be kept at eye level.
Extend your elbows and make sure they are under your hands.
Exhaling, squeeze the projectiles upward.
Without turning your hands, bring the dumbbells together at the top point.
Then hold for a few seconds.
Inhaling, slowly return to the starting position.

General tips during implementation:

hands should move in the same plane;
Avoid sharp straightening of the arms at the extreme point to avoid adverse effects on the elbow joints;
It is also not recommended to bend back or bend your back.

Arnold press

A classic in bodybuilding, a very effective exercise. It is called that because it was mandatory in the training of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the successful owner of a sculpted and beautiful body.

How to do:

Sit on a bench and press your back to the back.
Bend your knees so that they form a right angle.
Spread your legs wide and place your feet as far as possible on the floor.
Then raise the dumbbells to neck level.
Bend your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees and turn your palms towards you.
Exhaling, squeeze the projectiles vertically upward, while turning your hands outward with your palms.
It is necessary to ensure that the palms are directed forward at the extreme point.
Inhale and return the projectiles smoothly to the starting position.

General tips for doing this:

It is better to perform the task with lighter dumbbells;
The elbows at the extreme point should be left slightly bent and not straightened completely;
The press must be performed straight and without stopping in the lower position;
Acceleration and jerking should be avoided to avoid additional stress on the spine.

Lateral dumbbell raises

Perfect for training at home. The training is isolating and is performed to train and pump up the lateral side of the delta.

Starting position:

Get up from the chair and lean forward a little.
Next, you need to lower your hands with dumbbells down.
Take a deep breath and spread your arms shoulder-width apart.
Raise the back of the dumbbells at the farthest point.
Exhaling, lower your arms to the starting position.

General tips for doing this:

Cheating is unacceptable. If there is cheating during the execution, the muscles of a completely different group are activated. In this case, the result decreases.
the entire load should be concentrated on the shoulders.

Bent-over dumbbell raises

Aimed at training the back muscles of the shoulder girdle.

How to do:

Standing straight with dumbbells in your hands, you should lean your body forward at an acute angle.
At the same time, lower your hands down.
Taking a deep breath, spread the projectiles to the sides and reach them to the maximum possible height.
As you inhale, return your hands to the starting position.

Tips for doing this:

at the extreme point of lifting, the front part of the projectile must be tilted forward slightly;
You need to keep your back straight and bend your lower back slightly;
Do not round your back to avoid injury.

Raising the barbell to the chin

It is mainly aimed at training the middle delta, but it also pumps the trapezius muscles.

How to do:

Standing straight, you need to take the barbell with an overhand grip, holding it down.
The distance between the palms should be about two fists.
When exhaling, you need to lift the projectile to your chin.
Hold the barbell in its extreme position.
Inhale and return to the starting position.

Tips for doing this:

elbows should be constantly apart;
you need to rise strictly in a vertical position;
you cannot bend your neck and back;
the chin should be horizontal;
when lifting the barbell to the chin, the bar must be raised above shoulder level;
the weight of the projectile should not interfere correct execution exercises.

Exercise sets

On the front delts

If you often pump up your chest, then you probably have a well-developed part of the front delts. They are activated in all pressing exercises, especially when performing them in an incline position. But relatively weak anterior deltoids can hold back the chest muscle growth process. This complex will help correct this situation.

A minimum of 48 hours should pass between chest and shoulder training to allow the muscles time to fully recover.

Seated overhead press - 4 sets of 8-12 with a two minute break.
Arnold press - 4 sets of 8-10 with two minutes rest.
Lifting dumbbells in front of you - 3 sets of 10 for 60-90 seconds for rest.
Raising your arm in front of you in a crossover - 3 sets of 10-12 with 60-90 seconds for rest.

For middle deltas

To make your shoulders wider, you need to develop bundles of deltoid muscle mass. These tasks need to be completed at the beginning of training, when energy is still at a high level. You can alternate this program with a more balanced delt training, for example, mass training.

The set of exercises consists of four stages:

Seated overhead press - 4 sets of 8-10 with two minutes rest.
Barbell row to the chin - 3 sets of 8-10 for 60-90 seconds for rest.
Raising the dumbbell to the side with one hand - 3 sets out of 10, with a few seconds to rest.
Raising dumbbells to the sides in a standing position - 3 sets of 10-12 for 60-90 seconds for rest.

