I can’t personally vouch for this yet, but I intend to run it soon, and I think it will totally answer the mail here
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Since you’re concerned about adding size while doing construction work, spending this much physical (and mental) energy just on shoulders is a waste of training stress and recovery.
Still waiting to hear back in the other thread about your current size and recent progress.
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Lots and lots of guys do rear and/or side delts before pressing. It’s a pretty common plan for growing shoulders. So don’t be afraid to do that.
Maybe use a lower rep range, or heavier weights when you do get to presses. Something in the 8-10 range to work your bad-ass fast twitch muscle fibers too.
It also works great if you’re dealing with some kind of shoulder injury. Aren’t you coming back from a shoulder issue? Or is that some other guy.
Also, don’t forget about the landmine press for good side delt action during a press. I really like it from nice smooth shoulder ROM and hitting side delt.
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What’s your split OP? I train rear and lat delts between 3 and 5 times each week and only train front delt (directly or not) 2 times a week. Without even mentionning quality of work done (OHP is much better than flat bench to work front delt, but they work in both case) frequency is still much higher for rear and lateral heads.
My 2cents
Curious to see your results. I’ve been tempted by that before, but got the feeling it would just lead to a crippling pump and the illusion of bigger shoulders for a few days without much stimulus for real growth.
Snatch-grip BTN press/push press and high rep muscle snatch have been recent game changers. For whatever reason I just never responded to Meadows style.
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I’d be introducing confounding variables into things, because I intend to employ it as my supplemental program while using a 5/3/1 style main work to it, so there’d be more heavy pressing added to it. Plan would be to run it in alternating 6 week styles with another supplemental program. Still, if I get to it, I’ll post it in my log.
Snatch grip BTN did more for my middle of my shoulder than years of lat raises. Now I also understand everyone is different and may find lat raises work for them. Me not so much, never could get a MMC or pump.
Snatch grip BTN for high reps lights them up.
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Shoulder pressing typically doesn’t hit the medial delts, and I’ve always pushed focusing more on more isolation/lateral type movement for my competing clients because of that.
BUT, I recall Larry Scott writing many moons ago about a variation on seated DB pressing where he would angle himself, or his arms in some manner that he believed engaged the medial heads moreso than doing normal laterals. @Chris_Colucci ? (I’m not saying I agree, but you never know what might work for someone)
One of my personal approach for medial delts that has always done well is hitting straight, moderate reps with strict laterals, followed with heavy, low rep leaning away DB laterals.
S
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Ha, yeah, doing the infamous “middle three-fifths of the movement” on presses. Also leaning the torso forward much more than most people would during laterals.
Bonus: That’s Francis Benfatto he’s teaching, too. Neat.
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Awesome. Do you plan to still use the 10x10 BTN press?
Yup. Looks sick, haha.
Any other personal favorites you’d be willing to let slip besides the laterals?
lol, well, a lot of my approach in addressing a physique in terms of creating a specific look involve weakening the target area in a session first and then following up with a compound so that the target gets effectively pummeled.
As such, I would always do my shoulder presses (usually DBs for better ROM) last in my delt sessions, and always focused on non-lockouts, explosive positives and slow negatives.
I would also do REVERSE GRIP shoulder barbell presses (again, non-lockout, slow negatives etc) as a pre-exhaust for the front delt head. If you’ve never tried this, it’ll torch ya pretty damn well.
For rear delts, I’ve never found anything better than face down on an incline bench, DB laterals with thumbs pointed down. Slow and controlled, nothing magic. I would sometimes follow this on the same face down incline bench with a pre-loaded barbell for what looked like a high pull, albeit with my chest still pressed against the bench, which would finish off the rear delts as well as really hit my lower traps (Try it, you’ll thank me!)
S
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Thanks a lot for the detailed response man! Really appreciate it!!
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I saw Charles glass doing these, but for the side delts, seated, with your arms pretty much behind you - light, slow, pulsing - definitely the most isolated I’ve ever felt them. Thanks for the extra insight.
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As an update, I id it today and was pretty underwhelmed by it. Felt like I could get in a better workout doing my own thing. The lateral raise run was decent, but everything else just didn’t seem to hit the mark.
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