Build Boulder Shoulders With These 3 Supersets

Most fitness-oriented people simply don’t understand how their shoulders function. What they do know, however, is that the shoulder complex is incredibly vulnerable and prone to injury if trained without extra caution, so they stick to exercises that ‘feel’ the safest or are generally approved and advocated by internet bodybuilding gurus. Unfortunately, that fearful approach also prevents them from adding mass to their shoulders and improving their functional strength!

Don’t forget: you are supposed to train your shoulders with plenty of volume and intensity, as long as you mind your form and technique. One of the most underused yet highly effective ways to overload your shoulders and encourage their development is the inclusion of shoulder supersets – sets which include two exercises performed one after the other without any rest in between.

Step out of the box and blow your shoulders up with these 3 shoulder supersets.

Warm-Up Routine

Never skip the warm-up; it will greatly reduce your chance of hurting yourself. These exercises will increase circulation and warm up your muscles, as well as improve their flexibility, coordination and reaction time.

Cardio: 5-10 minutes

Any type of LISS (Low Intensity Steady State Cardio) activity, such as walking, jogging or running is ideal for waking up the entire body and getting you into the right mindset.

Windmills: 30-60 seconds
Warm up your shoulders by performing windmills – stand with arms out straight and parallel to the ground and start rotating them in an arc-like motion. Start from small rotations and gradually increase the size. Perform in both directions
Shoulder dislocations: 10 reps
Don’t worry about the name of this one – it’s actually an amazing exercise that promotes shoulder flexibility. To perform it, stand with a long stick in front of you and position your hands wide at either end, then raise the stick over your head without bending your elbows.

SUPERSET #1

DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE: 4 sets x 8-12 reps

                                                        Dumbbell Lateral Raise

As you stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, take a dumbbell in each hand and slightly bend the elbows as the weights hang by your sides, palms facing one another. Bend your upper body forward and allow your hips and knees to bend slightly as well. Raise your arms out to the sides until they are parallel to the ground, maintaining the torso straight and stabile. Lower the weights down and repeat.

UPRIGHT BARBELL ROW : 4 sets x 8-12 reps 

                                                                  Upright Barbell Row

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Pick up a barbell with a narrow grip and row it vertically up until it reaches the top of your chest. Stop when it reaches just below your chin and your forearms and upper arms are squeezed into each other, parallel to the ground. Lower the weight down and repeat.

SUPERSET #2

DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS : 4 sets x 8-12 reps

Holding a dumbbell in each hand, sit on a bench that has back support and place the dumbbells on the top of your thighs. Raise the weights to shoulder height, then rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward and push the dumbbells upward, straightening your elbows. Instead of locking out as you reach the top, keep a slight bend at the elbows all through the movement. Pause for a moment at the top contracted position, then lower the weights down and repeat.

                                                  Dumbbell Shoulder Press

FRONT DUMBBELL RAISE : 4 sets x 8-12 reps

                                                         Front Dumbbell Raise

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with the palms of the hands facing towards your body. Keeping your torso stationary and maintaining a slight bend at the elbows, raise the weights in front of you until they are parallel to the floor. Pause for a second at the top, then slowly lower the weights down and repeat. Perform the movement in a maximally controlled manner to avoid using momentum.

SUPERSET #3

FACE PULL: 4 sets x 8-12 reps

                                                                     Face Pull

Set up a cable with a rope attachment so that it is in line with your head and grab each end of the rope. Take a couple of steps back from the machine and pull the weight directly towards your face, separating the hands as you do so. As you bring the rope all the way to your face, flare your elbows out but keep your upper arms parallel to the floor. Pause, return to the starting position and repeat.

FRONT BARBELL SHRUG: 4 sets x 8-12 reps

                                                          Front Barbell Shrug
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart as you hold a barbell with both hands in front of you, using a neutral grip. Without rolling your shoulders, shrug them while bringing your arms up and keeping them straight. Avoid lifting the barbell using your biceps and try to touch your shoulders with your ears. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Take Home Message

Don’t be too easy on your shoulders – they are not delicate flowers, they are muscles designed to work 24/7 and you need to overload them to produce growth. This workout will allow you to reach optimal shoulder hypertrophy without increasing the risk of injury, so don’t hesitate to challenge your shoulders with supersets at the next gym session.

Don’t forget that even the best exercise can be a waste of time if you don’t use it right, so focus on utilizing proper form and achieving hypertrophy. Try the prescribed sets and reps and see how it feels. If your shoulders don’t burn as much as you’d like them to – increase either the weight or the volume. Good luck!