On the rear delts

The posterior deltoid muscle mass often lags not only in beginners, but also in experienced bodybuilders. They don't get as much stimulation as the front and middle delts, which are targeted in chest exercises and shoulder presses.

To develop the rear delts, you need to perform a set of tasks for 4-8 weeks or alternate it with a more balanced shoulder workout.

The set of exercises consists of four stages:

Overhead press - 4 sets of 8-10 with a two-minute break.
Raises of dumbbells to the sides in a sitting position in an inclined position - 4 sets of 8 with a 60-90 second break.
Crossover raises - 3 sets of 10 with a few seconds break.
Arm raises in the butterfly simulator - 3 sets of 10-12 with a 60-90 second break.

Exercises for mass

One of effective methods Pumping up your shoulders in the gym means working with heavy weights. But you need to approach training correctly to avoid injury. To do this you need to do good warm up and comply step by step technique performing exercises.

To build shoulder mass, you should always start training with the most difficult exercises, such as overhead presses, which help lift more weight. Next, perform single-joint exercises on each of the three deltoid muscle bundles: anterior, middle and posterior. This will help create a foundation for working on muscle growth, but only if you maintain your overall training volume.

When pumping up your shoulders, you can make your workouts more challenging in several ways:

For the overhead press, start by using dumbbells, which are more difficult to balance and allow you to move through a greater range of motion than a barbell.
It is necessary to perform a reverse pyramid, as it provides a chance to do more sets with muscle failure.
For the first two sets, use a fairly heavy weight in a low rep range. This is necessary in order to gain weight. As fatigue increases in the following approaches, reduce the weight by about 5 kilograms. The last two, hardest sets should be performed with a safety net so you can maintain technique.
Because the front delts do a lot of the work in chest training and the middle delts bear the brunt of the weight in the overhead press, often the rear delts remain small and weak. In this workout, pumping your shoulders occurs when you have a lot of strength in reserve. During this time, try to change the sequence of single-joint exercises, based on your weak points. If you are sure that all of your delta bundles are developed in the same proportion, then simply perform the exercises in a different location at each lesson.

Mass training program

The shoulder mass training program consists of five stages:

Dumbbell overhead press - 4 sets of 6, 8, 10 with a two-minute break.
Barbell row to the chin - 3 sets of 8-10 with a two-minute break.
Seated bent over dumbbell raises - 3 sets of 8, 10, 12 with one minute rest.
Dumbbell lateral raises in a standing position - 3 sets of 8, 10, 12 with one minute for rest. After rest, breeding continues.
Raising the barbell overhead with straight arms - 3 sets of 8, 10, 12 with one minute for rest.

The training program if the shoulders do not grow consists of five stages:

Pull-down of the lower block to the side with one hand - 4 sets of 8-10, with a few seconds to rest.
Lifting the barbell in front of you with outstretched arms - 3 sets of 10 for 60-90 seconds for rest.
Arm raises in the butterfly simulator - 3 sets out of 10 with a few seconds break.
Overhead press in the simulator - 3 sets of 8-10 with a few minutes of rest.
Barbell row to the chin - 3 sets of 10-12 with a few minutes of rest.

Supersets

A superset is when an athlete performs two muscle exercises in a row without rest. Examples of antagonist muscles are the biceps and triceps: the first flexes the arm at the elbow joint, and the second extends it. The pectoral muscles push the arms, and the latissimus dorsi muscles pull them.

Technically, doing a superset is easy: you just need to combine two exercises into one and perform it without rest. When one super series comes to an end, you need to take a short break and then start a new super series.

After performing the biceps curl, you can immediately begin performing arm extensions on the block. This is an example of a superset on antagonist muscles.
After bench press, you need to immediately start lifting the dumbbells while lying down. This is an example of working the same muscle group.

When you perform several supersets for one muscular system, the muscles in your arms will increase in volume and harden. This will be observed only at first; soon they will decrease to the previous volume that was before they were pumped.

Why use supersets

The main reasons for using supersets in training:

Muscles recover more quickly during exercise. This happens because in a superset all antagonist muscles are activated. Scientists believe that when a tired muscle receives a small load, it recovers faster.
More active supply of muscles with nutrients. In the process of stopping the load, blood begins to move away from the muscle, and with it oxygen and nutrients. But with the assistance of this moment, the blood continues to actively supply nutrients.
Supersets are a great way to make changes to your training routine. They also help save time. Their presence is especially important when you do not have a lot of time and you intend to conduct classes quickly but effectively.

