I Wanted Boulder Shoulders, So I Did This:

The first two years of my weightlifting career, I neglected to do much shoulder work. I was hyper-fixated on achieving a 225lb bench press at the time and didn't care about much else. However, I had the physique where I could bench a lot of weight, but it didn't look like I could bench a lot of weight. I didn't think I had a well-rounded physique, so I decided to incorporate a workout dedicated to shoulders each week. Today, I feel more confident in my shoulders than any other muscle group, and this is how I went about it:

Anatomy of the Shoulder

The shoulder is a complex group of muscles that attach to various portions of both the pectoral and spinal regions (Jones 2023). When you work out your chest, you're usually using a shoulder muscle, and when you're working out your back, you're also usually working out a shoulder muscle. To make it as simple as possible, let's only consider the deltoid. The deltoid is comprised of three muscles: the front deltoid, the lateral deltoid, and rear deltoid. 

Anterior (Front) Deltoid

The front deltoid is the forward-looking part of the deltoid and can be primarily targeted by lifting something up above your head. Working out the front delt will make your entire shoulder look bigger.

Shoulder Press. There are many variations on how to do a shoulder press. These variations include machine, Smith machine, barbell, dumbbell, as well as seated or standing variations. As a beginner, I would strongly recommend starting on a machine, because the machine will guide your movement on the way up and you don't have to worry about stabilizing anything. My favorite variation is the barbell shoulder press, but it can be very risky without a spotter!

Lateral (Side) Deltoid

The side delt is located on the side of your shoulder, and it is primarily activated when you're lifting your arms out to your sides. 

Lat Raises. There are a few variations of this workout, from dumbbell to cable to machine raises, but I believe that dumbbell lateral raises are the most effective. I like to lean slightly forward, bent my elbows a little bit, and raise them straight to your sides. If I were a beginner performing this exercise, I would do this with as light a weight as possible and focus on form until I felt confident enough to move up in weight. I usually do a medium weight for a couple sets of 20. 

Posterior (Rear) Deltoid

The rear deltoid is the trickiest part of the delt to target, but it can be targeted in this way: begin with your arms held straight out in front of you. Now push them back, as if you were swimming. Fortunately, there is a very simply way to target the rear delt:

Rear Delt Fly. The simplest way to perform this movement is via a peck deck machine, but with the handles pushed all the way forward. Simply grab the handles and push them back behind you, swinging your arms out in the process as if you were swimming. When I began doing this workout, I never went too heavy in fear of pulling a muscle in my neck. In fact, I still do not go heavy on this because I prefer to prioritize my form and will usually do it for a couple sets of 20. 



To Conclude...

I work out my shoulders more than any other part of my body, and I truly think that's made a monumental difference in my physique. I'll usually work out my front and side delts on my chest day, my rear delts and traps (refer to my back day blog post for information on traps) on my back day, and have one day where I work out both my deltoids and traps together! Working out the shoulder is a very important muscle if you're looking to stand out from others. 

Disclaimers

These workouts are only what I have had success with, and I am not recommending it to anyone. I am by no means a licensed personal trainer and am only sharing what I've learned over the past five years. Credits to the images used can be found below:

Jones, Oliver. (2023, October 2). The Extrinsic Muscles of the Shoulder. Teach Me Anatomy. The Extrinsic Muscles of the Shoulder - TeachMeAnatomy

(2022, November 3). Deltoid Muscle (Human Anatomy): Images, Functions, Diseases and Treatments. Lybrate. Deltoid Muscles (Human Anatomy): Picture, Functions, Diseases, and Treatments (lybrate.com)

Strength Level. Strength Level - Weightlifting Calculator (Bench/Squat/Deadlift)