Nothing improves the appearance of your physique like having bigger shoulders. Studies have shown that women are unconsciously and biologically attracted to men with a large shoulder-to-waist ratio.
How can you improve this? Well, first of all, lose that body fat with a bit of high intensity interval training (jump rope workouts work well).
But, to gain shoulder mass, check out these deltoid workouts that will have you rocking solid shoulders in no time …
First we will see the two exercises that are ESSENTIAL to gain muscle mass in the shoulders.
Then, since nutrition is half the battle when it comes to gaining muscle, we’ll see what the best diet is for gaining muscle.
After using these two tips, you are well on your way to showing off some serious shoulders!
Let us begin …
Deltoid Workouts: Best Shoulder Exercises
Forget cables, dumbbell isolation exercises, and any other light tricks.
When you’re trying to rack up that first piece of mass, NOTHING beats compound, heavy movements for low reps.
Specifically, the two best shoulder mass building exercises are:
- Military press (with dumbbells or barbell, although dumbbells are better if you’ve had a shoulder injury or rotator cuff problems)
- Flexing of hands
These exercises, when done HEAVY, result in maximum deltoid muscle activation and, as a result, maximum muscle gains.
And the repetitions?
In general, doing sets of 5-8 reps is best for growing muscle fibers, which is called myofibrillar hypertrophy. The gains in muscle fiber size are more durable than the gains in the “goo” between the fibers, called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which comes from training in higher rep ranges for a “pump.”
Do you have a history of shoulder injuries? Heat properly
In general, it is good to warm up the small rotator cuff shoulder stabilizers that are easily injured. Do a search on YouTube and you will find some good examples.
An example of deltoid training to gain muscle –
First, warm up with some rotator cuff exercises. Then do a few minutes of push-ups, bodyweight squats, and chin-ups.
- Deadlift: 3 sets for 5-8 reps (this will flush your body’s anabolic (muscle-building) hormones, preparing your body for the next moves
- Military press or push-up: 4 sets of 5-8 reps, overlapped with the following exercise
- Weighted pull up: 4 sets of 5-8 reps (this will develop the rear delts that are often neglected, in addition to the biceps and back)
That? Only 3 exercises?!?
Most hardgainers make the mistake of doing TOO MUCH, which can wipe out their profits.
The key here is to do 3-4 short, INTENSE workouts per week, allowing your body plenty of time to recover between workouts.
Your muscles will respond with strength and size.
Nutrition for deltoid muscle gain
You should eat enough so that your muscles have the raw material to rebuild themselves bigger and stronger.
To do this, try to eat around 20 times your weight in calories. So for example, if you weigh 150, try to eat around 3000 calories per day. You should aim to eat around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and around 20-30% of your calories from fat.
Don’t avoid good, complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa. Try 2 to 4 grams per pound of body weight, per day.
Keep track of your diet in a journal to keep track of what you are eating and allow yourself to adjust appropriately if necessary.
Wrapping it up …
So now you know that heavy, compound movements like push-ups and military presses are the best exercises for your shoulder muscles. You also know the importance of warming up properly and how to make sure you’re eating enough to see gains.
All that’s left for you to do is go out there and use this information to grow huge shoulders!