Each month I would like to talk to you about a body part of my choosing. I will discuss various methods that it can be trained, poundage's to use and give you one of my favorite workouts for that particular body part. This will help you get stronger and more massive than every before.
This month the body part is shoulders. Most probably this is the teen's most unnoticed muscle bar none. You must realize big shoulderS are the bread and butter of a good body. shoulders will make your entire body look overall bigger. The key to big shoulderS is variation and a lot of hard work. Every teenager wants a big chest. To have a big chest it has to be wide and with no shoulders, your chest won't be huge either. How big do you want your shoulders? That depend on how you train them!!
There is nothing more that people will see than your shoulders if you want to look big. Your shoulders must be big and noticeable. People will be able to tell that you are a bodybuilder when you have a shirt on with these big cannon ball shoulderS sticking out of them.
I include traps in my shoulderS routine so when I talk about shoulders I am also talking about traps. shoulders will make your body look great from behind with those big traps looking back at the person behind you almost intimidating them. When they can't see your favorite body part the chest from behind, they might as well be able to see something just as impressive, the shoulders.
The first thing you must realize in shoulder training is that you can't just throw the weights around. you must lift with proper form and technique or you will be injured and the shoulder injury is the worst as it will affect all aspects of training besides legs. To maximize gains you must focus on the shoulder and the movement you are doing and put all the energy that you have into them and make them explode. I know I say this a lot but make the workouts overflow with intensity. Train your shoulderS so that they will explode! They should be red raw when you have finished your workout. When lowering the weight whether it be bar or dumbbells do not let the weight control you, you must lower it at a speed were you can feel the muscle being worked. Lower the rate at a minimum of a 2 count on the way down and then explode with maximum intensity on the way up.
When using the barbell, try to keep the bar as even as possible and when getting a spot try to get it from the elbows as a slight movement the wrong way could put you out thanks to a bad spot. Also, mix up the exercises, the order of exercises, and the use of dumbbells and barbells and the reps because of all the variation the shoulderS receive will leave them no other choice but to grow. Also when training the shoulderS you should also concentrate on the eccentric (negative) portion of the rep. This means letting the bar down as slow as possible until your shoulders can't take anymore. When doing this, use a spotter to help take the weight up and then drop it slowly. Only do this a maximum of one set per exercise or you will risk over training the triceps.
When training shoulders you must train with maximum intensity and power to make those cannon balls grow. Training to failure is a good way to do this but is not recommended for every workout as it may cause over training.
Changing the amount of reps and sets per exercise each workout can be good as well. I like to go heavy for 2 or 3 weeks, then have a light session the week after. This will mean either increasing my reps in a pyramid program by 2 reps, dropping the last heavy set of say 6 reps, then adding a drop set or just staying with 3 or 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps, which gives the shoulderS a tremendous burn and great pump. Also try combining high rep and low rep exercises to send more confusion to the muscles.
My current shoulder workout goes like this:
Dumbbell shoulder Press 5 x 10, 8, 6, 6, 10
Side Lateral raise 5 x 10, 8, 6, 6 or 10 (drop set)
Front Barbell Raise 5 x 10, 8, 6, 6 or10 (drop set)
Reverse Peck Deck 4 x 10, 8, 6 or 10 (drop set)
TRAPS
Upright Rows 4 x 10, 8, 6, failure
Dumbbell Shrugs 4 x 10, 8, 6, failure
This is a basic shoulders workout that seems to work well. I may trade exercises depending on my mood and availability of machines, but I like to stick with that program.
Remember, I will train about 3 sessions heavy then a session light using the 12 to 15-rep range.
I want you training your shoulderS so when you are out somewhere people will notice your shoulderS through your woolen trench coat!
Any specific body parts you would like me to write about please email me at jamessadek@optusnet.com.au. Any comments or suggestions on future articles don't hesitate to email me.