Workout Tips for Building Bigger Shoulders

Somewhere along the human timeline, strength and masculinity became somehow associated with the breadth and thickness of one's shoulders. Like the biceps or the chest, a pair of barn-door delts shouts fitness. The shoulders are also an integral part of achieving the coveted "x-frame." With deep, wide shoulders, your waist will look smaller, your chest and back will look thicker and your arms will look more massive. And here's how you can get them.

REAR YOUR MASSIVE HEAD

The back of the shoulders -- the rear or posterior deltoid -- is the most ignored muscle in the upper body... yet, ironically, it may be one of the most important. Physiologically, strong rear delts will ward off shoulder injury, and studies show they'll increase your performance in other exercises including bench press and squats. Aesthetically, training the back of the shoulders prevents you from growing "front heavy" and helps to pull your shoulders back, giving you a more symmetrical, attractive look. Perhaps the best exercise for isolating the rear delts is the seated rear dumbbell lateral raise.

HERE'S HOW: Sit at the edge of a bench with your feet flat. Grasp your dumbbells and raise your upper arms to the side until your hands are at shoulder height. Remain bent over (about 45-degrees to the floor) throughout the movement. To add a little extra focus to the rear delts, turn the dumbbells over at the top of the movement -- like your pouring water out of a pitcher. TIP: Do this movement seated. You'll reduce the tendency to "throw" the weight around, and you'll increase the quality of your form.

ROW RIGHT TO MAKE MOUNTAINS

Thick, round delts are part of the shoulder aesthetic, but they look twice as good when they sit at the foot of mountainous traps. The trapezius is the sloping muscle that arcs from the inside of the delt up to the neck, and down the back into the spine. No set of shoulders is complete without them, and upright rows are your ticket to growing a massive pair.

HERE'S HOW: Standing upright, grasp a straight bar with your hands about shoulder width apart. Let the bar hang straight down in front of you. Pull the bar straight up towards your chin, keeping it as close to your body as possible. Imagine that your arms are merely hooks attached to traps, and concentrate on pulling your shoulder to your ears as you lift the bar upward. Lower slowly to the starting position.

TIP: The further out you grip the bar, the further out the portion of your shoulders that you'll work. Vice-versa for closer grips. Also, performing drop-sets of cable upright rows right after rear delt work is a great way to blow-out your traps and finish of the back of your shoulders in one fell swoop.

"GOVERN" YOUR DELTS AND WATCH THEM GROW

One of the most well known exercises for the delts is also one of the best... and not just because it was created by California's new "guvunar." The Arnold press, a revision of the standard dumbbell press, works your delts even more intensely by forcing them to perform through a rotation. In doing so, this exercise hits your shoulders like a wave, passing from the inside-front to the outside-top of your delts, and burning everywhere in between.

HERE'S HOW: Sitting on a flat bench with your back straight and your feet on the floor, grasp a dumbbell in each hand. With your arms bent and your palms toward your face, rotate your shoulders backwards while raising and opening your arms - i.e. turning your fists away from you - and press the dumbbells over your head. Lower dumbbells and repeat.

TIP: The wider you allow the dumbbells to go during the pressing portion of this movement, the more you will work the inside of the delts (the parts closest to your neck). By pressing with your hands just outside shoulder width, you'll work your delts most evenly.

PRESSED OF LUCK

The Arnold press may be the most intense of the shoulder presses, but that's not to say that the old stand-by, the dumbbell shoulder press, doesn't have its uses too. Like Arnold's, the regular shoulder press works the entire deltoid area, and it's known for adding thickness and width.

HERE'S HOW: Pick up a pair of dumbbells and sit on a shoulder press bench. Press your back firmly against the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, just above shoulder level, with your elbows out and palms facing forward. Press the dumbbells up and in until they nearly touch above your head.

TIP: End your shoulder workout with a burn-out set of dumbbell shoulder presses. It's a sure way to guarantee your delts get worked completely.