4 Tips For Bigger and Healthier Shoulders

2. Don’t forget the rotator cuff

The rotator cuff is a muscle group that lies under the delts and consists of four relatively small muscles. These muscles are responsible for providing stability to the whole shoulder complex while supporting all upper body movements, which makes their training crucial for optimal shoulder health and strength – it’s best to train them once a week by performing stretches, pendulum movements and inwards and outwards rotations.

3. Train the rear delts

Since the rear delts can often get neglected in standard workout routines, make sure you train it at the beginning of your shoulder workout. Developing these small muscles will help you achieve better symmetry and improved stability, prevent your shoulders from gowing too forward and give your upper body that sought-after three dimensional look, while weak rear delts can significantly limit your overall progress.

That being said, the best exercises for strong rear delts include the high-cable reverse flyes, uncrossovers, j-pulls, one-arm dumbell side rows and bent-over wide-grip barbell row to neck.

4. Increase the intensity of your workout

Introduce the following exercises to your regular shoulder routine:

– Seated overhead press

One of the most simple ways to increase the effectiveness of your workout is by doing overhead presses in a seated position. The extra stress placed on the delts is guaranteed to make them scream. But don’t overdo it – shoulder injury can easily bring your bodybuilding efforts right back where they started.

– The clean and press

This is a classic exercise that uses heavy weight, high reps and a wide range of motion to ignite immense muscle growth and build explosive upper body strength. Using two dumbbells translates to synchronized unilateral work, which is good news for both sides of your body.

– Superman presses

The superman press is an extremely effective way to develop well-rounded, cannonball shoulders.  To perform it, set an incline bench at 30 or 45 degrees and lay on it with your chest. Pick a relatively light pair of dumbbells and push outward, alternating sides.


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