Shoulders & Lats A
We are now utilizing the push pull method for antagonistic
sets. We push over our heads and then pull down to work the lats. Be mindful of
your elbow positioning. 
Workout Breakdown
Circuit 1) This is where we front load the majority of the weight to get us started off with nice heavy lifts to leave you huffing and puffing.
Barbell Shoulder Press: Also known
as the Military Press, the Barbell Shoulder Press is a wonderful overhead push.
You can perform this exercise standing, seated on a bench, or seated against a
back rest. My advice is to switch up how you perform this one from week to
week. I like the seated version with my back against the bench rest. Far too
often, people choose a weight and you will arch your back to get the weight
lifted. This takes the focus away from your shoulders (which we are supposed to
be stimulating) and puts it more in your upper back. But this is Shoulder Day.
So let’s keep the focus on those front heads.
Wide-Grip Lat Pull Down: Now we are talking. This is what you need to
develop those wings under your arms. Just like all lifts, the wider your grip
the less strength you are going to have. The trick with all Lat Pulldowns is to
keep your body as perpendicular with the floor as possible. Let your back and
the floor form a 90-degree angle. If the weight is too heavy, you will lean
back to pull the weight down (just like with the overhead press) and that makes
you target the wrong muscles.
The trick here also is the grip. You don’t want to make
massive changes between sets but start wide and with the next set, bring your
grip in slightly (maybe just a finger’s width), and then bring it in slightly
more with the last set. This way you are hitting that muscle from slightly
different angles each time.
Circuit 2) We are
going for a second heavy lift for this circuit and we get to one of my favorite
exercises. Ladies and gentlemen, the Linear Jammer – which sounds like an adult
film maneuver but really isn’t.
Linear Jammers: Linear Jammers are
awesome but I can see where they can be dangerous if you don’t have focus and
you are starting off too heavy. They could damage ligaments in your wrist as
you are basically throwing the weight up and catching it on the way back down.
So go easy into this one. I just elevated to 100 lbs. on this one a few weeks
ago.
An alternative to this exercise is performing the lift
singled handed for all ten reps and then switching to the opposite side. This
makes thing much slower, controlled, and less potential injury to your wrists.
Close-Grip Front Lat Pull Down: Another variation on a theme. This is another
way to get those lats stimulated while also hitting your biceps, middle back,
and your shoulders. I would try to keep the same weight as Circuit 1 but don’t
be surprised if you can get one more rep with this hand configuration.
Circuit 3) We now
move to more of the sculpting phase with the shoulders while keeping up the
heavy weight for those lats. We move
from hitting the front head to the middle head.
One-Arm Side Laterals: I like to perform this exercise by placing my
free hand against an upright bench to keep me steady. Slowly lift the weight and as you reach the
top of the lift, twist your wrist slightly like you are pouring water from a
pitcher.
Underhand Cable Pull Down: Of all the pulldown variations, I feel I
generate the most power with this configuration. By Circuit 3, fatigue will
start becoming an issue but try to keep your weight the same as Circuits 1 and
2. Because this pull is strong, you should be able to maintain your rep count.
Circuit 4) Now
for the oft forgotten rear deltoid. Do not be surprised to see the size of the
dumbbells you are using drop off dramatically here.
Bent Over Dumbbell Rear DeltRaise w/ Head On Bench: The name of that exercise is a mouthful
but this exercise is working the back of your shoulders. Remember, we want a
total body workout here. Resting your head on the bench limits your body
English.
Kneeling Single Arm High Pulley Row:
This is a great exercise that you can perform with straps or independent
handles. With your hands in the loops, you can do this exercise with a neutral
grip, giving you a different pulling experience. I like to begin with an
overhand grip (think Superman in flight) and then twist my forearm to a neutral
position as I pull my hand down to my ribs.
Circuit 5) Now we
are back to targeting the front head. I love the juxtaposition of these
two exercises. They complement each other so well; I have paired these two
exercises together in almost every iteration of Furyan Strength.
Standing Dumbbell Straight-Arm Raise Above Head: This exercise is more torturous than it looks on paper. You can
perform this with dumbbells, an EZ-Curl bar, or a regular Olympic bar (if you
are an animal). If you perform this with Dumbells, you can change things up by
lifting them simultaneously, or alternate your raises so that the dumbbells
pass each other in your eye line. DON’T CHEAT. Lift the weight! Do not sling it!