This article originally appeared on : fitnessandpower.com

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Granted, it’s a bold claim to make and almost certainly not one we’re ever going to find a genuine answer to, but this Colombian model may just be able to stake a claim on the throne of “best body on the planet.”

Michelle Lewin fans will scoff while those who rate Paige Hathaway above anyone else will laugh, but Anllela Sagra can challenge both of those very different physiques with a chiseled frame of her own.

South America has always shared a strong past in producing curvaceous, powerful figures among women, but as far as we can tell, Sagra is the finest female export Colombia has ever produced, and that’s taking the immortal Sofia Vergara into account.

Lewin might be the closest thing this 23-year-old firecracker has in terms of a comparison on the main stage, although one might even suggest Sagra boasts a better frame.
Click ahead to see more of our Sagra-focused gallery, celebrating the figure of a starlet who’s still new to the fitness scene but could adorn our screens for years and years to come.

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Training experts share their top tips for keeping you motivated to succeed in the gym.

 

"Tough workouts are not only about completing a hard workout full of heavy weight and lots of sets and reps," says strength and conditioning coach, Justin Grinnell. "Sometimes the tough part is even getting into the mindset of completing a solid workout. Some days you are on and feel like moving a ton of weight and some days seem to be more complicated. Work, school, stress or whatever may be getting in the way. But I am a firm believer that we all can make time to commit to your workout. So I constantly remind myself about all of the reasons why I even need to start this workout. It simply will make me a better person for my family, others and myself." Justin Grinnell is the owner of one of the leading training facilities in the Midwest, State of Fitness Gym in Okemos, MI.  He also runs a Corporate Wellness Training Center in East Lansing, MI. Justin is a featured writer in various fitness themed magazines and websites, including Muscle & Fitness.
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Pull more weight and strengthen your back with these valuable deadlift coaching cues.

During my barbell deadlifts, I tuck my chin at the lockout. I actually want to keep my head in a more “neutral” position and have it follow the angle of my torso.  As your torso comes up, so should your head. I typically say, “take your head with you". This means when I hit the lockout, I should be looking straight ahead.

At the start, you’ll want to remember to pull your chest through your arms. This will help keep you in a good position at the start, which will give you the best potential for staying in a good position throughout the entire lift.

After the bar passes your knees, the only thing you should be thinking is – drive your hips forward with a powerful glute contraction – to finish the lockout. You don’t have to over pull the finish; just drive the hips forward until your body is in a straight line. Think to yourself, shortest distance between two points.

Taking the slack out of the bar is huge for setting your full body tension and pulling yourself down to the starting position. If there is 225 lbs on the bar, you should be pulling up on the bar with 224 lbs of force before the weight even moves. There has to be that much tension on the bar. 

This cue goes hand-in-hand with taking the slack out of the bar. Both are trying to set your back, get more tension, and get you into the best starting position possible. Pulling up on the bar sets the lats and subsequently creates a tighter core.

Once you are locked into your starting position and have the greatest amount of tension possible, drive the floor away as if you're doing a leg press. This is an amazing coaching cue and will most times eliminate the athlete’s hips from shooting up at the start of their first pull.


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Some men came into this world with a full, natural build conducive to putting on muscle almost effortlessly.  Others were not so lucky.  Guys looking to build mass and get stronger come in all different shapes and sizes, but some in particular--the naturally skinny guys--are all bound by the same cause.  Looking to make large changes and silence their critics, these guys hit the iron and barreled through their own obstacles like a freight train.  

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Enter the 2017 Rock Hard Challenge: February 15- March 15.

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But, to give you an extra push in the right direction, Muscle & Fitness teamed up with Hi-Tech to bring back the Rock Hard Challenge transformation contest for 2017.

The winner with the most dramatic transformation will win a Hi-Tech prize package valued over $500, a pair of Beats By Dre® Powerbeats2 Wireless In-Ear Headphones AND be featured on MuscleandFitness.com. Sign up before March 1st for a special reward for entering—a coupon code from SameDaySupplements for 15% off Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals product and a free Hi-Tech t-shirt with purchase for the first 100 orders.* HERE’S HOW TO ENTER: 1. Create a profile and complete our entry form in its entirety. 2. Upload your two “before” images. Include one full-body photo from the front and one full-body photo from the back. Males should wear shorts or posing trunks; Women should wear shorts and a sports bra, or two-piece swimsuit. Images should show entrant holding the March 2017 issue of Muscle & Fitness or a newspaper dated between February 15 and March 15, 2017. 3. Submit your profile. Entries must be completed by 11:59pm, March 15, 2017. FOR OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES, CLICK HERE.

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