How to get WIDE SHOULDERS? First Post

**SiQ604** · 06-01-2002, 09:45 AM

Hi, I'm a newbie at all this so thanks for putting up w/this...

I'm 5'6" at ~136lBs... my body type doesn't allow me to be very tone... but i'm getting stronger... I'm benching 60lB bells now -hopefully that'll give you insight on my strength... I alternate cardio and weights and play rollerhockey so i'm pretty active... Hopefully that's enuff background info:

Since I'm not very large, I would like to get WIDER SHOULDERS... Not mass but width... I don't want huge muscles and a big neck, I just want a defined V

Also, how do I gain some mass and lots of tone... My body just won't let me...

PS: I did a search but didn't find the results I was looking for, so thx in advance...

**Neo** · 06-01-2002, 02:40 PM

You're shoulders won't get any wider unless you put on some mass. I'm a little confused. You want to get bigger but don't want to put on mass?

Cut down on your cardio, start taking some creatine, protein, and glutamine, eat like a horse, and lift hard!

**vinh** · 06-01-2002, 05:54 PM

hm.. i thought u cant get wide shoulders, its your frame that you have to deal with, u can put muscle on the shoulders and might make it look wider... but i could be wrong.

**SiQ604** · 06-01-2002, 05:56 PM

Ahh, after rereading my post, it seems very unclear. I want to put on mass, and muscles, but don't want to look like superhuge... Any mass/muscle I put on, I want to look very tone.

Maybe it is all in my head, but my shoulders do seem wider, but maybe its just the mass I've put on. In FOUR weeks, I went from 136 to a high of 139 but have gone up and down since... BTW, I am using protein... I eat like a mofo... and I have SUPER HIGH METABOLISM!!! I will NOT gain weight for some strange reason...

To phrase it better: Which exercises will get my shoulders wider. Remember, no big neck

**palme** · 06-01-2002, 06:31 PM

Side laterals for width

**Neo** · 06-01-2002, 09:42 PM

Shoulder press and shrugs, as well....

**jonesmeister** · 06-02-2002, 01:50 AM

u really want to develope the whole shoulder area with side laterals, rear laterals, military press, upright rows and shrugs. these will work all the muscle groups and then u can judge how your gains are going

imo

**eagle66** · 06-02-2002, 01:50 PM

upright row along with the other excercises people wrote

**Gardo** · 06-02-2002, 02:44 PM

The deltoid muscle is composed of 3 major muscles. The anterior (front) deltoid, the medial (side) deltoid and the posterior (rear) deltoid. A real bodybuilder should train all 3 deltoid heads to get full muscle development, but too create a "wider" look focus on side lateral raises.

**Mr. Trenton** · 06-02-2002, 08:30 PM

Hey Neo, just some insight, shrugs won't make your shoulders wider, you have to do side laterals, dumbells press or barbell presses and like Jonesmaster said the whole entire shoulder muscle group which would include shrugs, but I was just correcting you on saying that shrugs will give you wider shoulders. No flame towards you.

**Neo** · 06-02-2002, 11:06 PM

Originally posted by Mr. Trenton
Hey Neo, just some insight, shrugs won't make your shoulders wider, you have to do side laterals, dumbells press or barbell presses and like Jonesmaster said the whole entire shoulder muscle group which would include shrugs, but I was just correcting you on saying that shrugs will give you wider shoulders. No flame towards you.

Actually I never said that shrugs would make his shoulders wider. SiQ604 said that he wanted to gain muscle mass in his shoulders....so I suggested shrugs. Thanks for your insight though....

**skiboy** · 06-03-2002, 05:05 PM

do rows and lat/ raises, then push out chest and practice on making it look bigger, by pulling back the shoulders and teking a big breath after workouts. try push ups after chest days also.
peace

**SiQ604** · 06-03-2002, 07:31 PM

WOW, never knew this place could be that helpful.. I recently hurt my hand, so I'm out for at least another week... I'll try ALL the suggs soon and will have a LOAD of questions.. so get ready!

PS: thx again for the help!

**Neo** · 06-03-2002, 08:58 PM

Originally posted by SiQ604
WOW, never knew this place could be that helpful.. I recently hurt my hand, so I'm out for at least another week... I'll try ALL the suggs soon and will have a LOAD of questions.. so get ready!

PS: thx again for the help!

We're all here to help bro! Good luck on your training and heal up soon!

**THORSZ** · 06-09-2002, 10:34 AM

military press & upright rows are key

**Penetrator** · 07-25-2002, 06:35 PM

Upright rows? I thought those worked the traps and upper middle back.

Now that I think about it, my only injury came from those. In the end of a set i heard a loud "tearing" noise. That shoulder hurt for about a year.

Anyone know how to reduce the risk of injury with this exercise?

