Building Muscles

Body Building Muscles| How to build Muscles Fast| Shoulders

How to train and build deltoids when you have a shoulder injury

I injured my shoulder 41 years ago playing top level rugby. I have since had an operation which fixed it for many years but unfortunately it is painful again. That is a combination of arthritis and joint damage. I always train shoulders with a great deal of care. If any movement that I do hurts the shoulder, then I will avoid that movement.

It is really important to do shoulder presses as they are a compound exercise and by far the best for you. I have found, as long as I sit upright and take it easy with the shoulder press, I get a really good workout with no pain or at least limited pain. I use a straight bar. However, if I found that it hurt, I would automatically change to dumbbells. The good things about dumbbells are they can be adjusted at will to suit what you are doing.  This definitely helps to minimise the pain if you have a problem with any joint. I also occasionally go to the Dr and get a cortisone injection into the joint which definitely helps for quite a few months. I have not had one now for over a year and am due to go and have one.

Body Building Muscles| How to build Muscles Fast| Shoulders| Deltoids

How to train and build Deltoids

I have stuck to the normal basic shoulder press. I have, however, also done some bent over side-raises for the rear deltoids. I think it's really important to work this very neglected muscle. Doing normal side-raises and shoulder presses will look very good from the front but unless the rear deltoids are trained you will have a round shouldered look from a side view. It took quite an effort to train today and I didn't have quite the strength I thought I would have. That could be because of not eating enough yesterday. The way we feel very much depends on the food we eat over.

 
 
5 x 10 reps shoulder presses.
5 x 12 reps bent over side raises.

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to train and build a Massive Shoulders| Huge Deltoids

 
I have learned to love training shoulders. I can remember a time when I would make every excuse under the sun not to train shoulders. I really don't know why. I often think we don't like to train certain muscles when we feel weak in them. Now I take my time working on my shoulders and am quite pleased with the progress.

I know there are those that will not agree with doing military presses behind the head, but I love them. The surprising thing is, I have a shoulder injury from many years ago (playing rugby) and behind the head hardly hurts the shoulder joint at all. I start with a few reps in front of the head down to about chin level and then go behind the head. I only come down to ear level.

Like any exercise if you are not happy or comfortable doing them then you should never do them. For the actual work out on how to train and build massive shoulders go to www.buildingmuscles.co/

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to Train and Build Massive Muscles

How Should I Train Shoulders| Middle Deltoids| Dumbbell Side Raises Pt 2

This exercise is similar to the other side-raise exercise. Feet in a similar position (apart amost shoulder width) Make sure you are in a very comfortable position. The weights are raised up in an arch movement and end up slightly higher than the shoulders but in front of them. Keep the elbows high in the movement and you will find that it will help to train the traps.

Start Position

Mid position

You will see the elbows are bent and the full stress must be on the front and middle deltoids.

Top Position

The weights are in front with the elbows in a high position.

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to Train and Build Massive Muscles

How Should I Train Shoulders| Front Deltoids| Dumbbell Front Raises

This is a wonderful way for you to build up your front deltoids. It focuses only on the front deltoid. I have found that I stand with my feet slightly apart. You need to be in a very comfortable position as you are going to put yourself out of balance when you lift the weight in front of your body. A good stance is really important. Have the dumbbells by your side, and raising one arm at a time, lift the weight to around the shoulder level. Keep the arm straight. I have also found that, if I do not lock the wrist but allow the weight to hang down a bit, I get a better workout. When you get to the top, hold it for a second and then lower the weight fairly slowly. Then repeat with the other arm. This is an awesome workout and you will see fairly quick results.

Start Photo

You can see the position you need the have the weights when you start. Hands in front of you and not side on. Lift the weight up with one arm all the way to the top position

Midway Photo

From this photo you can see that the wrist is not locked but allows the weight to hang down. This puts a bit more pressure on the front deltoid.

Top Photo

You can see the height you need to go to. It is around the shoulder level. Keep your arm straight throughout the movement. Pause with the weight at the top so the deltoid has to really work.

Keep your back and your arms straight throughout the movement.

I normally do around 5/6 sets of these with my normal combination way of training -increasing weight and reducing reps.

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to Train and Build Massive Muscles.

