A strong symmetrical set of shoulders play a crucial role onstage by helping to create the illusion of a smaller waist and enhance the coveted V-taper. Offstage, broad shoulders create a more commanding presence and are recruited for virtually every upper-body compound movement. Overdevelopment or underdevelopment of your deltoids is common when attention isn’t given to all three heads: anterior (front), medial (side), and posterior (rear). Aside from being a glaring flaw in your physique—it doesn’t take a bodybuilding judge to spot it—weak shoulders will hold you back from making gains in other areas, such as the bench press and other pressing movements.
So, how can you either A) fix or B) avoid the problem of inferior deltoids. Simple. Follow this four-week program. The routine relies on the concept of powerbuilding— a mesh of powerlifting and bodybuilding—and utilizes the principle of progressive overload that changes at least one training variable each workout. Get ready for deltstruction!
DELTOIDS 101
TRAPEZIUS
- Shoulder Elevation: Pulling shoulders up toward ears
- Exercises: Shrug, upright row
MEDIAL (SIDE) DELTS
- Shoulder Abduction: Raising arms straight out to sides
- Exercises: Lateral raise, wide-grip upright row, overhead press
POSTERIOR (REAR) DELTS
- Shoulder Transverse Abduction: Extending arms straight in front then pulling shoulder blades together to separate arms and travel to rear
- Exercises: Bentover lateral raise, prone incline rear lateral raise, reverse machine flye, cable face-pull, overhead press
ANTERIOR (FRONT) DELTS
- Shoulder Flexion: Raising arms straight out in front and overhead
- Exercises: Front raise, upright row, overhead press
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THE FOUR-WEEK DELTSTRUCTION WORKOUT
Gains in strength and muscle are the result of enough tension (amount of weight used), metabolic stress (achieved with advanced set protocols like dropsets, giant sets, and rest-pause training), and muscular damage (microtrauma).
The sets and reps for bench press, squat, overhead press, and deadlift will vary each week according to the protocol below. The sets and reps for all other exercises remain the same but utilize the advanced set protocols mentioned above. On benches, squats, and deadlifts, after two to three warmup sets, use a straight barbell or any specialty bar of your choice (e.g., a thicker bar or cambered bar).
Also, note on Days 2 and 5, you will perform exercises 3A, 3B, and 3C, as a triset (three exercises performed back-to-back with minimal rest). Targeting the lower-body and noncompeting upper-body parts in this fashion optimizes the muscle-building effect of shorter rest periods without zapping strength levels. On Day 4, you will do a giant set to really fry the shoulders (four exercises performed back-to-back with minimal rest).
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DELTSTRUCTION DAY 1
- Barbell Bench Press | SETS: 4 | REPS: 12
- Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press | SETS: 4 | REPS: 15–20
- Pullup* | SETS: 4 | REPS: 8–10
- Dumbbell Shrug | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- Face-pull | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- Triceps Pushdown** | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- Wide-grip Pushup*** | SETS: 1 | REPS: 100
*On the last rep of every set, hold your chin over the bar as long as possible.
**Use your favorite bar or rope with an overhand or underhand grip.
***Perform pushups with hands on dumbbells that are spaced wider than shoulder-width apart. Perform a rest-pause protocol, resting on knees no longer than 20 seconds until you reach 100 reps
DELTSTRUCTION DAY 2
- Barbell Squat | SETS: 4 | REPS: 8
- Barbell or Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift | SETS: 4 | REPS: 8–12
- Walking Lunge | SETS: 4 | REPS: 6–8 (each leg)
- triset with Wide-grip Barbell Shrug | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- and DBl Rear Lateral Raise | SETS: 4 | REPS: 10-12
- Lat Pulldown* | SETS: 4 | REPS: 15–20
- Barbell Curl** | SETS: 1 | REPS: 100
*Use your favorite bar with an overhand or underhand grip
**Perform with no weight on the bar. Perform a rest-pause protocol, resting no longer than 20 seconds until you reach 100 reps.
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DELTSTRUCTION DAY 3
OFF
DELTSTRUCTION DAY 4
- Barbell Overhead Press | SETS: 5 | REPS: 5
- Wide-grip Pushup* | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- A. Seated Dumbbell Rear Lateral Raise | SETS: 3 | REPS: 10
- B. Seated Dumbbell Internal/External Rotation | SETS: 3 | REPS: 10
- C. Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise | SETS: 3 | REPS: 10
- D. Seated Dumbbell Front Raise | SETS: 3 | REPS: 10
- Seated Row Ladder** | SETS: 9 | REPS: 2–20
*Perform with hands on dumbbells.
**After the first set, drop weight by 10-20 pounds. Add 60 pounds for the last set
NOTES Do A, B, C, D as a giant set (four exercises performed back-to-back with minimal rest).
DELTSTRUCTION DAY 5
- Deadlift | SETS: 8 | REPS: 3
- Barbell Romanian Deadlift | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- Leg Curl | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- triset with Dumbbell Shrug | SETS: 4 | REPS: 20
- and Pullup* | SETS: 4 | REPS: 5
- Back Extension (weighted) | SETS: 3–4 | REPS: 12–20
- Prone Incline Dumbbell Rear Lateral** | SETS: 1 | REPS: 100
*Descend using a three- to five-second negative before pulling yourself up as quickly as possible.
**Perform facedown on an incline bench with no more than 30-pound dumbbells. Use a rest-pause protocol, resting no longer than 20 seconds until you reach 100 reps.
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TRAIN PAIN-FREE
Feeling a twinge or a pang when you’re training delts? Follow these four tips to alleviate the pain.
WARM UP BETTER
Begin by foam-rolling your chest, lats, upper back, and triceps for 30 seconds each. Remember, a warmup is just to get the blood flowing and prepare the shoulders for the real workout, so go light.
BUILD YOUR BACK
A bigger back translates to a bigger press, so increasing the volume for pullups, lat pulldowns, and rows may improve pressing numbers while also improving your posture and overall shoulder health.
CHANGE UP YOUR ANGLES
Lowering the angle of a seated dumbbell press from 90 degrees to a high incline may help you press without pain. A high incline should also allow you to use more weight to place greater overload on the delts.
TRY NEUTRAL-GRIP DUMBBELL PRESSES
A barbell will force your wrists, elbows, and shoulders into a fixed position. Instead, use dumbbells since they allow for small variations and adjustments as you press. A neutral grip may eliminate the tendon discomfort you experience with an overhand grip on a barbell.
- Static Chest and Shoulder Stretch | SETS: 1 | REPS: 2–3 min. (each side)
- Dumbbell Overhead Press | SETS: 1–2 | REPS: 10
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise | SETS: 1–2 | REPS: 10
- Dumbbell Front Raise | SETS: 1–2 | REPS: 10
- Dumbbell Bentover Lateral Raise | SETS: 1–2 | REPS: 10
- Cable Face-pull with External Rotation | SETS: 1 | REPS: 20
- Pushup | SETS: 1–2 | REPS: 10
FLEX
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