Building Muscle – The Best Shoulders Workout

Last Updated on January 7, 2021

Most weightlifters will find they’re stronger on the upright rows than the overhead press, so you’ll find you can do a few more reps on those. Start your superset with a lighter weight that allows you to do 12 reps of the press and 15 reps of the rows, then over the 4 sets increase the weight slightly each set, ending with a final set of 8 presses and 12 rows. Be sure to maintain strict form throughout to avoid injury, and use a cadence of 1 second to lift and 3 seconds to lower the weight on both exercises. Limit your rest between sets to 30 to 45 seconds, then after your last set rest for 3 or 4 minutes before moving on to the triple set – remember to hydrate during the break!

Step Two: Shoulders Triple Set

Now that you’ve recovered from the two big compound shoulder exercises it’s time to isolate the 3 heads and hit the rear, side and front delts individually with a shoulders triple set. Grab a pair of dumbbells you can handle easily and start with rear delt flyes. Lean forward about 15 degrees from the waist – if you’re not sure how far to lean, look to your side in the mirror and see how far to lean forward to engage your rear delts when lifting your arms to shoulder height. Bend your elbow just slightly and then lock your arms in that position, raising them to the outside to shoulder height and then returning them back down in front of you. Don’t worry about lifting the weights to shoulder height – your delts are only involved in moving your upper arms, so just focus on getting your elbows up to that height.

Immediately following your rear delt flyes, stand up almost straight, leaning forward just enough to allow the dumbbells to hang freely in front of your body. Keeping that slight bend in your elbows raise your arms to either side, again until your upper arm is in line with your shoulders. Lower them back down slowly and under control, then repeat until you’ve finished your reps for this set.