Shoulders & through the middle

[redsquirrel]

Alright...so as you all know, I've committed to doing 2 figure shows in October...Diet starts July 9th, so that really sucks balls.

Anyway- I really need some suggestions on building the medial deltoid..(I think that's what it's called). My front & rear delts are pretty well defined, but my medial looks flat. I need to get that rounded shoulder look.

I also need to get a little thinner through the middle....obviously fat loss will accomplish some of this, but I need to thin my waist & hips out a little.

So here's my plan of attack:

For shoulders, I have started doing them twice a week. But, does anyone have any suggestions for exercises that will really concentrate that particular muscle?

For getting thinner through the middle, I'm going to have to stop squatting the house...or at least not go deep. Anyway, I think I will just stop altogether over the next 4 months to get a more streamlined look. I think I'll stick with step ups w/ DB's, lunges and leg press???

I don't have a super tiny waist, so does any one have any other suggestions?

[Scrumhalf]

Delts have always been my best body part - never have had any trouble making them pop out (relatively speaking, that is).

I have had the best results with seated DB presses followed by standing lateral raises. In both cases, dropping down a DB size and concentrating on form allowed me to get a fabulous burn. I would then add front DB raises on one shoulders workout day and bent over lateral DB raises on the next shoulders day to hit the front and rear delts respectively.

That's what worked for me - I've never competed, so don't know if I should even be offering my opinion here.. :) ... So, basically YMMV.

[Stonecold54]

partial reps...most of the "lateral" movement with a db is wasted movment because it is horizontal instead of vertical (thats for you BOUNCER, lol). so if you want a good exercise...do the top 1/3 of the movement to failure...then rest 20-30 secs and do the middle third to failure. don't bother with the last third...then what I like to do is to do holds at the top...for as long as I can...usually 45 sec-1:00 min hold...burns the shit out of them...and I have always have had shitty shoulders till I started incorporating it. so no offense scrum but if delts have always been your best bodypart then I would say genetics helped you so you could probably look at a protein jug and grow them...you bastard :). I also would not work them twice a week but that is me. every upper body movement hits them...once a week is fine if you hit it with enough intensity variables.

[Mr I]

I'd say barbell press behind the neck, it hits the medial for me every time beautifully and gives it a real arc. Personally I do full reps, right down and right up but you need to be very careful with form on this one if your not used to it and not go too heavy. 12-15 rep range on this would give you a great pump and pop that little cannon ball shape right through.

Best done on a press station with free weight IMO

[Stonecold54]

I'd say barbell press behind the neck, it hits the medial for me every time beautifully and gives it a real arc. Personally I do full reps, right down and right up but you need to be very careful with form on this one if your not used to it and not go too heavy. 12-15 rep range on this would give you a great pump and pop that little cannon ball shape right through.

Best done on a press station with free weight IMO

ahhhhh....nothing behind the neck...bad for your neck, pinching nerves, straining muscles....its the same thing in front bud...don't do behind the neck.

[Scrumhalf]

partial reps...most of the "lateral" movement with a db is wasted movment because it is horizontal instead of vertical (thats for you BOUNCER, lol). so if you want a good exercise...do the top 1/3 of the movement to failure...then rest 20-30 secs and do the middle third to failure. don't bother with the last third...then what I like to do is to do holds at the top...for as long as I can...usually 45 sec-1:00 min hold...burns the shit out of them..

Yeah... I've got to try the partial reps. I kinda do that anyway in my lateral raises in a sense - I don't bring them all the way to the front of my waist. I don't bring them any closer than about 6-8 inches outside my thigh and then all the way to the top.

[Bouncer]

my shoulders are also my best bodypart. few guys in the gym here call me "shoulders" lol. i start out with barbell presses, always in front never behind the head. then i move on to hammer strength shoulder presses. after that i do side raises. ( i dont agree with stonecold on this one though. i feel that by going all the way down you can build a little more momentum on the way back up and use heavier weight while keeping it controlled.) last thing i do is bent over raises to hit the rear delt.

[Mr I]

ahhhhh....nothing behind the neck...bad for your neck, pinching nerves, straining muscles....its the same thing in front bud...don't do behind the neck.

I know what your saying bro but I've done them since like 14 years old so they're natural for me know and I find they really hit the medial. I would say to someone starting afresh though to take it steady and use a light weight, I use 220lb for 2-3 sets but there arn't many in the gym I train that use that much

One thing to note, I think I remember this from an old Larry Scott article, a good rear delt helps accentuate the medial if you look at someone from the front, it brings out that cannon ball look.

[beefcake]

I still use the all the way down on shoulders and the behind the neck press. Perhaps it's time I should stop. Shoulders feel great though.

[redsquirrel]

Well, a normal shoulder workout for me is:

Front raises, side raises, DB press, and rear flyes

I will change it up every couple of weeks and throw in some cable exercises or BB smith press...Everything I'm doing seems to have been mentioned....So if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to, then all I have to say is:

GENETICS SUCK ASS

[Bouncer]

So if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to, then all I have to say is:

GENETICS SUCK ASS

why you so down on yourself lately? by the way you talk, you might think you are some slob. you look great, now stop your bitching and get to work! :)

[coffee-guy]

To add to SC's info make sure you lean forward a little on your lateral exercises - 99% of the poulations shoulder joint allignment is rearward facing which means if you stand upright you're still hitting a large portion of the front head and if I remember correctly traps...

Also, my delts have come a long long way from last year (just my opinion though) and I attribute that to heavy laterals and MOST OF ALL shoulder width upright rows. They're an exercise you really need to be careful with (keeping the weight close to your body and never raising the bar above the lower portion of your sternum) but they've given me my best results - especially when I moved my hands out further....

(and I too believe behind the neck is WAY too risky so beware)

[toolwtf]

foghat. You only bring your upright rows up to your chest? Hmm. This is one of my favorite exercises and I usually go all the way up to my chin. I'll have to try this.

[Mr I]

Crikey, well all I can say is I've been doing upright rows (every other week alternated with shrugs) all the way up to my chin if possible and full range press behind the neck for as long as I can remember. I have no problems except some rotor cuff stiffness but everyone I know gets that.

I think as long as you perform these excercises in a controlled fashion they're the best shoulder excercises out there and there isn't any weight training excercise that I don't do.

[coffee-guy]

It doesn't matter if you do it controlled or not - it isn't smart or safe to put your joints in a position that they aren't supposed to be in...

Research internal and external shoulder joint rotation and you'll see why you shouldn't do some of these exercises - pullups/pulldowns too low on the chest (internal) or behind the neck (external), presses behind the neck (external) or allowing your upper arm to fall below the parallel plane in any shoulder press movement (extreme exposure to joint subluxation), upright rows where the weight comes above the lower portion of the sternum or allowing the bar/weight to get more than an inch away from your body etc (I can't recall but it's either internal or external exposure) - the list is not exhausitive as these seem to be the most dangerous to the shoulder joint as far as I can remember but maybe SC can chime in if I've missed anything....