Shoulder Blast - Building Caps

[EWolfe08]

I have been working pretty hard to developing my delts more, especially building some good caps, I've been making steady progress I think.

As aways, 1 scoop ENRAGE pre workout 15 minutes before lifting. This product gives me a great pump with smooth sustained energy.

Couple minutes of rotator cuff warm up with a resistance band.

Seated DB Shoulder press 2 warm up set's 15-20. 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8
Standing side raises (strict form) 4 x 15, 12, 10, 10
Upright Row BB (shoulder width grip) 4 x 12, 10, 10, 8
Reverse Flys (rear delts) using cables 4 x 15, 12, 10, 10
Front Raise DB 4 x 15, 12, 10, 10
Include Bench Press 4 x 15-20 (I like to include a little upper chest/front delts on "shoulder" day)
Include Hammer Strength Machine 4 x 12-15
Shrugs 4 x 10-12

Cardio 30 minutes stairs (competition prep :/ )

 

[Fizzeek]

That's a lot of delt meat.

I at one time had over a 3 month period had hit mine TOO hard; I thought they weren't growing because I wasn't going at it hard enough. They actually shrank and hurt more often than not! You just can't remove them from doing work on chest and back day so...yeah; oops.

 

[Thixotrope]

Sounds like a lot of volume for such a small muscle group. Seems to be working for you though so cheers!

 

[Kingmars]

I need some more meat on my lateral head. It seems like nothing I do puts mass on it. They never get sore and never get engorged with blood. Any tips would be great gents!

 

[EWolfe08]

I need some more meat on my lateral head. It seems like nothing I do puts mass on it. They never get sore and never get engorged with blood. Any tips would be great gents!

I like seated press for overall mass. Just keep blasting away and keep your calories high you'll gain. Of course everyone has different muscles that develop faster and/or lag more, so if it's your delta, just stay consistent. Seated press, military press, and of course side/lateral raises. All with good form (full ROM!)

 

[Fizzeek]

I need some more meat on my lateral head. It seems like nothing I do puts mass on it. They never get sore and never get engorged with blood. Any tips would be great gents!

Whatever you can do to get the resistance to last through the largest range of motion is best; to make every rep count as efficiently as possible. Try cables or a resistor band...one side at a time. Reach across your body with it as far as you can so it stretches your delt and then extend the sucker up over your head. Vary the angle. The basic exercise scheme for this muscle group that's outlined in most books is just that; it's very basic most of the time except for some instructions specialized to it....perhaps that's why nothing you've tried is working so you might have to go a little unorthodox.

 

[Thixotrope]

I need some more meat on my lateral head. It seems like nothing I do puts mass on it. They never get sore and never get engorged with blood. Any tips would be great gents!

Shoulders are a small muscle group and can be difficult to properly isolate. Here are a few things I did to make my delts a real stand out body part:

Heavy standing military presses should be a staple. No more than 3-4 sets and aim for 6-8 reps on last set. Keep tension constant during the movement. Do not lock out at the top or rest at the bottom.

For lateral raises try 4 descending sets (25, 15, 10 and 8 reps, respectively). Use a weight where you can barely complete the final rep. Do not let the weights swing in front of you; this removes tension from the lateral head and incorporates more trap and rear deltoid. At the bottom of the movement, your palms should *almost* touch your hips. Don't let them and assume total control of the weight. Also very important, tense your traps backwards (if that makes sense) and keep them that way during the exercise to really isolate the lateral head. Do not swing the weights. Do not use momentum.

When I started really focusing on delts, I left my ego at the door and dropped the weights real low to get my form right. Now, my shoulders are stronger and bigger than 95% of guys at any gym I've been to in the past 5 years.

It should go without saying that your diet and recovery should be on point. If you're trying to bring up a weak spot and diet is lacking or you're not getting enough rest, protein synthesis and nutrients will get diverted to your genetic strong points and starve the weak muscle.

 

[Kingmars]

Awesome insight from all of you guys. I will employ each of these recommendations, and look forward to taking my delts to the next level. Much appreciated, Gents!

 

[Kingmars]

Shoulders are a small muscle group and can be difficult to properly isolate. Here are a few things I did to make my delts a real stand out body part: Heavy standing military presses should be a staple. No more than 3-4 sets and aim for 6-8 reps on last set. Keep tension constant during the movement. Do not lock out at the top or rest at the bottom. For lateral raises try 4 descending sets (25, 15, 10 and 8 reps, respectively). Use a weight where you can barely complete the final rep. Do not let the weights swing in front of you; this removes tension from the lateral head and incorporates more trap and rear deltoid. At the bottom of the movement, your palms should *almost* touch your hips. Don't let them and assume total control of the weight. Also very important, tense your traps backwards (if that makes sense) and keep them that way during the exercise to really isolate the lateral head. Do not swing the weights. Do not use momentum. When I started really focusing on delts, I left my ego at the door and dropped the weights real low to get my form right. Now, my shoulders are stronger and bigger than 95% of guys at any gym I've been to in the past 5 years. It should go without saying that your diet and recovery should be on point. If you're trying to bring up a weak spot and diet is lacking or you're not getting enough rest, protein synthesis and nutrients will get diverted to your genetic strong points and starve the weak muscle.

Great response!

 

[Kingmars]

Shoulders are a small muscle group and can be difficult to properly isolate. Here are a few things I did to make my delts a real stand out body part: Heavy standing military presses should be a staple. No more than 3-4 sets and aim for 6-8 reps on last set. Keep tension constant during the movement. Do not lock out at the top or rest at the bottom. For lateral raises try 4 descending sets (25, 15, 10 and 8 reps, respectively). Use a weight where you can barely complete the final rep. Do not let the weights swing in front of you; this removes tension from the lateral head and incorporates more trap and rear deltoid. At the bottom of the movement, your palms should *almost* touch your hips. Don't let them and assume total control of the weight. Also very important, tense your traps backwards (if that makes sense) and keep them that way during the exercise to really isolate the lateral head. Do not swing the weights. Do not use momentum. When I started really focusing on delts, I left my ego at the door and dropped the weights real low to get my form right. Now, my shoulders are stronger and bigger than 95% of guys at any gym I've been to in the past 5 years. It should go without saying that your diet and recovery should be on point. If you're trying to bring up a weak spot and diet is lacking or you're not getting enough rest, protein synthesis and nutrients will get diverted to your genetic strong points and starve the weak muscle.

Great input! I'll be sure give these tweaks a try. How often should I be hitting my delts?

 

[Thixotrope]

Try once a week and give shoulders a dedicated day to themselves. Make sure you don't work chest or triceps the 2 days before you work shoulders to make sure your delts fail before your triceps do.

If once a week for 4-6 weeks doesn't trigger any new growth and/or you're not getting stronger, try twice a week. Once by themselves and once after a back session.

Listen to your body and make tweaks after that. Good luck.

 

[Kingmars]

Try once a week and give shoulders a dedicated day to themselves. Make sure you don't work chest or triceps the 2 days before you work shoulders to make sure your delts fail before your triceps do.

If once a week for 4-6 weeks doesn't trigger any new growth and/or you're not getting stronger, try twice a week. Once by themselves and once after a back session.

Listen to your body and make tweaks after that. Good luck.

Awesome Brotha! Thanks!