tryingharder
New member
hi can any one help, the back of my deltoids are lacking, any ideas to help
need help improving back of deltoids
- Thread starter tryingharder
- Start date
Joshua86
Member
First of all, if you really want to work on a weak point, give them priority in your workout routine. Schedule your shoulder routine to be right after a rest day, so that you come into the gym fresh and ready to hit the weights hard! You can also think about engaging in various intensity techniques to help you bring your rear delts up to par.
Some good exercises that really hit the rear delts include bent-over laterals, bent-over cable laterals, and face down incline laterals. Even barbell rows recruit a lot of muscle fiber from the rear delts, even though they are primarily a back exercise.
With these exercises, use the strictest technique you can to avoid heavily recruiting muscle fibers from other muscle groups you're not specifically working (i.e., no cheating!). Even if you have to use lighter weight, try to always let those delts (namely the rear delts) do most of the work.
As far as sets and reps go, if you're going mainly for muscle growth, I'd recommend 8 total sets of exercises geared towards rear delts, and 4-6 more sets of a heavy compound shoulder movement, such as military press, clean and press, heavy upright rows, dumbbell presses, ect.. This way, you're giving priority to your rear delts, but you're not neglecting to train the shoulder as a whole (even though any shoulder movement is going to involve every head of the deltoid to a degree). As far as reps go, I'd recommend anywhere from 8-12, maybe a little higher or a little lower depending on the individual and their specific goals. For example, for the first set, you could shoot for 12-15 reps, the second and third could be 10-12, and the last one could be 8-10, progressively increasing the weight as need, while maintaining strict form. And you can come up with many different variations. The best way is to experiment a little and see what suits you best!
Some good exercises that really hit the rear delts include bent-over laterals, bent-over cable laterals, and face down incline laterals. Even barbell rows recruit a lot of muscle fiber from the rear delts, even though they are primarily a back exercise.
With these exercises, use the strictest technique you can to avoid heavily recruiting muscle fibers from other muscle groups you're not specifically working (i.e., no cheating!). Even if you have to use lighter weight, try to always let those delts (namely the rear delts) do most of the work.
As far as sets and reps go, if you're going mainly for muscle growth, I'd recommend 8 total sets of exercises geared towards rear delts, and 4-6 more sets of a heavy compound shoulder movement, such as military press, clean and press, heavy upright rows, dumbbell presses, ect.. This way, you're giving priority to your rear delts, but you're not neglecting to train the shoulder as a whole (even though any shoulder movement is going to involve every head of the deltoid to a degree). As far as reps go, I'd recommend anywhere from 8-12, maybe a little higher or a little lower depending on the individual and their specific goals. For example, for the first set, you could shoot for 12-15 reps, the second and third could be 10-12, and the last one could be 8-10, progressively increasing the weight as need, while maintaining strict form. And you can come up with many different variations. The best way is to experiment a little and see what suits you best!
raginfcktard
Active member
prefatiquing the front and side delts helped me...also throwing in an upper back exercise everynow and then ie light barbell row/reverse fly is not a bad idea
futurepilot
Well-known member
Which exercise is that?
Joshua86
Member
I fixed it! Haha!
EasyEJL
Never enough
the 20lb laterals. because if you only can do enough of the 225lbs to exhaust yourself, you won't thoroughly work the delts
Are you trying to be a powerlifter specializing in bent over rows or a bodybuilder? different goals, different methods
Joshua86
Member
Heavy compound lifts are going to cause your CNS to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible to help in the lift. That's why these types of lifts are so beneficial to overall growth, because of the large amounts of muscle fibers being recruited to do the work. For shoulders, exercises like military presses, push presses, heavy upright rows, and clean and presses are all great compound lifts that you can go relatively heavy on, really working your deltoid muscles hard, but you're also calling in other muscle groups to a great extent for backup.
Now if you're really wanting to isolate a muscle, the best way to do this is to isolate it as much as possible. Sure, you're going to get way more muscle fiber recruitment from a heavy compound lift, which will result in more overload, which will induce more overall growth in the long run, but if you're wanting to hit a specific muscle, such as a weak, lagging area, you have to target it as best you can. You may not be able to use as much weight, because instead of using a bunch of different muscle groups to perform the lift, you're trying to make your target muscle do the bulk of the work. Just remember that the amount of weight you're throwing up is simply the means to an end when it comes to bodybuilding. Your main goal is to recruit and overload as many muscle fibers as possible, making them work harder than they're used to, rather than seeing how much weight you can throw around.
But yeah, I agree that heavy compound lifts are the best exercises when it comes to adding mass. There's no questioning that. But if you're wanting to really target specific, lagging areas, you're going to have to get creative.
Now if you're really wanting to isolate a muscle, the best way to do this is to isolate it as much as possible. Sure, you're going to get way more muscle fiber recruitment from a heavy compound lift, which will result in more overload, which will induce more overall growth in the long run, but if you're wanting to hit a specific muscle, such as a weak, lagging area, you have to target it as best you can. You may not be able to use as much weight, because instead of using a bunch of different muscle groups to perform the lift, you're trying to make your target muscle do the bulk of the work. Just remember that the amount of weight you're throwing up is simply the means to an end when it comes to bodybuilding. Your main goal is to recruit and overload as many muscle fibers as possible, making them work harder than they're used to, rather than seeing how much weight you can throw around.
But yeah, I agree that heavy compound lifts are the best exercises when it comes to adding mass. There's no questioning that. But if you're wanting to really target specific, lagging areas, you're going to have to get creative.
EasyEJL
Never enough
Yeah, interestingly enough doing some experimentation on it, I have found a mix of doing some really high rep range stuff with high set counts (so 5-6 sets of 15-25 reps) for a short span really makes a difference. actually just varying the routine in terms of weights exercises and rep ranges can really help kickstart areas that plateaued
Joshua86
Member
Everyone essentially has the same body, with the same parts and processes, however, there are those small differences that make us all unique. Saying that, I believe that what may work for someone might not work as well for someone else; especially when it comes to bodybuilding. This is why experimenting to see what works best for you is the best route to take. Of course you should use certain guidelines, and it's always good to start where someone else has finished with good results, but I believe you have to fine tune your practice to fine tune your body.
jcp2
Active member
Well i have done rows with much more weight than that but i have the same problem. It is mainly due to activating my rear delts, and i need them to be strong to bench. I do 6 sets of rear delts on my upper body accessory day and i use dumbells. I finally found some exercises that allow me to activate them.
EasyEJL
Never enough
jcp2
Active member
my training partner said he got them from Pollequin. I lay on a rear delt bench with is basically like a chest suppored row but with an adjustable pad and is a little more parallel to the ground. First one i do i am laying and bring the dumbell up thumbs up in a Y motion for 3x12. The second one i do i bring the dumbells up thumbs down in a T motion. Let me know if you get it. I am 31 and these are the first exercises i have found that can activate my rear delts properly.