How to properly use supersets in training

When performing a superset, you don’t need to chase weight. In any workout, you can choose a weight that will help you technically complete all repetitions and approaches. Volumetric training will provide your muscle mass with new growth stimulation and force you to adapt in a new way.

It is not recommended to do supersets frequently. They won't work well. For one muscle group, you can perform a superset once a week or once every two weeks. You and your muscle mass need to have a period of time to recover, as increasing the intensity of your training using these methods will place significant stress on your muscles and nervous system.

In training, supersets can also be used at the stage when you are trying to lose weight, burn excess fat, as well as during the stage of gaining muscle mass and increasing strength.

When cutting, you need to force the body to burn more calories than it takes in. An important element in this is diet and training. Including supersets in your workout program will help you use energy efficiently, as you will train more productively, without pauses.

Between exercises in a superset you need to take breaks and rest. A classic superset is an option without rest between exercises. But you should still take short breaks of 30 seconds. This is necessary because during rest the muscles have time to recover. This increases the effectiveness of the workout.

Before exercising in a superset, you need to do warm-ups lasting ten minutes. It consists of classes with light weights, and also includes rotations of the body and arms, as well as other movements to warm up.

In conclusion, I would like to give a few useful tips, aimed at maximum achievement results without exhaustion of the body:

Training should take place according to the described system. It is not recommended to exercise to failure. The selected working weights should be such that the athlete is able to perform 1-2 more repetitions to the optimal number within the session.
Supersets are used to increase the effectiveness of the result. It should be noted that they are very energy depleting. Therefore, it is recommended to take energy drinks and isotonic drinks during classes.
After training you need recovery. Must be accepted protein cocktail to replenish nutrients in the body.

Progression from beginner to intermediate means heavier weights and more isolation exercises. Described below shoulder training for weight of 5 sets of exercises for different bundles of deltoid muscles, which will improve performance.

No part of the body functions as well as the shoulders. To some extent, they take part in training the pectoral muscles, back muscles and even triceps - this is usually what happens when you perform basic exercises on shoulders.

Because the fragile ball-and-socket joints of the shoulder can be injured easily and in a variety of ways, long-term intense training with heavy weights on the shoulder girdle will negatively impact them, even if you are careful. This is why intermediate-level training requires balancing the total number of sets with adequate recovery time so that the deltoids are not overloaded.

These are just some of the factors to consider when rocking our shoulders when transitioning from entry level shoulder workouts to intermediate. This applies to both men and women. Previously, you probably did two exercises three times a week. But to pump up huge shoulders, you'll likely be doing four exercises four times a week or so. After more work and more intense training, you will simply need more time to recover.

Shoulder training for mass - video tips from a champion

Adjusting training for beginners

While a beginner may stick to shoulder work, which is integrated into interval training, the average person should not only increase weight, but also introduce best exercises and add more variety to your routine and use more than just basic shoulder exercises to continue gaining mass. As a rule, beginners quickly give up because training loses its effectiveness after 6-8 weeks. Therefore, you must make some adjustments to your shoulder mass training, especially when choosing exercises, to maintain your progress. This is where a more creative approach can make a difference in how far you get, rather than just longer, more grueling training.

Let's take a look at some shoulder exercises that are designed for amateurs. Since they vary, you can choose the one for yourself.

Indicators of a Good Shoulder Training

Recreational levels of training, both shoulders and other body parts, should include the following important concepts:

Reliance on multi-joint exercises in some weight range
Variety of Workouts for Maximum Overall Growth Possible
Working with free weights instead of exercise machines
Sufficient weight and intensity for good hormonal response

On at this stage your workouts all come down to building a base by performing the best exercises (barbell presses and dumbbell swings) the best option There will be some overhead press variations to build the shoulders. Some variations, including the dumbbell press, are more difficult to perform if you haven't done them before. There are many questions regarding correct technique barbell or dumbbell presses to train your shoulders for mass and not damage them. Master this exercise because it will become the foundation of your overall shoulder training for your training career.

Seated dumbbell overhead press

You may not find a warm-up necessary as a beginner, but it will become more important as the weight increases and you work your shoulders to the max. Simply put, you can lift more weight if you've done a few lifts beforehand. simple exercises. As you get closer to the working weight, rotate the workout towards a slightly heavier weight (failure around rep 6) rather than normal (failure around rep 8-12). Best time for pressing heavy weights - the very beginning of the workout, when you are full of strength and muscle failure is still far away.

