Anyone have a good shoulder workout?

[ThisIsMatt]

I'm wondering if any of you have a good shoulder workout. Nothing I've tried really seems to get me sore the next day Military press, shoulder press, vertical rows, lateral raises... Trying to work the deltoids to get bigger/broader shoulders, not just bigger traps...

 

[Sentinel]

have you tried varying the reps? supersets?

 

[Yossarian]

all of those work. you aren't trying hard enough try doing 3 sets of laterals to pre-exhaust your delts, then 4-5 sets of military/shoulder press. that should fry them pretty well.

 

[Deeko]

I do shoulder press(Dumbbell), cable raises(both front and size), and shrugs for my shoulders. Works well.

 

[computeerrgghh]

You could always try handstand pushups.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

My usual routine involves 3 sets of 10 or so reps, increasing the weight 10-20lbs on each subsequent set, so that by the 3rd set I'm just barely putting up the last rep. I really haven't focused on my shoulders before so I was a bit surprised that I didn't become sore after working them. What do you mean by supersets? Occasionally I'll change it up so that I do 50-100 reps with less weight. That'll usually get me sore the next day if I haven't been getting it off shorter sets.

 

[cchen]

how much weight do you use? if you're looking to make your shoulders broader and bigger, you should be doing sets of 6 with heavier weight. you'll only get sore doing higher reps

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: cchen
how much weight do you use? if you're looking to make your shoulders broader and bigger, you should be doing sets of 6 with heavier weight. you'll only get sore doing higher reps

I agree with this. In addition, soreness is not an indicator of how "good" your workout is, so don't use that as a measure.

 

[Rudee]

Slow it down. Try lowering the weight and lifting "super-slow" style. 10 seconds positive, hold for 1, then 10 seconds negative. Aim for 6 reps a set (120 total seconds under tension). Do each set to failure. Do this for 2 or 3 sets and I guarantee your shoulders will be on fire the next day.

 

[95SS]

Originally posted by: Landroval

Originally posted by: cchen
how much weight do you use? if you're looking to make your shoulders broader and bigger, you should be doing sets of 6 with heavier weight. you'll only get sore doing higher reps

I agree with this. In addition, soreness is not an indicator of how "good" your workout is, so don't use that as a measure.

It depends on where the soreness is. If your soreness lies in the muscle, you have stressed the muscle, and it will repair itself and get stronger. Joint pain is another thing though, that you must be careful of. With my body, if I'm not sore the next day, especially on the smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, deltoids), I don't feel that I pushed hard enough.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: Rudee
Slow it down. Try lowering the weight and lifting "super-slow" style. 10 seconds positive, hold for 1, then 10 seconds negative. Aim for 6 reps a set (120 total seconds under tension). Do each set to failure. Do this for 2 or 3 sets and I guarantee your shoulders will be on fire the next day.

noo this isn't what he's looking for. That's a great 'tone' workout, but he wants size. You want as much explosion as possible for size gains.

For max size I'd recommend a light warmup set of 12(not strenuous at all), followed by explosive sets of 8, 6, 4, with increasing weight each set.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I usually do 3 sets of 6-8 with the 8th rep as close to failure as possible. If I can't do 6 then it's too heavy and if I can do 3 sets of 8 it's time to move up.

Military Press
Bent Over Raises
Side Laterals
Shrugs (depending upon whether you work these in with your back or shoulder exercises)

I'd personally stay away from the vertical rows but that's just me.

And just because you feel a pain or a burn it does not mean that you are working out effectively/efficiently.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: cchen
how much weight do you use? if you're looking to make your shoulders broader and bigger, you should be doing sets of 6 with heavier weight. you'll only get sore doing higher reps

Yeah, too many people go too light, aspire to do a specific number of reps (usually 10), finish up without even breaking a sweat, and wonder why they don't put on muscle... I've had the best results shooting for between 4-8 reps, at whatever weight I can do that many at. Do as many reps as you can, and don't put it down if you can do another just because you reached a goal number. If you're not grunting like a pig to get out the last rep or two, you're not
working out.

Anyway for shoulders as for anything else, variety is the key, since if you only do one thing your muscles will get efficient at it rather than growing bigger. Lately my shoulders have been getting a good pump from doing behind-the-head barbell military presses.

