Post: #1

I've read again and again that shoulders are the most noticeable part of a man's physique. I'm naturally thin and so deficient in this area.

I've boxed for years, but had no idea I was burning up valuable carbs for weight gain. So I cut that back a year ago to focus on lifting.

I have a very basic routine, and am still focused on form rather than lifting heavy. Just trying to activate the right muscles etc. This includes 25 squats (50kg), 5 deadlifts (50kg), 21 wide-grip pull-ups, and 21 dips.

So what else should I be doing to increase shoulder width? My lats are huge from all the pull-ups, and shoulders are definitely bigger, but I wonder if I can do more.

Post: #2

Nothing you're doing there is really actively targeting your shoulders. You can do so many different things to hit shoulders: dumbbell shoulder presses, barbell overhead presses, cleans, rear delt flyes, lat raises, front raises, behind the neck presses and even handstand push ups against a wall.

If you have to prioritize a few exercises, I would prioritize barbell overhead presses or Dumbbells Shoulder presses. Secondary priorities would be lat raises and rear delt flyes. Personally, I prefer dumbbells for shoulders, but I'm sure some guys here have seen great shoulder growth off of heavy barbell compound movements. Do both if you can.

I find that big rear delts give the impression of bigger shoulders because they give you that 3D look. It's the difference between a guy who looks skinny but has wide shoulders and a V taper and a guy who has a full-looking, powerful upper body.

There are so many ways to approach shoulders, but you have to train them directly or they don't really grow. in my experience.

I tend to do curl and presses (old school strong man shoulder builder), dumbbell presses, behind the neck presses and sometimes even clean and presses to really blow up my shoulders. I'm not as wide as I want to be, but as of a year ago I've put on some appreciable shoulder mass according to friends and family.

Post: #3

Shoulder press of some description or an easy one is shrugging.

Post: #4

Pressing movements really work the front delt, but for side and rear delt development high volume raises are king. Supersetting a pressing movement with raises is my favorite for destroying shoulders. This video is great, it explains a lot.

Post: #5

I have had good results from military press and push press.
If you can do 21 dips with good form then handstand pushups should be well within reach. Bodybuilding.com has some decent resources on the handstand pushup if spending an hour watching youtube videos isn't your style.

Post: #6

Thanks guys. I like the barbell, so might combine some barbell overhead presses with dumbbell raises. Is the technique difficult on those? Been struggling with form in general.

I didn't know handstand pushups targeted the shoulders. I can do those for sure. I have gym access right now, though, so I'll save those for when I'm doing body weight stuff.

Post: #7

4 sets of 50 Push Ups (work up to them is you have to) or 30 rps of side lifts with dumbbell 3 times a week will give you great shoulders.

Post: #8

I'll take 2 shoulders plz....

Any lanky guys can share some lat raise tips? It takes me a few sets at low weight to actually feel these, and I can't go too high or I end up throwing them around.

Post: #9

Seconded Fortis's suggestions. Only things to add are shoulder shrugs and reverse cable flys.

Post: #10

(11-04-2017 01:05 AM)redbeard Wrote:  I'll take 2 shoulders plz....

Any lanky guys can share some lat raise tips? It takes me a few sets at low weight to actually feel these, and I can't go too high or I end up throwing them around.

You can do the single arm heavy Lat raises where you grab onto something and use some english to swing far heavier weight than you can naturally raise. Generally, I don't like lat raises all that much. I think behind the neck press does more for me, but I don't always recommend BTN press because it seems easy to fuck up if you don't know your limits.

Post: #11

Please train your rotator cuffs if you are serious about shoulder training, take it from an olympic lifter.

Post: #12

Do Klokov presses, like 3 sets of 20 reps and throw them at the end of your shoulder workout.

It's basically a wide grip behind the neck press. You don't have to sit in a squat position like Klokov in the video here does.

Post: #13

How do y'all use BTN presses?

Let's say you're doing a push day, would you do BTN after main lifts like dips/OHP?

Post: #14

I like BTN Press. It hits the delts in a really interesting way. Not sure how to program it though.

Post: #15

Try hanging from a pull up bar. You can do hanging knee raises or leg raises to hit your abs at the same time. Your grip strength will improve too.

Post: #16

(11-07-2017 11:48 AM)Hannibal Wrote:  Do Klokov presses, like 3 sets of 20 reps and throw them at the end of your shoulder workout.

It's basically a wide grip behind the neck press. You don't have to sit in a squat position like Klokov in the video here does.

This is a weightlifting exercise, meant as a warm-up before you start your training.

You should no be going heavy on this at all and it is meant to be done in the position Klovov is in. Also the max reps I would recommend on this is 4-8