Muscle Fitness Muscle & Fitness UK - April 2018 | Page 41

T H E U LT I M AT E 8-W E E K T R A N SFOR M AT ION PRO G R A M M E
SHOULDERS
First, let’s break down shoulders.
I am not genetically blessed with
a massive set of shoulders, neither
do I particualrly enjoying training
them. But as with any weaker
muscle group it’s imperative form
is virtually perfect to stimulate
growth and change.
The wider you build your
shoulders, the smaller your
waist will look, especially when
you are leaner. With that in mind,
if you have stubborn shoulders
too, I strongly recommend hitting
some extra isolation work on
your medial (side) & posterior
(rears) 2-3 times per week at
the end of your chest and back
workouts.
You will also notice that there is
minimal anterior (front) delt
isolation work in the workouts.
For me they are easily the most
overworked muscle in the body, not
just through lifting weights but day
to day to life. If your shoulders are
protracted (forwards) this will have
a huge negative knock-on effect
with your bigger lifts in other
workouts (e.g. squats/deadlifts)
The workout structure over the
8 weeks will be similar in principle
to the other muscle groups,
utilising time under tension,
power, giant sets, hero sets etc,
BUT.....the rest periods will
be particularly shorter on your
isolation exercises every week.
As we use our shoulders every day,
they respond very well to keeping
more lactate in the muscle from set
to set. So keep an eye on the clock,
don’t over rest and get ready to
burn. Your shoulders, just like
quads can handle a lot more
volume and can handle a lot of
intensity. ‘The set starts when
it burns’ is very applicable to any
delt work. Just don’t get sloppy
with form!
WEEK 1 DAY 3 – SHOULDERS
Exercise
Reps Sets Tempo Rest Time
12,12,10,10,8 5 4112 60
8,8,7,7,6 5 5010 90
12,12,10,10,10 5 4111 60
D1) Bent Over Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 12,12,12,12 4 3011 60
E1) Standing Partial Side Laterals Off Cables
(from bottom to mid range) 12,12,12,12 4 3111 40
A1) Reverse Pec Dec Flyes
B1) Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
C1) Standing Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises
Set/Weight/Reps
WEEK 2 DAY 10 – SHOULDERS
Exercise
Reps Sets Tempo Rest Time
12,12,10,8,8 5 4112 60
8,8,7,6,6 5 5010 90
12,12,10,10,8 5 4111 60
D1) Bent Over Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 12,12,12,12 4 3011 60
E1) Standing Partial Side Laterals Off Cables
(from bottom to mid range) 12,12,12,12 4 3111 40
A1) Reverse Pec Dec Flyes
B1) Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
C1) Standing Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises
Set/Weight/Reps
WEEK 3 DAY 17 – SHOULDERS
Exercise
Reps Sets Tempo Rest Time
6,6,6,6,6 5 2010 90
B1) Seated Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises 12,12,10,8 4 3011 60
C1) Incline Bench Reverse Cable Flyes 12,12,12,10 4 4011 60
D1) Reverse Pec Dec Flyes 15,15,15,15 4 3011 Straight into
D2) Seated dumbbell Arnie Press 15,15,15,15 4 2010 Straight into
D3) Standing D-bell Side Laterals Partials
(bottom to mid range) 10,10,10,10 4 2010 60
A1) Standing Military Press
Set/Weight/Reps
APRIL 2018 / MUSCLE & FITNESS
39