Popeye's® Supplements Canada ~ The Deal on Delts Status Spring 2009

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Michelangelo's David: praised throughout history as one of the most perfect masculine forms known to man. Bodybuilders of the Golden Age, true masters at constructing sculpture-like lines of physical perfection. What did all these masters of human form know?

Wide and powerful shoulders are the quintessential cornerstone of power, strength and the oft-forgotten symmetrical form. Build biceps until you're blue in the face, You'll never get that picture-perfect, top-to-bottom taper without great delts. Whether you're on the beach or in a dress shirt, well developed, detailed delts will get you noticed and respected.

Ever wonder why so many shirts and jackets have built in shoulder padding? The deltoids muscles are the first area the eye is drawn to on a

physique, whether on a stage or on the street. First impressions are critical and at first glance, the development of the shoulders can give the impression of a bookworm, an athlete, or a superhero incarnate. The artisans of ages sought out to create the perfect physique from stone and marble. Whether your goal is to sculpt shoulders to appease the gods, or mere mortals, we're going to give you the tools to chisel the kind of shoulders that'll inspire some artistic worship.

Symmetry is the balance and harmony between parts. The deltoids have three heads-anterior (front), medial (middle) and posterior (rear). The delts also flank the upper chest/pectorals from the front and the trapezius from the rear. To create a harmonious flow from front to back, all three heads of the deltoids need to be developed in proportion to one another. The way to do this is to give an equal amount of attention to each head by isolating and pre-exhausting individual muscles. Then, fully fatigue the entire deltoid complex, by employing compound exercises, to tie them all together.

More often than not, the posterior deltoids (or rear delts) are underdeveloped when contrasted with the medial and anterior deltoids (or mid and front delts). The front and, to some extent, mid delts are secondary and tertiary muscles used when performing pressing exercises for chest. WHY IS THIS Therefore, these areas may already have significant development, since most trainers begin their regimens with the bench press. However, the rear delts, although used during several rowing exercises for the back, are not as easily developed from rowing alone and require isolation exercises.

An easy method to bring any lagging area up to speed with the others is to pre-exhaust. Pre-exhausting is the isolation (involving a single muscle group) and exhaustion of a muscle before involving it in a compound lift (involving several muscle groups). For example, you can perform 3 sets of bent lateral raises in order to pre-exhaust your rear delts which will be forced to work much harder during wide grip upright rows, thereby facilitating more stimulation and growth. The same can be done with performing side lateral raises to pre-exhaust the medial deltoids before seated dumbbell presses.

The delts respond very well to training to failure within the rep range of 12-15. It is within this range that an adequate amount of blood can be forced into the muscle to expand and tear as many micro fibers as possible for a maximum hypertrophic response. I explained the pump in detail in my last article entitled "tickets to the gun show" Status Vol 8. In short, it is imperative to try to attain the maximum pump during each set in order to stimulate as much growth as possible.

Variety is the spice of life. This holds true for growth as well. All muscle groups respond extremely well to varying not only your order of exercises, but also variations to these exercises. Below I have included several different variations of each exercise. Each is equally effective and should be shuffled into your routine. There is such a large number of combinations to select that you could theoretically design a unique shoulder session each time you enter the gym. However, one thing that should remain consistent at each training session is 100% intensity, commitment to working the muscles to failure and trying to increase the workload from that of the last, either in terms of increased poundage or number of repetitions per heavy working set.

Posterior Deltoids (Rear)- Bent lateral raises/reverse fly


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Position(s): There are several variations of a reverse fly or bent lateral raise. All focus on the posterior deltoid and can be performed either:

Standing bent lateral raise- stand with feet shoulder width apart, slightly bend at the knee and lean forward. Maintain an arch in the back and have the upper body almost parallel with the floor.
Seated bent lateral raise- sit on the end of a bench, with feet far in front on the floor, (so that the dumbbells can descend under the legs during the motion) leaning forward and maintaining an arch in the lower back.
lying bent lateral raise-lie face down on an incline bench set at a 15 degree angle, with feet on the floor.

Movement: Grasp the dumbbells, with the palms together and facing each other. Begin to do a reverse fly, in an arcing motion, arms slightly bent, while simultaneously twisting the palms so that they face behind you at the top of the motion and squeeze your rear delts in a peak contraction.

Medial (Middle) Deltoids- Side lateral raises


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The only way to widen the shoulders is to increase the size and shape of the medial deltoids. The best way to isolate this muscle group is to perform side lateral raises
Position(s): Three variations to the side lateral raise include:

Standing side lateral raises- Stand upright, with feet shoulder width apart. Begin with dumbbells against the thighs.
Seated side lateral raises- Sit at the end of a flat bench, with feet together on the floor in front of you. Begin with the dumbbells underneath the legs.
Lying side lateral raises- Set an incline bench to almost fully upright, at a 75-80 degree angle. Lie with your chest against the pad and feet on the floor. Begin with the dumbbells in front of the bench.

Movement: Raise the dumbbells laterally, but slightly to the front, in an arcing motion, with arms slightly bent. The palms will face down and arms will be parallel with the floor at the top of the motion. **Note** it is important to create a slight twist of the wrist at the top of the motion to gain a peak contraction in the medial deltoids. Duplicate the motion one would use to pour out two pitchers of water simultaneously.

Try this: Ascending set for side laterals (25, 20, 15, 10, 8 reps) Select a weight and perform 25 repetitions. Immediately pick up a heavier set of dumbbells (select increments based on strength level) and perform 20 reps. Continue to follow this format until you have reached your fifth and final set of 8 reps. Do this for 3 sets to really shock your medial deltoids into growth.

