I’ve been on Team Brignole for awhile, bashing the overhead press as a shoulder-joint killer… [Read more…]
New Take on Shoulder Size
My son-in-law-to-be was back from his firefighter academy, and he and my daughter were over to wash their dog again in our outdoor shower…
He is a thick dude with good bodybuilding potential, but he’s always looking to broaden his shoulders. Genetics gave him somewhat narrow clavicles, so the only way to get wider is to build shoulder mass. [Read more…]
Behind-the-Neck Shoulder Safety
Q: I’ve seen you guys recommend behind-the-neck pulldowns before in your newsletter as long as lighter weight and a specific range of motion is used, but you never seem to mention behind-the-neck presses. Is the behind-the-neck press not a good shoulder exercise?
A: First understand that any type of behind-the-neck move—pulldown or press—can overstress the shoulder capsule. It’s not a natural position; however, the behind-the-neck position can provide a unique angle of pull on the target fibers for new development… [Read more…]
Bigger, Rounder Attention-Grabbing Shoulders
Q: Broad shoulders get girls’ attention, but mine are narrow. And on top of that, my delts are flat. Should I do more presses to round them out? I notice in 3D Muscle Building that you have presses as more of a front-delt midrange exercise. Aren’t they good for side delts, too? BTW, I love 4X mass method and am using it almost exclusively.
A: Overhead presses primarily train the front-delt heads. Plus, they can impinge the shoulder capsule if performed incorrectly. That’s why we generally suggest doing them at the end of our delt routine. A good Positions-of-Flexion full-range shoulder hit, 4X style on every move, would be…
[Read more…]Press Here for Shoulder Size
Q: I’m using Jonathan’s 10-Week Size Surge Workout [in the 3D Muscle Building e-book], and for shoulders, it has dumbbell upright rows as the first exercise for midrange work; then I do incline one-arm laterals for stretch, and then standing laterals [contracted]. I added two sets of dumbbell presses after that for more shoulder size, as you’ve suggested, for some overhead shoulder work. My question is, Why do you sometimes recommend presses first? Aren’t those dangerous for your shoulder joints?
A: We only do behind-the-neck presses first if we use a technique that allows lighter weight, such as negative-accentuated (six-second lowering), 4X, 10×10, TORQ, etc. As you said, in the quest for shoulder size, heavy weights on behind-the-neck exercises can wreck your rotator cuffs.
For heavy pressing at the start of a shoulder workout, we use either Smith machine military presses (to the front) or dumbbell presses…
[Read more…]Shoulder Size—Try This New Pressing Exercise
Q: In The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, you identify the Ultimate Exercise for delts as dumbbell upright rows. I’ve always read that overhead presses are best for building massive shoulders. Almost everyone I talk to says to press for delt size. Can you explain your thinking?
A: Our thinking was that any type of overhead press over-emphasizes the front-delt heads. Jonathan has overpowering front delts, so presses hit his side-delt heads even less than most trainees; however, a recent experiment has us revising our thought process somewhat. [Read more…]