SHOULDER SHOCKERS BY DENNIS JAMES 2001 EUROPEAN PRO CHAMPION You’ve got delt problems — I’ve got solutions To have a balanced physique, you must have balanced shoulders. In terms of structure and symmetry, the shoulders are the most crucial bodypart because they’re visible from every angle and because they’re the visual reference points for establishing your V taper. Even if you’re not a competitive bodybuilder, your shoulders are still a crucial body part. When you’re wearing street clothes, your shoulders define your physique because they establish your width. Without great shoulder development, much of the hard work you put into the rest of your body will go unnoticed. If you have any weaknesses or structural imbalances in your shoulders, follow my suggestions for improving shoulder development and appearance. Read on for my solutions to particular problems such as lagging delt heads or overall shoulder weaknesses. Experiment with my shock techniques, and try my training prescriptions to overcome those sticking points and build impressive cannonball delts. SHOCKS TO THE SYSTEM Pick and choose from among the following eight pointers to help build better shoulders. Further into this article, I’ll tell you which tips may be best implemented for particular shoulder problems. Don’t try to put all of these strategies into play at once. Try compatible strategies for a few weeks before giving others a try. Varying these shoulder shockers will keep your muscles guessing and growing. Shock 1 Train shoulders after two days of rest. Train a lagging bodypart or a problem area after two days of rest. Full rest will allow you to train with greater intensity and get better results. Shock 2 Train shoulders first in your workout. Regardless of what other muscle groups you are working on that day, train your shoulders first while you’re trying to make improvements in them. Shock 3 Train shoulders twice a week, but at reduced volume. Bodybuilders often train a bodypart once a week, which is an ideal strategy for overall growth. To bring up a bodypart, though, train it twice a week. Reduce training volume slightly for each session to avoid overtraining. Shock 4 Concentrate on the area of weakness. When you perform a rep, think about the specific part of your body that you’re trying to stimulate. If your rear delts are weak, focus on how they’re working during exercises such as dumbbell presses that target the whole shoulder complex. Shock 5 Develop a mind-muscle connection. Weight stimulates growth, but it has to be used effectively to develop a targeted body part. By cultivating a mind-muscle connection, you’ll overcome problem areas more effectively. Here’s the key: Never think about the weight. Always focus on the stretch and contraction of the targeted muscle. That’s the essence of the mind-muscle connection. Shock 6 Use heavy weights and fewer reps. Heavy weights stimulate better growth than high reps and lighter weights. Once you develop the mind-muscle connection, the best strategy is to use six to eight reps for mass-building exercises. Shock 7 Take shorter rest periods during training sessions. Bodybuilders often make the mistake of resting too long between sets. Try reducing rest periods to about a minute between sets. You won’t be able to use as much weight or perform as many reps, but the overall stimulation of your targeted muscles can be enhanced. Shock 8 Focus on proper nutrition prior to shoulder workouts. Eat a large breakfast, take supplements, drink plenty of water, and consume a carb and protein shake before you train. If you have plenty of calories in your system early in the day, you’ll have much more energy when you train. As a bonus, these nutrients will also help you repair and build muscle mass after your workout. Proper pre-workout nutrition is an often overlooked aspect of effective training. PROBLEM 1 LAGGING DELTS SOLUTION Use a targeted approach to building all delt heads. Apply all the “Shocks to the System” techniques, discussed above, that are compatible. For example, use Shocks 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 for four weeks and make note of any difference in your delts. Replace Shock 7 with Shock 6 for another four weeks. Continue to mix and match as you learn what works best for you. PROBLEM 2 UNDERDEVELOPED FRONT DELTS SOLUTION Focus on the front delts during shoulder work. Use Shocks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 for six weeks, then use Shock 6 in place of Shock 3 for another six weeks. PROBLEM 3 LACK OF SHOULDER WIDTH SOLUTION Emphasise middle delt-head training to widen your physique. Bodybuilding is a sport of illusion, and your goal is to create the illusion of more shoulder girth. Use Shocks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 for four to six weeks, then add Shock 7, keeping the weights as heavy as short rest periods allow. PROBLEM 4 ROUNDED SHOULDERS SOLUTION Learn to use your delts more effectively, while removing traps from the movement. At first, reduce the amount of weight you use so that you get the feel of this more isolated style of training. Use Shocks 1, 2, 5 and 8. Think about the sensation in your delts during each rep, and don’t allow your traps to do the work. It will take concentration to accomplish this. As you develop the mind- muscle connection, add Shock 6, gradually increasing weight and decreasing reps. PROBLEM 5 UNDERDEVELOPED REAR DELTS SOLUTION Concentrate on rear delts during shoulder and back training. It can be tricky to build rear delts. They’re used in both shoulder and back training, but they aren’t visible from your vantage point, so you have to master the mind-muscle connection to build them effectively. Use Shocks 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8 for four weeks. Then add Shock 3, training shoulders twice a week and reducing training volume for each shoulder workout. This is an effective strategy because rear delts are small muscles and they recover quickly. For the second shoulder session of the week, train back first and alter the prescription by eliminating machine presses, lateral raises and the final two sets of bent raises. SHOULDERING ON Use these prescriptive measures to correct lagging areas. Train smart, hard and consistently, and be sure to pay proper attention to bodybuilding nutrition. You’ll soon have to turn sideways to walk through your front door. FLEX