Need help with shoulders!

**Renesis** · 04-25-2011, 08:36 AM

Ok so I have been training on and off since I was a senior in high school. I've been back at the gym since october of last year. My arms get thick, legs, back, chest, and traps, but my shoulders stay flatter than a 11 year old girls chest. Sure I can get them strong as hell but I cannot get that bowling ball look to them... maybe it is just genetics, but has anyone on here had trouble with shoulders then found something that works? I hate looking thick in my chest and back in my shirts, but then my shoulders are flat so I look kinda awkward lol.

**Cyclehard** · 04-25-2011, 09:04 AM

What workouts are you doing?

**kalspic** · 04-25-2011, 10:53 AM

drop the weight and focus on the reps. get that mind muscle connection. i see way to many people slinging too heavy weights around when doing lateral raises. its hard not to laugh or say anything. i just pick up my 15-20lb dumbels and do my reps in perfect form. the only thing about shoulders is i never really get a good pump going.

**Renesis** · 04-25-2011, 11:21 AM

Im 5'5 160lbs theres no way I can sling anything heavier than 20lb laterals lol. I keep my shoulder workouts light except on presses. I do presses dumbbell and bar, high curls, shrugs very strict with a 2 second hold up top, and raises with strict form. I don't swing weights, throw weights, if I start to cheat I put the weight down and go lighter. Also on shrugs I don't go and grab the 80s and slam them into my ears and go down. The heaviest is 60lb dumbbells and do slow strict reps.

**morty** · 04-25-2011, 11:47 PM

good video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7z7dVxOH8w

**Renesis** · 04-26-2011, 12:51 AM

Nice vid I like it.

**rockinred** · 04-26-2011, 06:05 AM

stick to compound movements. military presses, upright rows, shrugs, etc... They will grow.

**Cyclehard** · 04-26-2011, 08:25 AM

Yeah, raises are for cutting so to speak.

**gbrice75** · 04-26-2011, 07:38 PM

I have the same problem bro, my shoulders are pathetic. I'm not even that thick in the chest or back, but it STILL looks awkward. So, I feel you.

Do your shoulders ever get sore? Mine hardly EVER do. I'm talking maybe 1 in every 20 workouts. I don't know what it is. Overtrained? Undertrained? They're a small muscle group and shouldn't require all that much to grow, but I never feel like i'm doing enough for them.

I think they can be trained 2x a week though - they should recover relatively quickly.

As for laterals, I learned this from Fireguy - use 10lbs, and go slow and controlled - arms straight out to your sides (no bend in the elbow) - do a few sets to failure and see if your delts aren't KILLING.

Still hasn't resulted in hypertrophy for me lol, but maybe it'll work for you. Fire is a competitive bodybuilder and says he never goes heavier than 10lbs.

**tbody66** · 04-26-2011, 08:09 PM

Your grip may be too narrow on bench press, also on military press. Hit shoulders twice a week, heavy compound movements on the first shoulder day and trash them with the high rep stuff on the second. When you perform raises start with front raises with 15 lb dumbbells, rep out to failure then grap the 10 lbs dumbbells and do laterals to failure, always pause at the top for a full second then lower the weight completely controlled all the way to the bottom as soon as the weight is at the bottom of the range of motion lift them back up quick, pause, lower controlled, keep your knees bent so you don't throw the weight up, go to failure here then grab the 5 lbs dumbbells and do rear raises to failure, grab the 15's do fronts to failure, etc... after you have gone through this 3 times then grab the 10's and do the front raises only this time your starting point is the ending point from your last front raises (straight out in front of you) then raise your arms straight above your head, this is your new ending point, lower the weight totally controlled straight out from your shoulder, repeat to failure, grab the 5's do lateral raises the same way, your new starting point is like an iron cross, raise the weights to straight above your head, arms locked, return the weight controlled to the iron cross position, again controlled to the bottom portion of the range of motion then up quick, pause at the top for one second, do this to failure, grab the 2.5 lb little round weights and do rear raises the same, starting position is straight out, you will not have much of a range of motion here, try to bring your arms back to touch each other, you should feel your shoulder blades touching with about a total of 6- 12 inches range of motion, pause for one full second at the top, lower controlled to your beginning position of an airplane, repeat this for three full sets. Let me know how that feels.

**TOkidd** · 05-02-2011, 07:17 AM

My fave shoulder exercise is the heavy upright row - works just about every part of the delt. Other than that, these guys are right about presses being the core of any shoulder routine - go for medium-low rep sets.
One exercise not mentioned is the power clean. This is a great mass builder for delts and you get a HUGE pump.
The poster that mentioned using progressively lower weights in a single set is absolutely right - once you fail at, say, 20 pounds, immediately pick up the 15 pounders and go to failure, then the tens, and so on until you just can't take it anymore. I incorporate this "running the rack" technique with lots of exercises.

**Renesis** · 05-03-2011, 01:42 AM

I'm gonna try out some of the advice given this week and see how it works. Thanks

**Renesis** · 05-12-2011, 11:44 PM

So I followed the video and did some drop sets. Focusing on shoulders and flexing them before hand REALLY helps. My shoulders have always in the past gotten stronger, but never sore. Well for the first time this week my shoulders were SORE... thanks again!