How Should I Train Shoulders| Rear Deltoids| Dumbbell bent over Lateral Raises

One of the biggest mistakes people make when training shoulders is to neglect the rear deltoids. We are all guilty of this from time to time. It is quite easy to do the front and middle deltoids but not so with the rear deltoids. If you do not build these, you will end up with shoulders that will look out of balance. You will look rather round-shouldered. The goal is to have that square shoulder look. The last thing you want (when you are viewed from the side) is a flat area on the rear of the shoulder instead of a nice round full look.

You will need to sit on a stool - which is the best way to do this exercise. Lean forward and keep your body level with the floor. You then do the raises as you would in the other lateral side-raises exercise. You want to keep your arms quite straight. When you get to the top make sure you hold the top position for a count of 2 and then lower the weight. Be in control of the weight at all times. There is a strong tendency to swing the weights up. Do not do this. Rather go lighter and make sure each rep is controlled and deliberate. You will see this from the pictures.

Start position

You will see I hold the weight behind my legs and raise them from there.

Mid position

Note the arms that are only slightly bent.

Top position

Hold the weight for the count of 2 at the top. This puts a lot of stress on the muscle and will cause it to respond to this kind of resistance. Do not try to raise the weight too high as you do not want to distress the shoulder joint. Make sure you are comfortable with the movements of this exercise. Remember do not try to go too heavy or you will swing the weight and cheat. That does not mean you should not try to increase the amount you use as often as you can provided you keep strict form.

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to Train and Build Massive Muscles

How Should I Train Shoulders| Deltoids| Dumbbell seated Shoulder Presses

I use seated shoulder presses because they give the best overall work out for the shoulders. There are a lot of exercises that you can do to isolate each of the 3 main muscles in the shoulder, and we will cover them in time. Seated dumbbell shoulder presses are a great way to get 2 of the deltoid muscles (front and side deltoids) to work really well. I must point out they only slightly work the rear deltoid - you really need to put in proper training for them.

Sit comfortably on your bench with both feet on the floor. Raise the weights to your ears. Keep your elbows facing outward as you will see in the photo.  Then push/press the weight up to the top. Your elbows should be almost straight. There should be no strain on the shoulder joint - that is really important. Make sure it is comfortable. That does not mean it must be easy. If you want to gain muscle you will have to load on the weight. Do the reps in a controlled and deliberate way. Pause both at the top and the bottom. Focus only on the shoulders to do the lift. The more you bring your mind into your lifting, the more you will build. Make sure you have total control of the weights at all time when they are above your head.

At the start, you can see the weights are around the ear level and directly above the shoulders.

As you push the weight up make sure you keep your back straight. Try not to arch your back. You want the deltoids to do all the lifting.

Here you can see the position of the arms - the weights must be directly over the shoulders. Lower them fairly slowly. Do not let the weight come down without proper full control.

 Bad Position Above
In this photo the back is arched and the weights are not directly over the shoulder. This puts a lot of extra strain on the shoulder joints and can lead to problems.

I normally do around 5/6 sets of these with my normal combination way of training. Increasing weight and reducing reps.

Bodybuilding Muscles. How to train and build Massive Shoulders| deltoids| Shoulder presses with dumbbells (3)

Top position

You must be straight up from the starting position and neither forward or backward. At the top, hold for a split second and then return the weight to the starting position.  When you come down make sure you are in total control of the weight. If you allow gravity to return the weight you are only half training and not getting the full benefit of the training. By being in control when you are on the return of the weight, you will be putting a lot of extra stress on the deltoids and you will build better. The return, which is the negative of the exercise, is just as important as the positive when you are pushing the weight up to the top position. Train deliberate and controlled and you will get better results for the effort you are putting in.

Bodybuilding Muscles. How to train and build Massive Shoulders| deltoids| Shoulder presses with dumbbells

Midpoint Bad Position

In this photo you can see that the shoulders are brought up to get the traps to help with the training and you will see the there is not too much control of the weight as it is not going straight up and down. Never lose control of the weight and allow it to go to forward or to lean toward the rear. This is when you can do damage to your shoulder joint. Lifting weights must be in a very relaxed state but with great focus of the mind.

Bodybuilding Muscles. How to train and build Massive Shoulders| deltoids| Shoulder presses with dumbbells (2)

Midpoint

You must have absolute concentration at this point. Make sure you can feel the deltoid doing the total lift. It is easy to bring the traps in to help with the lift and then you will train heavier but not really getting the best result. The minute you raise the shoulders slightly the traps will then help with the lift and you are not getting the true benefit of the shoulder press. Keep your shoulders down and as relaxed as possible and let the deltoids do all the work. This will give you maximum intensity and you will have a great training.