Shoulder Workouts for Mass: 3 Crucial Shoulder Exercises to Include in Your Workouts

 

There are a million shoulder exercises out there…but how many of these are really effective shoulder workouts for mass?

In other words, how many shoulder exercises actually build BIGGER shoulders?

The reality is, not many. And you want to know why?

Because unfortunately many shoulder workouts focus on exercises that don’t allow you to lift enough weight to really gain strength & mass.

Case and point: the shoulder raise.

Don’t get me wrong, shoulder raises are important exercises (and they’re incorporated into the shoulder mass workout below). But they should be secondary exercises. You need to do them after you’ve already done some heavy pressing to really build up that shoulder mass.

Another problem with many shoulder workouts for mass is that they make the opposite mistake, and do only heavy pressing. The problem with this is that it can lead to imbalances and even rotator cuff injuries over time.

So with that said, what should you do to build bigger, fuller shoulders? And how can you do it while staying injury-free and keeping your shoulder muscles well-balanced?

The best shoulder workouts for mass have 3 main components:

Shoulder Workouts for Mass Component #1: Heavy Pressing

The best way to build size & mass in your shoulders is by doing heavy overhead pressing. I recommend using a barbell, although dumbbells are acceptable too.

The reason you want to start with heavy pressing is because this is the only shoulder exercise that lets you really lift a lot of weight, which is what you need to gain strength & size.

Personally I like to use reverse pyramid training with this exercise, which means that I’ll do 3 sets like so:

• Warm-up set #1: Do 5 reps at about 50-60% of my heaviest set.
• Warm-up set #2: Do 3 reps at about 75% of my heaviest set.
• Heavy set #1: Do 4-6 reps with my heaviest weight.
• Heavy set #2: Decrease the weight by 10% and do 5-7 reps.
• Heavy set #3: Decrease the weight by another 10% and do 6-8 reps.

RPT-style training is great because it lets you train the heaviest weight first, while you’re fresh.

A few pointers on this exercise:

• Make this the first shoulder exercise in your workout. You want to be fresh for it, not tired from doing other stuff.
• Do it standing, not sitting. Seated overhead press is less functional, less effective, and much riskier for your shoulders.
• Use free weights. Machines can cause an unnatural path of motion that could be bad news bears for your shoulders.
• Never press behind your head. Always in front.
• Go about shoulder-width on your grip.
• As you push the bar over your head, push your head forward “through the window” that opens up. When you lock out at the top, the bar should be directly over your head.
• Don’t let your elbows go back too far. Keep them farther forward than your shoulders at all times.

A good goal to aim for is to be able to shoulder press your bodyweight. I know that’s not easy, but with gradual progression it can be done.

One tip to help you accomplish this is to get yourself a set of fractional plates. This way you can increase the weight by less than 5 pounds per workout. (As you get stronger, you may be able to increase only 1-2 pounds per workout. That’s fine. 1-2 pounds adds up over time!)

Shoulder Workouts for Mass Component #2: Assistance Moves

Now heavy pressing is great, but there’s one downside: just like bench press, it focuses more on the anterior head of your deltoid (in other words, the front part of your shoulder).

You need to do some assistance work to hit the side and rear heads of your deltoid to balance out your shoulders.

To accomplish this, I recommend 2 exercises:

• Side lateral raises
• Rear lateral raises

These 2 exercises are similar. In both of them, you raise 2 dumbbells out to your side. But there’s one key difference: in side lateral raises you’re focusing on the lateral head (the side of your shoulder). And in the rear lateral raise, you’re focusing on the posterior head (the rear part of your shoulder).

These exercises won’t build a ton of mass, because you can’t lift much weight. But they will help balance out your shoulders by hitting the rear & side delts.

Do 3 sets of 8-12 reps each.

Here are some tips on these exercises:

• For both exercises:
  • Don’t cheat! Raise & lower the weight slowly, and avoid momentum. If you have to swing your upper body, the weights are too heavy.
  • You want the muscle you’re working to be perpendicular to the floor. So for side lateral raises, lean a little bit forward. For rear lateral raises, lean a LOT forward–or lay on a bench. (See the video for demonstrations of this.)
  • Keep a slight bend in your elbows.
  • Keep your abs & core tight.
  • Raise the weight to parallel, then lower it. Don’t try to go higher. That will cause you to start using the wrong muscles.
• Side lateral raises:
  • Some people tell you to “pour the pitcher,” with your pinky higher than your thumb. The problem with this is that it can cause shoulder impingement. Instead, just lean forward a little bit when doing this exercise.
  • Raise the weights to your side, not too far in front.
• Rear lateral raises:
  • Your pinky should be higher than your thumb.
  • You can lean forward or lie on a bench to do this exercise.

Shoulder Workouts for Mass Component #3: Rotator Cuff Work

This is the most overlooked component to most shoulder workouts for mass, and it’s easy to see why: it’s not sexy.

Nobody will ever say “Wow look at those rotator cuffs!”

Your rotator cuffs are a small group of muscles that aren’t very visible…but are very important. They’re some of the most frequently injured muscles in people who work out.

And the reason is because most people who lift weights do a lot more internal rotation than external rotation.

You don’t really have to understand what that means. All you need to do is add these rotator cuff exercises to your shoulder workout.

• Rotator Cuff Exercise #1 – These are called scarecrows. Hold a dummbell in each hand with your elbows out at 90 degrees to the side, elbow bent, with your hand hanging straight down. Now rotate your arm so that your hand with the weight rotates in front of you, until your hand is directly over your elbow.
• Rotator Cuff Exercise #2 – These are similar to exercise #1, just in a different position and using a cable or band. Keeping your elbow at your side, hold a band or cable with your hand across your belly. Now rotate your arm outwards, until it’s just past your elbow.

Start with a very light weight. Make each movement slow and controlled. Your rotator cuff muscles are small, so they get worn out pretty quickly.

Remember, you aren’t trying to lift 100 pounds or impress anybody here. You’re just trying to stay healthy and injury-free.

2 Exercises I Would Skip

Dumbbell front raises and upright rows are 2 common shoulder exercises.

I would skip them both.

Front raises are redundant. If you’re bench pressing and overhead pressing, your anterior (front) deltoid is getting plenty of work. Doing front raises would only cause an imbalance.

And upright rows are just too risky. They put your shoulders (and rotator cuffs) into a bad position. If you want to hit your traps, do shrugs instead.

Appearance Matters: How to Make Your Shoulders Look Bigger

Ok, so if you follow this workout correctly you should start to develop bigger, broader, stronger shoulders.

Now…how can you really maximize the way they LOOK?

Because let’s face it. A big fat dude might have giant shoulders…

But nobody notices, because they don’t look big relative to the rest of his body.

With that said, here are 3 tips to make your shoulders look as big & strong as they are (or will be soon):

1. Focus on the lateral head. The lateral part of your shoulder has the biggest impact on your appearance because this is the muscle that sticks out the most and gives you those broad-looking shoulders.
2. Lose fat. By decreasing bodyfat, your shoulders will stand out more and really pop. It will also give more visual separation from your upper arms. This is probably the #1 thing you can do to make your shoulders look bigger & more impressive.
3. Build up your lats. Broad shoulders and big lats (combined with a lean waist) are going to help give you that attractive V-shaped torso.