High, wide and huge: a deft-thrashing workout to hit every head of the muscle - Ask Dorian - shoulders

My upper body is finally shaping up quite nicely with one noticeable exception: My shoulders continue to lag behind my biceps, triceps and chest Gould you please help me out with a program to bring up this lagging bodypart?

Brian Johnson London, England

Shoulder Width is the most important element in an ideally proportioned upper body, and I'm concerned that this is the area that has given you fits. Shoulder width is an absolute requirement for displaying the V taper that will make or break a physique.

The key to looking wide is building delts that can be seen from every angle--front, side and rear. In order to realize perfection in shoulder development, consider first that you are not working a single muscle, but a group with three heads: anterior (front head), medial (side head) and posterior (rear head). Since the goal is to achieve harmony between all three heads of the deltoid muscle group, it is essential to organize a shoulder session around exercises that work in concert to stimulate the delts from every angle.

Selecting specific exercises is a trial-and-error process. Often, experimenting with an array of different movements will determine what yields the best results. Since you asked for my help, I'll share the three exercises that have worked most effectively throughout my career: seated Smith machine presses (for front delts), seated side laterals (for side delts) and seated bent laterals (for rear delts). For the record, I always do my rear-delt work with my back routine, believing that area ties in better with upper-back work. To address your problem, I suggest you include rear-delt work with your other shoulder exercises.

Seated Smith machine presses This is a safe and effective alternative to behind-the-neck presses as your main meat-and-potatoes mass builder. Behind-the-neck presses stress the fragile shoulder joints. That's why seated Smith presses are so useful to furthering muscle growth. You lift through a guided groove--safe, secure and balanced--to arms' length, without worrying about going too heavy and injuring those delicate joints. Place 100% of your focus on your delts, visualizing the caps popping like crazy, and don't get distracted by the sheer mechanics of the movement.

Keep the technique simple and clean. I set myself up at a Smith machine with the bar resting at the overhead position. Using a slightly wider-than-shoulder-width grip, I release the bar from the supports and bring it down to shoulder level; then, pausing at the bottom, I press up to just short of lockout position to put constant pressure on my shoulders.

Typically, to ensure the safety of the exercise, I suggest one warm-up set of 15 reps, followed by three working sets in the eight- to 12-rep range.

Seated side laterals

Next, grab two dumbbells for four sets of side laterals--one light warm-up set of 15 reps, followed by three working sets of eight to 10 reps.

Begin from a seated position at the end of a flat bench, palms facing each other and the dumbbells tucked under your hams. Bend your elbows slightly and without moving your upper torso, bring your arms out to your sides and, with palms facing the floor, raise the dumbbells to shoulder height. Then, slowly and under complete control, lower the dumbbells to the starting position.

Seated bent laterals

Again, grasp two dumbbells and sit on the end of a bench, bending forward as far as is comfortable. The dumbbells will be adjacent to your ankles, which throws the stress onto your rear delts.

Adopt a slight bend in your elbows, then with only your arms moving, raise the dumbbells through a vertical plane to as high as you can, which will be near shoulder level. Try to hold for a second to stress the rear delts before slowly returning to the starting position. After the preceding delt work, no warm-up is needed for this exercise, so three sets of eight to 12 reps should do the trick.

Implement the Weider Muscle Priority Training Principle, training your delts first in your workout. Do the routine I recommend twice a week, two or three days apart. Aim for perfect form, as this is the best method of targeting the occasionally difficult to isolate delts, and visualize every rep as being a step toward the shoulder development you want.

Dorian Yates welcomes your questions on any topic of bodybuilding. Send your queries to Ask Dorian, FLEX magazine, 21100 Erwin St., Woodland Hills CA 91367.

Visit Dorian's Web site at www.dorianyates.net.

DELTS BY DORIAN

EXERCISE                      SETS  REPS

Seated Smith machine presses   3 *  8-12
Seated side laterals           3 *  8-10
Seated bent laterals           3    8-12

* Precede with one light warm-up set of 15 reps

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