Last week I posted a full shoulder session on my instagram and a few people seemed to like the content so I thought I'd chuck up a bit more of a detailed write up here on the blog.
These sort of sessions are few and far between for me, I don't typically target a specific body part with my training, but sometimes it's just well, fun.
So here is the full session:
Push Press (Behind Head) 4 x 8
Military Press 4 x 8
Arnold Press 3 x 10
Upright DB Clean 3 x 10
Bent Over Rear Delt Fly 3 x 10
Lateral DB Raise 3 x 10
Push Press (Behind the Head): Typically when looking to train a specific body part I look for the exercise that allows me to handle the most absolute load and the behind the head Push Press has always been the answer for me. It is basically a big old cheating barbell press. What makes a push press different to a standard press is the use of legs to dip an drive creating a powerful movement that allows you to use a more weight than a strict press. While the concentric (lifting) portion is helped by the legs, the eccentric (lowering) portion is where this exercise gains it's merit as it's sort of an overloaded eccentric.
Military Press: Next up is the standard Military Press, Barbell Press, Overhead Press; whatever you want to call it. The Military Press is a tried and true favourite and in my opinion should be included in most shoulder focused sessions and the majority of strength training plans.
Arnold Press: To be honest this isn't an exercise I have done in probably 4 or 5 years but I thought I would give it a crack during this targeted session. I've seen people do the Arnold Press two different ways. Firstly, as an external rotation into a typical shoulder press and secondly as one movement; more of a rotating shoulder press. The latter is how I have performed the Arnold Press in the past.
DB Upright Clean: The upright clean is an exercise I developed because I really don't like upright rows. It's a very similar movement but as the elbow comes above the level of the shoulder it comes underneath to front rack the dumbbells like a clean movement. It's a great exercise that targets the traps and delts and it's just really fun.
Bent Over Reverse Fly: Not much to explain with this one, other than when looking at a complete shoulder session you should attempt to hit the rear delts in some way as they can be easily neglected. For me the reverse fly is an easy way to get it done. The main thing I focus on with these is not rowing the weight by retracting the scapula, rather, I'm trying to move only at the shoulder to target the rear deltoid.
DB Lateral Raise: Another staple in most shoulder sessions to give the side delt that little extra volume. Like the above exercise I try to move only at the shoulder joint and not the scapula, concentrating on not elevating the scapula with the traps. A great little finisher and that's about it.
So there it is guys, if you're keen for shoulder session give it a crack and let me know what you think.
- AJ