The shoulder is a very important part of the body. Not only does the shoulder make your upper body appear to be wider (especially good for bodybuilders), but if not trained correctly, it could give you problems for the rest of your life. The key to building massive shoulders is to understand how the shoulder works and how to keep it healthy.
I went through a two-year phase where I did almost no specific shoulder exercises. I'd fallen victim to the popular idea that the delts receive enough stimulation from horizontal pressing and pulling, and any additional work would not only be superfluous, but also potentially injurious to the shoulders.
So I focused my energy instead almost entirely on bench press variations, push-ups, rows, and chin-ups, making sure to choose pulling over pushing for optimal shoulder health.
My shoulders felt great, but they didn't get much bigger or stronger even though my lifts had all improved quite a bit and my chest and back had grown noticeably bigger.
I was also mortified to find that when I returned to vertical pressing, my overhead strength had tanked, even though my horizontal pressing had gotten better.
However, when I added more direct shoulder work back into the mix (both vertical pressing and lateral raises), my shoulders started growing again and my overhead strength improved quickly.
I was worried that putting more emphasis on vertical pressing would negatively impact my horizontal pressing, but I've actually found the opposite to be true. My horizontal pressing has also gotten stronger even though I'm doing less of it, leading me to believe that vertical pressing has more carryover to horizontal pressing than vice versa.
And by continuing to prioritize plenty of pulling into my program, my shoulders still feel great.
If you're okay with mediocre shoulder development, then no direct work is needed; otherwise, give them some direct work. This really goes for any muscle group, be it calves, biceps, triceps, etc.
If size is your only goal, you're probably fine just including some lateral raises in your program to accompany your horizontal pressing and pulling work, but if you want really strong shoulders too, vertical pressing is key.
It doesn't necessarily have to be the overhead press if your shoulders aren't up for it, but try to find a way to train the overhead pattern in a way that won't piss your shoulders off.
~RAW
I went through a two-year phase where I did almost no specific shoulder exercises. I'd fallen victim to the popular idea that the delts receive enough stimulation from horizontal pressing and pulling, and any additional work would not only be superfluous, but also potentially injurious to the shoulders.
So I focused my energy instead almost entirely on bench press variations, push-ups, rows, and chin-ups, making sure to choose pulling over pushing for optimal shoulder health.
My shoulders felt great, but they didn't get much bigger or stronger even though my lifts had all improved quite a bit and my chest and back had grown noticeably bigger.
I was also mortified to find that when I returned to vertical pressing, my overhead strength had tanked, even though my horizontal pressing had gotten better.
However, when I added more direct shoulder work back into the mix (both vertical pressing and lateral raises), my shoulders started growing again and my overhead strength improved quickly.
I was worried that putting more emphasis on vertical pressing would negatively impact my horizontal pressing, but I've actually found the opposite to be true. My horizontal pressing has also gotten stronger even though I'm doing less of it, leading me to believe that vertical pressing has more carryover to horizontal pressing than vice versa.
And by continuing to prioritize plenty of pulling into my program, my shoulders still feel great.
If you're okay with mediocre shoulder development, then no direct work is needed; otherwise, give them some direct work. This really goes for any muscle group, be it calves, biceps, triceps, etc.
If size is your only goal, you're probably fine just including some lateral raises in your program to accompany your horizontal pressing and pulling work, but if you want really strong shoulders too, vertical pressing is key.
It doesn't necessarily have to be the overhead press if your shoulders aren't up for it, but try to find a way to train the overhead pattern in a way that won't piss your shoulders off.
~RAW
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