Maybe use db instead? Yup, will try that next time.

**David B.** · 07-25-2002, 06:53 PM

To get truly wide shoulders, you must first choose your parents wisely.

--dnb

**Padawan** · 07-25-2002, 10:21 PM

Maybe try doing your upright rows on a low cable machine if you have bad shoulders. I have a bum shoulder, and if it really bothers me, I switch to dumbells for all pressing movements, and cable rows.

**Psycoswole** · 07-25-2002, 10:28 PM

Heavy dumbell presses first on my shoulder day seems to work well for me.

**Rowdy** · 07-25-2002, 10:38 PM

bro anyone can get ripped reguardless of their genetics, some just need to work harder at it than others. clean up ur diet, drop the coke and fries, keep up the training and ull get there

**adaptations** · 07-26-2002, 07:27 AM

Ya know for 1 yr....i didnt do ANY shoulder..it hurt to much...and i got wide as fuck...and my shoulders are huge...one of my strong points...i beleive its from doing incline DB

**reli** · 07-26-2002, 11:44 AM

i will tell you what first you are confused(i want big shoulders with no mass)second,even if you really want to u wont get super huge when u weight only 135lbs most ppl that go to the gym curl your weight
anyway i dont want to discourage you but u have to set some straight goals,go heavy eat well rest well repeat for years and your shoulders will grow even though you may doomed genetically

**Lostsoul** · 07-27-2002, 04:33 AM

Well i can recommend something that worked for me, when i was young i had the same problem, and i took up swimming, that really widens your shoulders, i did it for about 1 year going 5 mornings a week b4 school, it helped a lot, it's the main reason i have good shoulders now.

**Little Jonah** · 07-29-2002, 02:19 AM

Originally posted by Neo
: Cut down on your cardio, start taking some creatine, protein, and glutamine, eat like a horse, and lift hard!

yup works great

**SiQ604** · 08-14-2002, 09:05 PM

Originally posted by reli
i will tell you what first you are confused(i want big shoulders with no mass)second,even if you really want to u wont get super huge when u weight only 135lbs most ppl that go to the gym curl your weight
anyway i dont want to discourage you but u have to set some straight goals,go heavy eat well rest well repeat for years and your shoulders will grow even though you may doomed genetically

Yeah, I'm pretty confused but am working at it... I injured my hand so I was out for the past 2months but tried to bulk (by eating a lot more) but it hasn't worked (i'm only 138lbs now - I burn off food FASTTTTT)

I'm gonna try all the suggestions start swimming like lost souls has said... I'm in it for the long run so when I hit 150lbs, i'll report back... bulking up is the first step rite?

**Farmer** · 08-14-2002, 09:44 PM

Hey SiQ, when you say Vancity where ya at??

peace

**SiQ604** · 08-22-2002, 03:38 PM

In South Vancouver... You from 604 too?

**BigGreen** · 08-22-2002, 06:59 PM

First off, this is not meant as any disrespect towards you (OP) but it kills me when people talk about not wanting to "get too big" as if it'll happen by accident if they aren't careful while looking for that abercrombie look. Most of us bust our asses, read up on the literature diligently, experiment (chemically and/or physically) on ourselves, and generally sacrifice a normal lifestyle in the hopes of MAYBE, just maybe, getting huge. But, for most it's just not going to happen. That being said, train as if you want to get huge and, believe me, if you start to get "too big" you can always scale back...it's real easy to start losing muscle

. I've always found my shoulders explode (width-wise) when I start going heavy on other movements...not sure if there's evidence to support it, but heavy deadlifting (and anything else of the like) just seems to wake my shoulders up, as if to tell them they better grow just to keep up.

But, for shoulder specific training, the advice above from everyone is excellent...keep in mind (my opinion alone here), upright rows have the best impact on your side delts if the grip is slightly wide (the scarecrow grip). ALso, arnold presses incorporate the side delts as much, if not more, than any other shoulder press and are an interesting and new way to hit the suckers and make them grow.

**RoNNy THe BuLL** · 08-28-2002, 10:55 PM

Wide shoulders? Small waist, big lats and follow the previously posted delt exercises. Just adds an illusion, just like big quads give the illusion of a small waist. If you're dealt shitty genetics, make people think you're the Peoples Champ. Woo.

**str82hellnback** · 08-30-2002, 08:56 AM

If you incorporate shrugs into the routine then it could give the illusion of wider shoulders. Big traps always help out. Start your shoulder workout witha heavy press, I prefer dumbells. Then go to side laterals and then front shoulder raises. And about the getting too big part? That wont happen over night,it wont happen over a four year period.so after three or four months if you start seeing that you are getting too swole for your 130 lb frame,then just up your reps,decrease the weight,and add some definition,but to get definition you have to hav muscle first.