Best shoulder hypertrophy exercises

Looking to build muscle? You need to familiarize yourself with amplification training. Simply put, hypertrophy training focuses on making muscles grow larger, and works best when directed at specific muscle groups. Read on to learn more about how you can apply this technique to the upper body in the oversized shoulder exercise. (And when you’re ready for more, check out our swell legAnd the an armAnd the chest proceduresvery.)

swell 101

Any bulking routine requires three key factors for gains:

1. amount: This refers to the total number of sets (and cumulative repetitions) of work a muscle is subjected to in an exercise or across multiple exercises.
2. severity: It takes the amount of muscle loading.
3. mechanical tension: This indicates that the muscle spends time under tension throughout its functional range of motion. Doing so requires looking closely at the workings of muscles within the body and prioritizing exercises that challenge the muscles through as much of their range of motion as possible.

For most lifters with a decent baseline of fitness, the best way to achieve the benefits of hypertrophy is to focus on different areas of the body one exercise at a time. Of course, this is known as isolation training. Using isolation training techniques to favor one muscle group in a particular exercise allows you to spend your entire time in the gym giving that muscle group a serious pump.

When done properly, and supplemented with a healthy, protein-rich diet with a calorie surplus (i.e. consuming more calories than you burn during exercise), the body will respond by making that muscle group grow. Below, I’ve applied this method to the shoulders. Read on for the best hypertrophic shoulder exercise to add to your exercise regimen.

It works on the shoulder muscles

Similar to many other large muscle groups, the deltoids (shoulders) are actually divided into three main sections: the anterior deltoid, the middle deltoid, and the posterior deltoid. In addition, depending on the motion chosen to strike them, there is a good chance that the upper traps will be involved as a synergistic muscle group in the exercise. Long story short: You probably wouldn’t get well-developed shoulders without some trap development, too.

Best shoulder hypertrophy exercises

• a. Rigid barbell press x 5 (3 sets): This is a tried and true staple in most shoulder training programs. This lift usually enables the lifter to move his heaviest load for lower reps. Although this is a shoulder-dominant movement pattern, it is less isolated. For this reason, it’s a great way to load and prepare your nervous system for more isolated shoulder exercises to come. Two minutes rest between sets.
• Perform B1 and B2 as a superset for 3 rounds. Two minutes rest between rounds.
• B1. Barbell high pull x 3: For traps and middles, use a shoulder-width grip and start the movement by creating momentum with your lower body (you can “lift” the bar up with a quarter-hinged starting position). Pull the bar straight up to neck level with the movement of the hands; Your elbows should be higher than your hands and pointing behind/to the side at the top of the movement. Let the bar return to the pins or blocks, take a second to reset, and perform your next rep.
• B2. Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise x 12: This part of the superset will take the traps out of the picture and focus on the middle and posterior deltoids. Maintain a forward tilt in your seat while performing these exercises so that your torso is facing down, not upright.
• c. Bentover Reverse Flye (Reverse Grip) x 15 (3 sets): The palm core of the typical sinuous grip strikes the posterior deltoid through its small role in the rotation of the upper arm. This helps them get a little extra push-up at the end of each rep. In addition, it is difficult to deceive your range of motion when the palms of the hands are spread out in this way. Make sure to use lighter weights and really look to isolate your posterior deltoids and upper back with every rep.
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press x 4 Ladder Sets: The ladder set is a great way to exceed what you can usually lift for a set number of reps. To do this, select dumbbells that you can shoulder press for sets of 12 to 15 reps. Do 2 reps. Rest for 10 seconds, then do 3 reps at once. Rest again for 10 seconds, then do 5 reps. Finally, rest for another 10 seconds, then do 10 reps. With this method, you’ll perform 20 reps with your own weight for 12 repetitions—and your muscles should be screaming from the effort. Rest as long as needed between ladder sets.

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