You will be tempted to go to heavy and sling. Don’t! Lift less and work
harder.
Straight-Arm Pulldown (w/ Bar): Do
not confuse this with another Lat Pulldown. With this maneuver, you are keeping
your arms straight the entire time. If you are looking at your profile and
imagining a clock face, you are pulling the weight from 2:00 to 6:00. You will
feel your lats flaring out as you pull the weight down to 6:00 and return. With
the A workout, you perform this exercise with a Lat Pulldown Bar. In the B
workout, we alternate this to rope extensions.
Circuit 6) I really hope at this point your lats are
screaming at you. They certainly should be after 50 reps. So now we will shift from
the Lats to the Trapezius muscles while still alternating between the three
heads of the shoulder.
Side Lateral Raise: I think because
you are going to use such a light weight for this exercise, you might discount
its effectiveness. This is the perfect example of where it is better to use a
lighter weight allowing you to lift slower and hold at the apex longer. Work
harder by lifting less. You still want to sweat and be out of breath at the end
but scale back the weight to achieve surgical form.
Dumbbell One-Arm Upright Row: We
switch the Upright Rows between One-Arm Rows performed with dumbbells and
Two-Arm Rows with barbells. Performing
the exercise one handed allows you to really focus on one side at a time
through the course of the lifts.
Circuit 7) One last hit of the rear head and more power
to the traps. This is going to give your that big strong upper back and help
you achieve that V-shape.
Seated Bent Over Rear DeltRaise – Here is the best tip I can give you that is not going to be in any of
your fancy books and exercise guides. Dudes, sit as far forward on the bench as
you can. Put as little of your butt cheeks on the bench as possible. From this
position, when you bend over, with your legs gapped apart, it will allow your
coin purse to hang down below the bench and increased comfort by a factor of
10. You’re welcome.
Barbell Upright Row: A variation
from Circuit 6, the key to this exercise is hand placement. The trick is
to not keep your hand grip too close together. If you pantomime a few reps with
your hands close together and your hands at shoulder width, you can feel the
proper pull in your upper back and neck when you keep your hands farther apart.
Circuit 8) Now we close with a strong finish, hitting the
front heads one last time and then performing a stretching exercise that is
going to turn those shoulders into boulders.
Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press
– We are going to conclude with one last push of the front head of your
shoulders because this exercise is far too good to pass on.
CarDrivers – These are
exactly what they sound like. Grab a plate, extend your arms straight out in
front of you and turn the plate like it is an imaginary steering wheel.
Shoulders & Lats B
This routine is more dumbbell-based which gives you the
opportunity to work the muscles independently. By utilizing the strategy of hitting the heads
of the shoulders in a stagger rotation, this is how you are going to build those
boulder shoulders!
Workout Breakdown
Circuit 1) We begin with a nice heavy lift of dumbbells
which is going to force your arms to work independently. Whatever you are
comfortable with using the barbell, I would expect to use a dumbbell that is half
of that lift weight minus five pounds. If you can perform a Military Press of
100 pounds, expect to lift for reps with 45 lb. dumbbells.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: I like to
do these seated to take that rear lean completely out of the equation and force
the emphasis back onto my shoulders. From week to week, I do recommend
switching where you do one week sitting and the next week standing. For real
torture you can alternate the lifts. By performing this right hand and then left
hand, you keep your core engaged for a longer time. Your arms are still only
performing this for 10 reps each but your core is doing this for 20 reps.
Wide-Grip Lat Pull Down: This exercise is so tried and true it is featured
in both the A and B routines. Dance with
the one that brought you…
Circuit 2) I still want you sweating so we are going to
keep that shoulder part stacked with heavy lifts and then move to the mother of
all lat exercises.
Arnold Dumbbell Press: Named for the master himself, how can we NOT have this in
the rotation? Because of the twisting movement, this exercise shifts from the front
head to the middle head with a single lift.
Wide Grip Pull Ups with Bands: I can see you shaking your head right now. I know.
Pullups look terrifying on paper. I have put them in here in Circuit 2 to make
sure that Circuit 1 has me good and warmed up but not so far down in the
rotation that I am too fatigued to pull them off properly.