While many programs are based on a pyramid, in which you train with increasingly heavier weights on each subsequent set, the following examples are based on reverse pyramids, where you perform the exercise to failure while reducing the weight of the barbell or dumbbells on each subsequent exercise . After a good warm-up, immediately perform 1-2 approaches with heavier weights, reducing the weight in subsequent approaches, taking into account the accumulated fatigue. Reduce the weight by about 5 to 10 percent so that the shoulder exercises are performed at maximum intensity and in the indicated number of repetitions.

After the bench press, finish your workout with a single-joint exercise that will allow you to work each section of the deltoids: front, middle and rear.

For better results, the workout should be completed using a muscle pump. The end of the workout, working out the lagging groups, is the only one that does not follow the standard protocol for performing multi-joint exercises.

For each shoulder treatment option, follow the rules:

Warm-up is not included in the training process. Do as much as necessary, but never warm up to the point of muscle fatigue.
After warming up, choose a weight that will allow you to reach muscle failure for the specified number of repetitions. The number of reps should be varied in a reverse pyramid fashion, meaning that you lightly decrease the weight to increase the number of reps each after the first two sets. It is important that in each approach the muscles work to failure.
You want to expand your range of exercises to target different muscle groups in different ways. Our job is to show you some new moves. Don't be afraid to try something new. When studying a new movement, read the literature. Improper execution can cause stress on a joint or other muscle group.

1. Shoulder training for mass - Base for muscle gain

These basic exercises are based on two multi-joint movements. The standing press is more challenging because it involves the whole body. Bringing the bar toward the front of your head raises your elbows slightly, so the press effectively targets the front and middle deltoids. If you have shoulder problems, don't lower the bar behind your head.

The seated dumbbell press allows your elbows to run straight along your body, effectively targeting the middle bun, which gives you visual width. This is where the rep interval begins to shift slightly (lighter weights), which provides a different training stimulus than the first exercise.

The last two movements are single-joint in nature, which translates into higher rep schemes. One is aimed at working the anterior beam, the other - the posterior, completing a balanced workout of all three heads of the shoulder. Remember that you followed the reverse pyramid principle and your first exercise was aimed at the lower range of hypertrophy (reaching failure at 6-8 reps) for a slightly stronger stimulus. This shoulder training program for mass is reverse pyramid, it will allow you to perform more complete sets for maximum muscle loading. Pumping shoulders to mass begins with this program.

Shoulder Workout 1 – General

1. Military press

2 sets of 6-8 reps
2 sets of 8-10 reps

2. Seated dumbbell press

2 sets of 8 reps
2 sets of 12 reps

3. Raising two dumbbells in front of you

2 sets of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

4. Raising dumbbells to the sides while sitting with the body tilted

2 reps of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

2. Training to gain mass in the anterior deltoids

When performing the seated barbell press, point your elbows forward, which will more effectively engage the front delts. Every time you lower the bar in front of you, you get additional activation to the front of your shoulder. Perform all exercises in the shoulder gym with the highest quality technique, even if this means reducing the weights used.

Because the initial position requires your elbows to be in front of your body, you get more stimulation of the anterior deltoid with the Arnold press. The rep range is much higher, so the first two movements are performed at different intensities (with fairly heavy as well as moderate weights).

There are many single-joint exercises for the front delts. The front rope lift turned out to be one of my favorites. It better focuses on the middle delts to provide a balanced workout. You could replace it with dumbbell rear delt rows if that curl requires more attention.

Shoulder Workout 2 – Focus on Front Delts

1. Seated military press

2 sets of 6-8 reps
2 sets of 8-10 reps

2. Arnold Press

2 sets of 8 reps
2 sets of 12 reps

3. Pull in front of you

For this exercise, use the handle
3 sets of 10-12 reps

3. Raise the dumbbell to the side with one hand

3 sets of 10-12 reps

3. Training to gain mass in the middle deltoids

Most of us want to prioritize the middle delts when training our shoulders because they make the V-taper appear larger. This is a workout that really focuses on them. Every time the elbows follow the line of the body, you know that the middle bun is well loaded.

