#10: On Shoulders

Q: Hi Autumn,

I saw your article on legs. Great information! I want to know what you do for your shoulders, though. I develop my legs easily, but I can’t seem to get my shoulders to respond in the same way. Any advice?

...Tammy Nicklin

A: Hi Tammy,

I am glad you enjoyed my leg-training article! When it comes to the muscles that "show" the best, nothing beats nicely rounded delts. This is a showcase bodypart, indeed; however, sometimes with all the choice of machines, we lose sight of the basics. For training shoulders, I rely on basic exercises and I will explain why.

First, you are probably thinking, what does she mean by "basics"? The thing I am talking about is the only exercise you will need to build big, rounded shoulders – shoulder presses. Yep, that’s it! That is my big secret for building my championship shoulders.

Shoulder presses may not seem like the only exercise I do, but they are – with a twist. My shoulder routine goes like this:

1. Warm-up: Before I begin any pressing, I like to warm up by doing side laterals and front raises with a light weight for 4 supersets of 15-20 reps. Once I’ve done this, my delts are already getting pumped and are ready to get to work.
   
   
2. Smith-machine front presses: I like to use a Smith machine for this exercise because it allows me to go heavy without fear of an injury. I use a wide grip and bring the bar down to my upper chest before exploding back up.
   
   Rep range: 10-12.
   Sets: 2 warm-up sets with a light weight (20 reps), followed by 4 heavy sets to failure.
   
   
3. Arnold dumbbell presses: These are performed like a seated dumbbell press, except that the movement starts with the weights held in front of your chest with palms facing towards you. You then press up and at the halfway point you twist the dumbbell to complete the movement like a normal press. On the way back down the same method is used, twisting as you lower the dumbbells so they are back in front of your chest, palms facing towards you. This is an awesome exercise; I believe that it is the reason my delts look the way they do. You really hit all three heads HARD!
   
   Rep range: 10-12
   Sets: 1 warm-up "feel" set (15-20 reps), followed by 4 heavy sets to failure.
   
   
4. Machine presses: For this exercise, any shoulder-press machine will do. I generally use a machine with a weight stack and selector. By the time I get to this exercise, my delts are burning and very swollen. I do these sets very quickly, forcing more blood into my delts. I use a short rest between sets and concentrate on forcing a bigger pump.
   
   Rep range: 10-15
   Sets: 6 quick sets with no warm-up. I jump right into my heavy sets, taking only short rests between sets (30-45 seconds).
   
   
5. Reverse pec deck: Facing backwards in the pec deck, you are ready to hit your rear delts. I recommend using a light weight to start off with and pyramid up slowly. This exercise is all about the pump. Using really heavy weight could easily cause injury, so be careful!
   
   Rep range: 10-15.
   Sets: 6-7 sets, pyramiding upward gradually. Use short breaks between sets (30-45 seconds).

Good luck Tammy!

...Autumn Raby, IFBB Pro

If you would like to ask Autumn a question, please e-mail: askautumn@seriousaboutmuscle.com.

SeriousAboutMuscle.com contributor Autumn Raby is from British Columbia, Canada, and is the 2005 CBBF Canadian Bodybuilding Championships Women's Middleweight and Overall Champion. Autumn's win at the Canadian Championships earned her an IFBB Pro Card.