Big time gyms are going to have Pull Up machines that you
can counterbalance the weight so that the more weight you stack on, the easier
it is. I don’t have ready access to one of these but my gym does have the Pull
Up Bands that act like big giant rubber bands that you run from the grip to
your feet. This makes a pull up achievable. Note, I just list the rep count as AMRAP
(As Many Reps As Possible). This is a nightmare but we need to work on those
goals of doing Pullups for reps. This is the starting block.
Front Dumbbell Raise: Now, this is how you target those front heads of the
shoulders. Keep in mind that you can alternate your grip with these. You can
perform one set with a hammer grip (palms facing in) and then alternated to a
grip where your palms face the floor when elevated. The palms-up grip doesn’t
feel very natural to me and if there is legitimate pain, don’t do it.
V-Bar Pulldown: As I have spoken about in the past, close grip = more strength.
So much the same as that Underhand Cable Pulldown, expect to be able to rip off
a few extra reps with this exercise.
Circuit 4) It is important to note that the middle deltoids
can also be worked by lifting weight into position as opposed to just pushing
it overhead. We shift the focus to that style with this rotation.
Power Partials: It is important to execute good form with this exercise. Scaling
back the weight will allow to achieve slower lifts and you will be able to keep
the weight at the apex of your lift longer. This is a prime example of less weight
for greater results.
Kneeling High Pulley Row (two handed): This exercise is similar to the exercise in
Shoulders A but now you perform it two-handed. As we have done so many Pulldowns
with grips where you see the front and back of your hands, remember to twist
your wrists to end with a neutral grip. Start out flying like Superman but
twist as you bring the weight down to the neutral position. If you are using looped
straps, try to touch your nose to the connecting ring as you pull down.
Face Pull: The Face Pull is going to take some getting used to initially. When you
are first getting started, you will have to use a minimal amount of weight and
it is not really going to feel like a rear shoulder exercise. Focus on
squeezing your shoulder blades together and you will feel it.
Shotgun Row: The Shotgun Row is like a lat pulldown but performed on a horizontal
plane. Remember to twist your wrist. Start with your palm down when your arm is
extended and end with your palm facing up as you tuck your hand against your
ribs. Expect to lift slightly less weight than your One-Arm Kneeling High Pulley
Row.
Single Dumbbell Raise: This is also a favorite of mine. You are basically
clutching a single DB by the top head. You then lift it straight out in front
of you from the hips until you can see your eyes in the mirror. (About
100-degree arc?) The trick is to maintain control both in the upswing of the
weight and when it falls back down to the starting position. If you don’t
maintain control during the swing back down… Your wedding business is in
jeopardy. Remember, you want to LIFT the weight, not swing it up into position.
A nice alternative to this – if you want to switch out
from week to week – is the Front
Plate Raise. It is slightly easier to grip the plate as opposed to the
dumbbell head. So consider working that into your rotation.
Straight-Arm Pulldown (w/ Rope Attachment): As for the Straight-Arm Pulldown, I feel you
can perform more weight using the same wide bar that you use for your Wide Grip
Lat Pulldowns. But if you use the loops or handles, you can extend your hands
further behind your hips. It is not much of a difference but those few inches
where you pull the weight past your hips is where real work gets done.
Circuit 7) Let’s hit those middle delts with a something
different and you can never put too much emphasis on those traps…
Dumbbell Raise: I call these “Chicken
Wings” just as my own mnemonic device. You have two DBs down by your
side (neutral grip) and you lift them until your elbows make that chicken wing
shape. I find that easier to remember and this exercise is vastly different
because you are pulling the weight up (like an invisible rickshaw) instead of
pushing over your head.
Dumbbell Shrugs: Remember, with the Barbell or Dumbbell Shrugs, you are
shrugging the weight into position. Take your arms completely out of the equation
to get the full effect. Try to pull your shoulders up to your ears.
Bent Over, Low Pulley Side Lateral Raise: You are going to feel like a weakling
when you first attempt this but once you get the hang of it, this is a great
way to target that rear delt. If you do find it do difficult, you can sub for
this with any bent over row.
External/Internal Rotations with Bands:
These are a nice cool down exercise that targets a part of the shoulder that
people never see. It strengthens those tendons and cords in your armpits.
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