The current formula should be familiar: start with a couple of multi-joint movements for the middle deltoids and add a couple of sets of single-joint exercises. You already know that dumbbell swings to the sides are the leader among exercises for the middle deltoids (if it didn’t seem so to you from close range, then take a look at how your elbows move). Bring your middle delts to failure with a pulley side raise. Finish your workout with a rear delt exercise for variety and balance.

Shoulder Workout 3 – Focus on Middle Delts

1. Seated dumbbell press

2 sets of 6-8 reps
2 sets of 8-10 reps

2. Barbell row to the chin

2 sets of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

3. Raising arms to the side in a block

3 sets of 10-12 reps

4. Reverse flyes in the simulator

3 sets of 10-12 reps

4. Training to gain mass in the rear deltoid

And now we have a problem. All of these multi-joint presses that we looked at earlier are mainly aimed at working the front and middle deltas and have only a minor effect on the rear ones. What to do? Row (this is why many bodybuilders train their rear delts with their back). The first exercise is rowing. You need to think about how to allocate time to train your shoulders and back. Rowing works the rear delts quite effectively. I advise you to choose a weight that will be comfortable to work with.

T-bar row

Here we'll add three single-joint shoulder exercises in the gym. Let's start with a rear delt exercise in which you use a significant amount of weight. I vote in favor of the bent-over dumbbell raise; it allows you to maintain a good body angle. Perform the exercise for the middle or front delts, and then finish with isolation work for the rear delts. My choice is the standing cable raise because the angle is a little different from the bent over dumbbell raise you did. Moreover, you will change the relative intensity slightly (reach muscle failure at more repetitions).

Shoulder Workout 4 – Rear Delt Focus

1. Linkage

2 sets of 6-8
2 sets of 8-10

2. Raising dumbbells to the sides while sitting with the body tilted

2 reps of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

3. Pull the lower block to the side

2 sets of 8 reps
2 sets of 12 reps

4. Divorce in the block

3 sets of 10-12 reps

5. Training lagging shoulder muscles

This is an often forgotten technique that will allow you to target a specific strand for growth. It's also useful if you have sore shoulders, as being tired before a workout means you won't be using the same muscles. heavy weights on your multi-joint exercises to push your muscles to the point of failure. This great way add variety to your workout as you use single- and multi-joint exercises, which for most is a new workout motivation. We started with working the rear deltoid, but you can start with any other beam. Since it's the first one in your workout, you'll be able to lift the weight a little heavier than usual. Therefore he receives a training stimulus.

Pre-exercise fatigue means you'll be weaker than usual when you press. Therefore, you can train with lighter weights for muscle failure. We've chosen a machine so you don't have to worry about bar balance: stand up and push.

The next two single-joint exercises hit the remaining deltoids. Remember that you can alternate the order in which the bunch goes first and last to add variety to your workout and tighten up a lagging area.

Shoulder workout 5 – lagging beams

1. Dumbbell lateral raises

3 sets of 8 reps
3 sets of 12 reps

2. Smith Machine Seated Press

2 sets of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

3.Reverse flyes in the simulator

2 sets of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

4. Lifting the barbell in front of you

2 sets of 8-10 reps
1 set of 10-12 reps

Now you know how to build and train shoulders for weight in the gym, but if you have a barbell and a pair of dumbbells, then you can build up big shoulders at home.

Do you know the shortest way to broad and muscular shoulders? By following these 16 laws of shoulder training, you'll be on the right track.

Some people believe that strength training has become unreasonably complex. They follow the simple principle of “lift and conquer” and don’t bother too much with exercise selection. As long as weights move in space, everything is in order - this is their principled position.

I have a different opinion. I believe that to a certain extent bodybuilding is a mental process. To pump up muscles, you have to connect your brain, otherwise you can puff under the barbell for years without getting the desired result.

How to get the most out of your shoulder training? Get started with 16 key rules that will optimize muscle growth and strength while reducing the risk of injury. You'll find that strength training really forces you to use your head, even though you have to lift weights too.

1. Start with an overhead press

A time-tested approach is to start training the target group with compound movements while the tanks are still full of fuel. Also known as multi-joint movements, they involve a large amount of muscle mass because two or more joints are working simultaneously. - the most famous multi-joint exercise for the shoulder girdle, involving all three heads of the deltoid muscles, as well as the triceps and other auxiliary muscles.

It matters not only right choice exercises, but also a competent approach to choosing working weight. You should reach muscle failure in 6-8 reps. This is the lower limit of the range muscle hypertrophy, the top one is at the level of 12 repetitions.

