Having big shoulders gives you an aesthetic physique.
They make you look wide, thick, and strong.
Wide shoulders make your waist look smaller and give you a better “V shape” that we all want. Those huge front delts are what are called boulder shoulders and today I’ll show you how you can grow them to look massive.
If your shoulders are under developed your entire physique gets thrown off. The problem is that most guys suffer from horribly underdeveloped shoulders and never properly hit them.
My promise to you: When you follow the advice in this article your shoulders will blow up. Working shoulders might even become one of your favorite days. When you follow the routine at the end, your shoulders will have a pump unlike anything you’ve ever felt before.
The 3 Secrets To Building Big Shoulders…
1) Work All 3 Heads Of Your Shoulder
Most shoulder workouts consist of doing some for of presses, move into some lackluster dumbbell raises, and usually end there. There’s no real understanding of how or what creates a true “boulder shoulder“. Let me explain…
There are 3 “heads” to your shoulder…
You’ve got the anterior (front) delt, the posterior (rear) delt, and the medial (middle) delt.
In our typical workout, the presses work great – but we are usually severely lacking on the isolation of each head.
If you’re not specifically isolating each head and crushing them individually, how will it grow?
The ultimate shoulder workout (which is at the end of this article) utilizes every head of the shoulder and isolates them to make sure your shoulders grow like weeds.
Do I Need To Lift Heavy Weight Or Go High Volume On Shoulders?
Like always, there is no “right answer” but what seems to work best for most guys is a combination of both.
Heavy weight is good. So is high volume work. Most guys shoulders respond insanely well to high volume, and I’m sure yours will too.
Lift with some heavy ass presses, and follow up with some very concentrated isolation work of each head.
Those are so important that they are the next keys to building big shoulders…
2) Do Some Heavy Ass Presses (WITH PROPER FORM!)
When you start your workout (after warming your shoulders up), smash them with some heavy weight. Either use dumbbells or the overhead press and lift heavy.
This is going to set you up for success when we move into the next steps.
The two exercises that completely engage your shoulders are the Dumbbell Press, or the Overhead Press.
Now don’t let your ego get in the way. Use your shoulders to lift the weight. Lots of guys engage their backs, triceps, spotters, and pretty much anything BUT their shoulders. Don’t be that guy.
Lift heavy, be focused. Feel your muscle working.
Once your shoulders are dead from the heavy weight, we will finish them off with high rep isolation exercises…
3) Finish Them With Higher Rep, Lighter Weight Isolation Work…
A lot of guys will argue with this point. In fact, I hear the haters already…
“Doing raises with 15lb dumbbells won’t do shit! You need to lift HEAVY ALL THE TIME!! 2 scoops of PREWORKOUT #gymlife #selfie #gains”
My answer?
Arnold Schwarzenegger Doing Shoulder Raises With Embarrassingly Light Weight
Look at those weights. Those are not “heavy ass weights”. So many guys who have built amazing physiques have utilized light weight, high rep shoulder work.
Do you think Arnold did a quick and easy few reps with that? Hell no.
We both know he pumped until it hurt like hell and kept on going…
Light weight doesn’t have to be “easy” if you utilize your muscle properly.
I guarantee you mixing in this high volume work will have a phenomenal result on your shoulders.
The Perfect Shoulder Workout Routine…
I’m going to give you the shoulder workout that I personally use and blew my shoulders up with. Try this and I guarantee you’ll love it. You will never go back to your old shoulder routine.
WARM UP: Grab some bands and warm up your shoulders. Do some stretches and get them moving. If you’re doing overhead presses, use the bar for a set or a light set with dumbbells.
REST TIMES: For the presses, rest 1-2 minutes per set. For the rest of the workout try to keep your rest times between 30 seconds to a minute. Don’t be lazy. Work them like hell and feel the pump.
Shoulder Press (Bar Or Dumbbell ) – 4 Sets of 8 Reps
Barbell Upright Rows(Traps/Front/Middle Delt) – 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Follow that workout to a tee next time you work shoulders and feel what I’m talking about.
Don’t just believe me because I say it’s true.
Go try it and see what I mean. You will feel your shoulders unlike anything else you’ve ever done.
Keep following this routine and you willliterally see the proof. Your shoulders will start growing, you’ll get that “boulder shoulder” look, and you’ll probably end up loving shoulders as much as you love Chest and Bi’s. For some killer rear delt exercises, check out my other article on the Best Rear Delt Exercises.
