Our shoulders are a body part and muscle groups that many of us don’t actually notice on our own bodies, but certainly do with other people. Have you ever seen a bodybuilder with a set of shoulders that look like cannon balls?
If so, you’ve probably noticed that not only do they make the individual him, or her, self, look leaner and more muscular, they also make the arms look far more impressive as well. Building up our deltoids can be a little tricky, as many of us will tend to focus on exercises which work mainly on the front deltoids, meaning the rear can often lag.
To help you build the ultimate set of boulder shoulders, however, we’ll now be taking a look at a 4 week shoulders workout that will incorporate a number of exercises that work all parts of the deltoids, so after just 4 weeks, your shoulders will look bigger, leaner, and more muscular than ever before. Just keep in mind that the workout is not for beginners and it requires a great deal of knowledge and understanding about how each exercise works. If you’re serious about bringing up your lagging deltoids and looks like Calum Von Moger, however, here’s a look at the ultimate 4 week shoulders workout.
Below you will find a selection of sample workouts. You will perform each workout TWICE each week, one day heavy with lower reps, the other lighter with higher reps. The rest of your training should continue as normal, so don’t think that because you’re working your shoulders twice each week, that you should also work every other body part each week. You’re following these workouts because your shoulders are lagging and need bringing up, and as you know, when a body part needs bringing up, you spend more time on it. Now, take a look at the following workouts:
Week 1
Heavy day
Barbell shoulder press (standing) – 4 sets of 6 – 8 reps
One arm side lateral dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 8 – 10 reps
Front plate raises – 4 sets of 10 reps
Lying rear delt raises – 4 sets of 8 reps
Light day
Barbell shoulder press (standing) – 4 sets of 10 – 12 reps
One arm side lateral dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 10 – 12 reps
Front plate raises – 4 sets of 15 reps (lighter plate)
Lying rear delt raises – 4 sets of 12 – 14 reps
Week 2
Heavy day
Arnold dumbbell presses – 4 sets of 8 – 10 reps
Front dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 10 reps
Lying one arm lateral raises – 3 sets of 10 reps
Bent over low pulley side laterals – 4 sets of 10 reps
Light day
Arnold dumbbell presses – 4 sets of 12 – 14 reps
Front dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 14 – 16 reps
Lying one arm lateral raises – 3 sets of 15 reps
Bent over low pulley side laterals – 4 sets of 15 reps
Week 3
Heavy day
Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 4 sets of 8 – 10 reps
EZ bar upright rows – 4 sets of 10 – 12 reps
Seated machine shoulder press – 4 sets of 10 reps
Standing low pulley deltoid raises – 3 sets of 12 reps
Light day
Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 4 sets of 12 – 14 reps
EZ bar upright rows – 4 sets of 12 – 16 reps
Seated machine shoulder press – 4 sets of 15 reps
Standing low pulley deltoid raises – 3 sets of 15 reps
Week 4
Heavy day
Rear deltoid flyes – 4 sets of 12 reps
Standing military press – 4 sets of 10 reps
Side lateral dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 12 reps
Barbell rear deltoid rows – 4 sets of 10 reps
Light day
Rear deltoid flyes – 4 sets of 15 reps
Standing military press – 4 sets of 12 – 14 reps
Side lateral dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 15 reps
Barbell rear deltoid rows – 4 sets of 12 – 14 reps
Things to remember – Ok, so there you have it, the ultimate 4 week shoulders workout that will absolutely destroy your shoulders (in the best possible way) and shock them into growth and development that you never thought possible. However, before we wrap things up and let you head out to the gym, there are first a few things that you must remember when following this program that we haven’t listed above. These include:
- Before each exercise, you must ALWAYS perform two warm up sets of a much lighter weight. The reps and sets listed on the program above are working sets only and therefore do NOT include warm up sets, so make sure you perform your warm ups.
- Ensure you drink plenty of water before, during, and following your workout to avoid cramps and dehydration. Don’t drink it all in one go, however, because that is more likely to cause stomach cramps, not to mention bloating and you have to rush to pee every few minutes.
- Stretch and warm up before you even pick up the lightest set of dumbbells at the gym as you can still tear and pull muscles by failing to stretch and warm up.
- Continue to train other body parts and muscle groups as normal. With the extra training day, you may need to reshuffle your training schedule slightly. Alternatively, you could add one of the shoulder workouts (preferably a light day) to one of your other workouts. Say you’re having a steady biceps session, for example, if you were struggling to find time for the extra training day, you could train biceps and shoulders.