Seated dumbbell press

2. Perform seated and standing presses

Although you perform the same movement while sitting and standing, there are significant differences between these exercises. By standing, you can create additional force from your knees and hips. This variation, known as a bench press, usually allows you to lift more weight or do more reps than the seated press.

The seated press is considered preferable in terms of isolating the target musculature as it makes it much more difficult to harness the momentum from the lower body. As a result, you will have to sacrifice a little in weight, reps, or both.

There is room for every overhead press variation in a well-planned shoulder workout. Don't fall in love with one exercise because you want the benefits of each.

3. Free weights first, then machines

The overhead press of a barbell or dumbbells is more difficult than the programmed press in the machine. It increases the activity of the stabilizer muscles at the expense (albeit minor) of working weight, number of repetitions, or both. But there is an important difference. At the beginning of your workout, before fatigue sets in, you need increased load. In this regard, performing an overhead press with free weight is the best way start training. Save the machine exercises for later, when fatigue makes it difficult to balance the machine overhead, and at the end of the session you can focus all your efforts on lifting the working weight, rather than stabilizing it.

Military bench press

4. Be careful when overhead pressing very heavy weights.

It's tempting to train your deltoids with maximum weight and do low rep sets like on days or. However, when applied to such a strategy, it may turn out to be erroneous. At the lowest point, when the barbell is located behind the head, the muscles of the shoulder girdle are in the weakest anatomical position, and heavy weight significantly increases the risk of strain. An amateur bodybuilder and a doctor speak about this sports medicine Guillermo Escalante, who is also a professor of kinesiology at the University of California, San Bernardino.

5. Vertical Row: Another Multi-Joint Movement

Multi-joint shoulder exercises don't end with overhead presses; - another representative of this category. As long as you don't use a too wide grip, top part the arms are located along the body, which makes vertical traction great exercise for deltoid muscles. As in the case of raising the arms to the sides, there is a slight contraction of the shoulders during the upward movement, due to which the trapezius muscles also receive their portion of the load. Vertical traction can be performed after overhead presses or in the final phase of a workout for a final muscle burn.

Vertical thrust

6. Perform isolation exercises after heavy pressing movements.

7. Front lifts for the front head

By raising your straight arm in front of your body, you target the front head of the deltoids. The movement can be performed sitting or standing, with one hand or two hands at the same time. You can also use a variety of equipment, including dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, or cable machines. The front delts are also involved in the multi-joint overhead press (and bench press for the pecs, especially the incline bench). The single-joint movement should be performed after the compound exercises.

8. Raising arms to the sides for the middle head

A single-joint movement in which you raise your arms straight out to the side targets the middle deltoids. Note that I do not use the terms lateral or medial deltoids, two non-existent muscles that are often confused with the middle deltoids. The movement is performed in the lateral (to the sides) plane, and therefore the exercise is often called lateral arm raises. Of course, this is all semantics, but it helps make sure you have a good understanding of what we're talking about.

Like front raises, they can be performed sitting or standing, with one arm or both arms at the same time. The exercise is typically performed with dumbbells, resistance bands, or a cable machine, although I have seen bodybuilders attempt a one-arm barbell lateral raise. Frankly speaking, this is not a very common version of this exercise.

At the top of the trajectory, the shoulders are on the sides of the body, which largely repeats their position in the lower phase of the overhead press. Therefore, both exercises primarily target the middle heads of the deltoid muscles.

9. Bent-over lift for rear head

By raising your arms out to the sides from a bent over position, you target the rear deltoids. This movement is in many ways similar - although not identical - to multi-joint rows, which, among other things, work the rear delts. Regardless of whether you perform the movement standing (bent over) or sitting, or even in a machine, sitting facing it, the trajectory of the movement remains the same. One of the advantages of using a pectoral muscle machine is that you can hold your arms in a slight bend. elbow joints throughout the entire approach. In contrast to this variation of the exercise, cable flyes allow you to extend your elbows, which turns the exercise for the rear delts into a triceps movement.

