How to build shoulder mass and width with a targeted training program?

When you ask bodybuilders which muscle group they enjoy working the most, the pectorals or biceps come up quite frequently. Conversely, the thighs or shoulders are rarely mentioned by athletes. However, training the deltoids is one of the most enjoyable muscle groups to work once you start seriously developing this essential part of your physique. Well-developed deltoids make a big difference to a physique by giving it impressive width.

There muscle mass but also the volume of the shoulders makes all the difference on a well-muscled physique. However, the development of the three bundles of the deltoids is not necessarily obvious for all bodybuilding practitioners. Indeed, shoulder training is based on a paradox that few trainers and coaches know how to take into account. The shoulders are a strong muscle group when the three deltoid bundles are involved together but each of these bundles (front, middle and rear) are weak when isolated. This will therefore lead us to offer you a training program consistent for this somewhat unusual muscle group, which is too often neglected. As with the last article on the bench press, we will give you some useful tips on this type of training.

Polyarticular or isolation exercises have almost the same importance in shoulder training

Naturally, there are relatively few multi-joint shoulder exercises given the vertical working angle required for these exercises. However, we have a large number of movements to perform in order to strengthen these essential muscles. In this context, the military press (shoulder push-up in English or Military Press ) is obviously the most widely practiced exercise for training the three shoulder bundles. It is also in this position, sitting on a bench, that your shoulders are the strongest and that you can work them with significant loads. Naturally, the weights must be adapted to your strength , at the risk of serious injury. This exercise is performed with a bar behind the neck or in front of the face.

If you work with the bar in front of you, you will engage the front deltoid and upper pectoral muscles a little more, reducing the stress on the anterior deltoids and trapezius muscles. In this position, take care to ensure maximum core stability, without leaning to the sides. More commonly, practitioners opt to work with the bar behind them, going down to the level of the neck. However, this type of position is relatively dangerous for tendons and ligaments surrounding the rotator cuff. This type of stress, repeated over several years, could lead to particularly damaging shoulder injuries. Fortunately, this same exercise can be performed with dumbbells (known as a dumbbell press) by performing an arc-shaped movement with maximum contraction of the deltoids at the top of the movement. By performing this exercise with dumbbells, the danger of a bar position behind the neck is eliminated.

Dumbbell shoulder exercises will help you gain muscle mass and strength.

Obviously, dumbbell work allows for a fuller range of motion than using a barbell. Using dumbbells also frees your shoulders from severe stress on the tendons and muscles. joints . Indeed, pulling your shoulders back in this position is not natural. Obviously, this questionable position (just like pulling the bar towards the neck for the back row) could cause you serious injuries over time. However, some well-designed machines also allow you to achieve a complete shoulder elevation movement with great efficiency. Let's just say that this exercise should be present in all good shoulder training programs. You can also alternate between the bar and dumbbells, but doing both would perhaps be redundant and too demanding in terms of energy. It is better to only do one exercise of this type and save energy for the isolation exercises .

Deltoid isolation exercises are just as essential as an exercise like the military press or the dumbbell press.

Isolating each muscle bundle in the shoulders allows you to increase the stress placed on these muscle parts, giving them mass and then volume over time. This type of exercise allows bodybuilders to achieve massive and broad shoulders by improving the development of each bundle of the deltoids. Shoulder isolation exercises will certainly give more results on the balance and aesthetics of the body than creating a real difference in terms of physical strength. As we have said, the isolated bundles of the deltoids are not really strong but it is the total mass of the shoulders that releases strength. However, it is by gaining muscle on these three bundles that you will obtain dense and round shoulders like bowling balls. It is therefore also for this reason that polyarticular exercises must be performed in priority over isolation exercises in order to gain mass and strength at shoulder level.

Lateral raises, the most classic shoulder isolation exercise

Most shoulder workouts include lateral raises, a classic. If you perform this exercise correctly—by actually raising your medial deltoids while raising your arms horizontally—you'll end up gaining shoulder width. This is the desired effect. However, the anterior deltoids are far too often neglected. This is a shame because what is considered a detail will be seen as a shortcoming if you go so far as to bodybuilding competition . In addition, these muscle bundles are also involved in forward pushing movements (pressing exercises) and also contribute to the development of upper body strength in this sense. Pulling exercises with a high pulley rope or back raises on a bench will allow you, with experience, to avoid this deficiency.

On the other hand, the posterior deltoids can also be optimally trained for upper body aesthetics, much like the necessary development of the upper pectoralis major. Since the deltoid The anterior deltoid also participates in shoulder pushing movements with the pectorals. There is therefore no valid reason not to train them. Some bodybuilders, however, will tell you that their front deltoids are too developed, blaming them for excessive bench pressing. However, this is often a question of personal morphology. If this is indeed your case, start by modifying your pectoral training and you will return to balance. This type of “defect”, more often imagined than real, is however not generalized among the majority of bodybuilders.

To conclude on deltoid training in bodybuilding…

In conclusion, let's say that shoulder training requires you to take into account both the mass of the shoulders and each of the three bundles, depending on the progressive development of each of them. Remember that the deltoids are sometimes resistant muscles in some athletes. A high volume of exercises will help you gain muscle mass at the shoulder level in general. You will therefore need to remain consistent and persevering during these workouts.

To strengthen your shoulders quickly, also consider doing 3 or 4 sets of front deltoid work after a chest workout. The same goes for the back, where you can add a few sets of rear deltoid exercises. This very simple training method will make you gain muscle in your shoulders without you even thinking about it... Whether you are a beginner or experienced in bodybuilding, neglecting deltoid work is a mistake not to make. If you are looking to improve the aesthetics as much as the strength of your shoulders, do not neglect lateral raise exercises or work the anterior and posterior deltoids...