Anterior (Front) Deltoids- Front raises


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Anterior (Front) Deltoids- Front raises- An excellent way to isolate and develop the anterior deltoids is to employ front raises.
Position: Below are four different variations of the front raise:

Lying front raises- take an incline bench and set it to a 75 degree angle. Lie with your chest against the bench and feet flat on the floor. Grasp dumbbells or a barbell at a shoulder width grip.
Barbell front raises- Stand upright with feet shoulder width apart. Grasp the bar with a shoulder width grip.
Dumbbell hammer- Begin the motion with the dumbbells at the sides, with palms facing each other, in a neutral position.
Dumbbell palms down- Begin the motion with the dumbbells against the front of the quads.

Movement: Raise the weight in front of the body, keeping a slight bend in the elbows, until the arms are parallel with the floor and a peak contraction is achieved in the anterior deltoids.

**Note** When using dumbbells for front raises, a greater peak contraction can be achieved if the dumbbells are directed to the center of the body, at the top of the motion. Furthermore, this can also activate and stimulate the upper chest.

**Try to alternate between one rep palms down and one rep in the hammer position to stimulate a maximum number of muscle fibers.

Shoulder Press


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A great mass building exercise. These can be performed in any order during your shoulder session. However, as mentioned above, if there is a lagging area of the deltoids that needs to be prioritized and brought into proportion with the others, it is beneficial to pre-exhaust that area first, so it will work harder during the shoulder presses.

To minimize risk of injury to the joints of the shoulders, (rotator cuffs) set a bench to a very steep incline 75 degrees to maintain arm movement in front of the face. Pressing to the side of the head and behind, decreases the tension on the muscles and increases the stress on the joints. Shoulder injuries are very common from beginner through to intermediate. This typically occurs when there is a lack of adherence to strict form or excessive weights are used.

Three variations of the seated shoulder press include:

Seated dumbbell press
Position: Set an incline bench to 80 degrees, lean back and start with the dumbbells at ear level.
Movement: Press the dumbbells straight up, keeping the forearms vertical, until reaching full extension and a peak contraction is achieved in the anterior and medial delts. Return the weight to the starting position, always keeping the dumbbells above ear level to avoid undue stress to the joints.
Seated Arnold press
Position: With the same bench setting as above, lean back and begin with the dumbbells at the top of the chest, with palms facing the body. Movement: Press the dumbbells up, while twisting the palms away from the body into a fully extended position. The positioning of the palms facing the body at the beginning, allows for a greater range of motion, as the elbows can drop to the sides of the body and increase stimulation to the anterior deltoids, in addition to the upper pectorals.
Seated Barbell Press
Position: Sit in a shoulder press rack, or a seat with a high back support, but not supporting the head. Movement: begin the motion by removing the bar from the rack and lowering it to chin level in front of the face. Press the bar vertically, until the arms are fully extended over head and a peak contraction is achieved.

Note** When pressing with dumbbells, the alternating isometric hold press/technique can be employed, where one dumbbell remains in the extended/contracted position, while the other is working through a full range of motion and returns to the fully extended position. This method can drastically increase the amount of time under tension and assist in carving in granite hard detail.

Upright rows


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Upright rows- can be performed with a narrow or wide grip and with dumbbells or with a barbell.

Position - Stand upright, with the weight against the quads.
Movement: Row the weight in an upright motion, keeping the elbows slightly higher than the hands. Pause at the top of the motion to engage the anterior and medial deltoids.
Note** The narrower the grip, the more stress will be placed on the anterior deltoids. A wider grip will engage the medial and even posterior to some extent at peak contraction.

Try super setting upright rows immediately following a set of seated shoulder press, to bring some extra detail to the anterior delts.

Dre rows


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Dre rows- An exercise I created several years ago, which is a cross between an upright row and a bent lateral raise. This motion is fantastic for adding mass to the medial and posterior delts.

Position - Grasp two dumbbells, with palms facing the body. Lean forward about 5 degrees.
Movement: Row the weight up and wide, keeping the forearms vertical and the elbows at the highest point, until you have achieved a peak contraction in the medial and posterior deltoids.

Try this: A triset of side lateral raises, bent lateral raises and finally Dre rows, to really add mass and definition to the medial and posterior delts.

Be sure to stretch as much as possible, before, during and after your training session. This will elongate the muscles and prepare them for the workload you are about to place upon them. Stretching is also important between every set as this will keep muscles loose to avoid injury while facilitating growth. It should be noted that one should not overstretch, but lightly pull the muscle until it feels tight, then hold this stretch for 10 seconds.

The pump is also responsible for stretching the muscles. As the muscles become engorged with blood, the muscle fascia expands. The greater the pump, the more ability the muscle has to grow. A beginner should try 2-3 exercises per shoulder session and pair the delts with another muscle group. An intermediate to advanced level trainer (3-5 years of consistent training), may chose to devote an entire session to the shoulders, should aim for 5 exercises and a total of 3-4 sets per exercise.

Now that you have read through a plethora of variations to each exercise, it is time to take this theory and apply it to your training sessions. It would have been much simpler to give you, the reader, five of my favorite shoulder exercises and send you on your way. However, the truth is, I don't really have any favorites, as I feel that each of the above is highly effective and I rotate them week to week and month to month. Each person will likely respond differently to each exercise. It will be through the sampling each of these motions that you choose which works best for your physique. Then over time, you should repeat the more effective motions and discard the lesser. This is how you will form your own ultimate shoulder routine one day, consistently make gains and pack on the mass.

Sample Shoulder routine:
Numbers set and reps please also does this reference match up with your description of exercises?

Standing bent lateral raises
Seated Arnold press
Lying Side lateral raises
Dre rows
Barbell front raises

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