Bent over dumbbell raise

10. Don't extend your elbows during single-joint raises.

What makes single-joint exercises the best isolation movements is keeping your elbows in a slight flexion position throughout the entire set. Once you start extending your arms, you immediately bring your triceps into the equation, which reduces the effectiveness of the isolation you're aiming for. In movements like lateral lifts and reverse dilutions arms in the simulator, many athletes mistakenly straighten their elbows at the end of the exercise to 180°, and then bend them to 90° in the descending phase. This is often caused by using too much heavy weight. On the other hand, most athletes make this mistake unconsciously, so it's good to have a trained pair of eyes watching you from the sidelines. By learning about your technical mistakes, you can avoid wasting time due to incorrect execution exercises.

11. Make sure the heads of the deltoid muscles receive the same load

Nowhere is asymmetrical development more noticeable—or more critical—than in the shoulder girdle. Typically, guys who focus on developing their chest muscles will develop a disproportionate amount of front deltoids. This bundle is involved in all pressing movements for the chest, while the middle head is most loaded during the overhead press. If you neglect your back workouts, your rear delts will look small in comparison. This is not only noticeable in the mirror, but also threatens health problems with the rotator cuff.

When it comes to single-joint exercises, perform movements for the lagging area first (after compound presses) while there is still enough energy in the fuel tanks. Or consider doing a second single-joint movement for this group. If your deltoid muscles are relatively well developed, you can randomly change the order of exercises from workout to workout to achieve the most balanced muscle development. If you always work a certain area last, over time it will begin to lag behind other muscle groups.

Lateral raises with dumbbells

12. The rotator cuff craves your love.

Everyone wants to have muscular shoulders, but no one wants to train their rotator cuff. Really, why do it if you can't even see it! Well, the rotators (a group of four muscle bands) help stabilize the shoulder joint. If you train your deltoids (and chest muscles, for that matter) but neglect your rotator cuffs, the strength balance between the two muscle groups can become very disrupted. This increases the risk of rotator cuff injury. We know it's not cool to train to avoid injury, but various rotational exercises are key to rotator cuff health, especially for seasoned bodybuilders.

13. Be attentive to alarming pain symptoms

Shoulder pain is almost inevitable for seasoned bodybuilders who perform repetitive movements. Depending on the severity of your pain, consider moving on to training with other equipment. For example, using dumbbells instead of a barbell for overhead presses allows you to shoulder joints work in a more natural and possibly pain-free range of motion. Persistent pain can be a serious problem, ranging in severity from inflammation to rotator cuff injury and tendinitis. Do not underestimate the danger of such injuries. Rest, ice packs, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (which treat inflammation but do not always eliminate its causes) will help. In short, it is better to learn about rotator cuff exercises yourself than to hear about them from your doctor.

14. Don't look down on shrugs.

Many bodybuilders put their shoulders at the end of their workouts, and for good reason. The upper trapezius muscles get a lot of work during overhead presses and lateral raises. Because of this, for most of you, completing your workout with single-joint shrugs to target your upper traps seems like an obvious choice. However, note that the middle and lower trapezius muscles do not receive adequate load, and therefore it is better to train them on back day.

15. Add variety to your shoulder training

As your body adapts to the training stimuli, the effectiveness of your training decreases. At a certain point, the efforts expended do not give the desired result, and you begin to mark time. This often happens after 6-8 weeks of training on the same program. Consider cycling your shoulder workouts, moving from light to moderate to heavy, or alternating between training program various exercises, which are generally similar, but differ in nuances. Different movements train muscles from different angles and open up greater possibilities muscle growth in the long term.

16. Keep your workouts separate for different body parts.

Proper planning of your training split is of great importance. If you don't train your chest and triceps on the same day as your deltoids, separate your workouts with at least two rest days to avoid . If you're training them on the same day, simply start with the largest muscle group (chest) and work your way down (shoulders, then triceps).

Massive shoulder training programs

Work with shoulder muscles is associated with a certain danger: the composition of the shoulder girdle and the deltoid muscle bundles are susceptible to injury. While performing exercises within sports programs you need to be careful and strictly follow the recommendations of specialists. Exercises in complexes are combined in such a way as to work the deltoid muscle from different angles, this method gives best effect. You can exercise in the gym or at home, on exercise machines and using dumbbells, standing and sitting on a bench, fitball or leaning on an inclined plane. Get to know the programs that have been compiled experienced trainers for women and men with different levels preparation. Have fun playing sports!

Men, as a rule, always include several effective exercises for the muscles of the shoulder girdle in their workout. They shape the figure: they make the waist visually narrower, and they emphasize the arms favorably. And you can even study according to the compiled program at home Houses using barbell and dumbbells.