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- Apr 6, 2010
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My best results were achieved utilizing a very simple but effective pre-exhaust routine.
Start with a set of very strict standing, arms locked, lateral raises (~20 reps) immediately,
less than 3 seconds, followed by a set of standing behind the neck barbell presses (~20 reps).
Do this two to three times a week.
Have everything set-up in advance; dumbbells at your at your feet and the bar already
loaded, then begin. If fail before your prescribed reps, continue with partials until failure
on both the laterals and the press behind the neck. If you do not have the shoulder
flexibility for press behind the neck presses, do ‘regular’ presses and not on a machine.
One or two, perhaps even three cycles will be sufficient. If you can do more cycles than that
than you are not working hard enough. I would start with two cycles and go up or down
from there. And when in doubt, do less cycles, not more.
Guaranteed, this will fry your delts. In a matter of three to four weeks, you will see results
but you must do them exactly as prescribed, especially the time between exercises as a
muscle regains about fifty percent of its strength after approximately three seconds.
And be sure to check your ego at the door. It’s not how much weight you are using, it is
how you do them. You will probably have to start with about half the weight you were
accustomed to using in both exercises, but you will get stronger and larger delts.
An alternative routine I have used which produced good results for a while is again to
start with lateral raises, then do wide grip up-right rows followed by press behind the
neck with the same weight, for as many reps you can perform. I think this, in retrospect,
lead to overtraining, but was very very productive in the short term.
I think that the deltoids are about the easiest body part to train and subsequently see
results in. Conversely they are about the easiest body part to over-train as they serve some
function in just about every upper body exercise.
Hope this helps. Please give this a try. Keep accurate records and report back with some
fotos (before and after) if possible. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Tried this before my chest/shoulder day. 1st exercise
20lb dumbbells for the last raise
Started with 95lb on the bar and had to drop to 65, overhead military press definitely my weak point
Fried though
Did some pec dec rears (3 sets of 20 reps) and finished with seated shoulder 5 way