4 Steps To Cannonball Delts
In this week's article I am going to uncover a new shoulder routine. If you already own a pair, great! This routine can help you build even more impressive delts! However, if your shoulders could use some work, you're in luck because I'm about to reveal an intense shoulder routine that will help you turn your shoulders into cannonballs!
But first, let’s review the basics of my entire routine to help you plan your shoulder workout:
Workout frequency: 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, 2 off
This means I workout for two days followed by one day of rest. Then, I workout another 2 days followed by another two days off. Then I repeat this pattern. This usually ends up being either:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday,
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, or
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
The important part is that I never train with weights more than two days in a row because I find that I build muscle faster if I have enough time to recuperate. (If you're not making steady gains with your program, try adding a few extra rest days each week. You may actually build more muscle by training less!)
Here's how my current workout schedule which I just switched to looks:
Day #1: Abs/Shoulders/Triceps
Day #2: Quads/Hamstrings/Calves
Day #3: Rest Day
Day #4: Abs/Back (Upper and Lower plus Traps)
Day #5: Chest and Biceps
Day #6: Rest Day
Day #7: Rest Day
Day #8: Repeat
I start the week out prioritizing the Shoulders (the focus of this article) when I know I am well rested and full of nutrients and fuel from my weekend eating. Now, you can certainly adapt this workout schedule to fit your specific needs.
Moving along, here is a checklist of things which you should do to make your workouts as effective as possible:
1. Get and use a training log.
2. Use as much weight as possible for the number of prescribed reps.
3. Take each set to the point of muscular failure--the point at which you cannot perform another repetition.
4. Strive to increase your training poundage each week.
5. The length of your workout should not exceed 60 minutes
6. Use strict form on all exercises.
7. Minimize stress and rest completely on days off. Try to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.
8. Follow a proper nutrition and supplementation program.
Got it? Good. Now here comes the bread and butter of this week's article!
Shoulder Exercises:
- Use a 2-1-1 tempo (I want you to lower under control in about a 2 second cadence, explode upward, and hold the contraction for a second). This is important!
- Take 1-2 minutes rest between sets.
- If you're going to complete failure, you may need to drop the weight by 10% after each set in order to get all the reps.
- If you're a beginner, drop one set from each exercise and concentrate on form instead of going for the heavy poundage.
Warmup: Rotator Cuff training on the Shoulder Horn
Exercise #1: Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: (Although you may use a barbell instead, dumbbells provide a better range of motion and incorporate the shoulder stabilizers into the movement.)
- Use a palms in grip at the bottom of the movement and rotate them forward as you press overhead.
- After 2 warm ups, perform 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 repetitions to failure.
- On the last set, after hitting failure drop the weight by 20-30% and rep out to failure one more time without rest.
Exercise #2: Upright Rows: (Although most consider this a trap exercise, I want you to concentrate on lifting with the outer head of the deltoid. By using the traps as a secondary muscle we can fatigue the deltoids even more now that they are warmed up from the side laterals.)
- Perform 3 sets of 12, 10, and 8 repetitions pyramiding up in weight.
- On the last set, after hitting failure drop the weight by 20-30% and rep out to failure one more time without rest.
Note: If you have rotator cuff or any shoulder issues, I don't recommend doing upright rows at all!
Exercise #3: Lateral Raises:
- Perform 2 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
- On the last set, after hitting failure drop the weight by 20-30% and rep out to failure one more time without rest.
So there you have it! Follow this program along with a quality nutrition and supplementation program and you'll be on your way to muscular and defined shoulders!
Now go attack the weights!
Article Of The Week
5/02/2006
James Cipriani
Cutting Edge Personal Training