 

[shilala]

Want sore shoulders? Blow your rotator cuffs.
Both of my shoulders are shot, they're sore 24/7/365.

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: 95SS

Originally posted by: Landroval

Originally posted by: cchen
how much weight do you use? if you're looking to make your shoulders broader and bigger, you should be doing sets of 6 with heavier weight. you'll only get sore doing higher reps

I agree with this. In addition, soreness is not an indicator of how "good" your workout is, so don't use that as a measure.

It depends on where the soreness is. If your soreness lies in the muscle, you have stressed the muscle, and it will repair itself and get stronger. Joint pain is another thing though, that you must be careful of. With my body, if I'm not sore the next day, especially on the smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, deltoids), I don't feel that I pushed hard enough.

I'm sure that there is a correlation. It's just that I don't think having sore muscles always means you worked them to the max (or that not having them means you did not It's certainly common to get sore from a good workout.

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: Rudee
Slow it down. Try lowering the weight and lifting "super-slow" style. 10 seconds positive, hold for 1, then 10 seconds negative. Aim for 6 reps a set (120 total seconds under tension). Do each set to failure. Do this for 2 or 3 sets and I guarantee your shoulders will be on fire the next day.

noo this isn't what he's looking for. That's a great 'tone' workout, but he wants size. You want as much explosion as possible for size gains.

For max size I'd recommend a light warmup set of 12(not strenuous at all), followed by explosive sets of 8, 6, 4, with increasing weight each set.

Deeko, I've been lifting 20 years now. The workout I prescribed is a workout that is a change of pace from his normal workout. It's a specialized workout that allows you to concentrate on the muscle itself. It removes momentum and it requires a heck of a lot of energy. It fatigues muscle incredibly well with only a couple sets. (1 set if taken to absolute failure). You don't need explosive reps to get muscle size. In fact, chances are good that he could possibly injure himself. I could probably come up with several dozen shoulder workouts. It's not rocket science. It's simply introducing a new exercise to keep the muscles guessing.

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: shilala
Want sore shoulders? Blow your rotator cuffs.
Both of my shoulders are shot, they're sore 24/7/365.

 

[Deeko]

Yes, its a change of pace, and don't get me wrong, I don't find anything wrong with what you laid out. Yes, it removes momentum, is very tiring, and works the full range of the muscle rather than just the initial burst. However, for maximum muscle size, explosive sets are pretty much universally accepted as the best method.

 

[Cobalt]

Do Max-OT of military press then come and tell me you aren't sore the next day.

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Yes, its a change of pace, and don't get me wrong, I don't find anything wrong with what you laid out. Yes, it removes momentum, is very tiring, and works the full range of the muscle rather than just the initial burst. However, for maximum muscle size, explosive sets are pretty much universally accepted as the best method.

Well, he wanted to get sore, so I figured that would be the perfect one for him to start with. He could then move to explosive reps, then tri-sets, rest-pause, reverse pyramids, partials... the routines are endless. Change is good.

 

[Jgtdragon]

Originally posted by: computeerrgghh
You could always try handstand pushups.

haha funny you mention that. was just reading that online. i'll try it out.

 

[Xionide]

I just fap. Does that count?

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Deeko
Yes, its a change of pace, and don't get me wrong, I don't find anything wrong with what you laid out. Yes, it removes momentum, is very tiring, and works the full range of the muscle rather than just the initial burst. However, for maximum muscle size, explosive sets are pretty much universally accepted as the best method.

Well, he wanted to get sore, so I figured that would be the perfect one for him to start with. He could then move to explosive reps, then tri-sets, rest-pause, reverse pyramids, partials... the routines are endless. Change is good.

Sore doesn't mean anything. You can get sore military pressing 10 pounds 100000 times.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Geez, I go for a 17 mile bike ride and everyone starts arguing

Yes, I know soreness isn't a great indicator of anything, but if I don't feel it (muscle soreness, not joint pain) the next day I don't feel like I've pushed myself as hard as I could. Also, I haven't been working my shoulders much and usually if I work a muscle group that I haven't worked in a while they'll be sore the next day (eg I did some underhand chinups yesterday and am sore today, mainly because I rarely do them).

 

[PetunZ]

You need to get someone to spot you and increase the amount you lift so that you can't finish the set in the 2nd and 3rd sets. Get the person to really push you while keeping good form so that you don't injure yourself.