Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I like the one-arm cable high pull that you had in a recent newsletter. Working the lateral head in the upper “press” position without the danger of overhead-press joint compression is just what I needed to fill the gap. My question is, can I use two arms at once? I don’t have a lot of time to work out, so one-arm and one-leg moves aren’t good for me.
A: For those who don’t know what a cable one-arm high pull is, here’s trainer Vince McConnell demonstrating… [Read more…]
In my rants about physique aesthetics and symmetry, I referenced Steve Reeves a few times… [Read more…]
Q: The before and after photos showing your new shoulder roundness were impressive. You did not mention sets. Did you do a lot more volume to get those gains?
A: I did not do more sets for shoulders; it was the key details that made the big difference (more on those in a moment). Here are my photos again for those who may have missed that newsletter… [Read more…]
A few weeks, ago I mentioned that I was adding a contracted-position exercise for my medial-delt head at every upper-body workout… [Read more…]
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…]
The kids were over again to bathe their dog Kingston in our outdoor shower. He’s a big, ferocious-looking Doberman-esque breed, but gentle as a teddy bear—even with our two terrier terrorists, one of which is a growling alpha nut job.
They are always ready for my go-to question (the kids, not the dogs): “So how are your workouts going?” [Read more…]
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…]
Q: Maybe I missed it since I’m a relatively new subscriber to your newsletter, but what is the Ultimate Exercise for shoulder size; wide-grip dumbbell upright rows or dumbbell presses?
A: We first identified each Ultimate Exercise for every major bodypart in our first e-book, The Ultimate Mass Workout. There’s a comprehensive chapter on each one, why they are best, and also a few complete programs with just those moves—like V-handle chins for lats… [Read more…]
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…]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…]
