Shoulders

Well in this post we are going to examine 4 of the most popular deltoid builders out there. They are-
1. The overhead press
2. The bench press
3. The handstand push up
4. The push up

Lets start with the easiest one.

The bench press is a great anterior delt builder and is immensely popular. However, as anyone who has consistently benched will tell you, they wreck havoc with your shoulders. There are three reasons for this-
1. The shoulder blades are not allowed to move. This forces the humerus to rotate, which it can't because of reason 2.
2. Gripping a straight bar with the fingers around the bar does not allow the humerus to rotate. Because of the ROM involved in a bench press, if this rotation does not happen, your rotator cuff has to bear the brunt of the weight. These muscles are not as strong as the pecs and shoulders and therefore give out real quick.

Problems 1 and 2 can be solved by either pressing with dumbbells  or using a thick bar, which allows your hands to be open.
But problem three is deeper.

3. Elbows are flared out, which strains the ligaments and the rotator cuff.

The only way to make the bench press a completely safe exercise is to change the form entirely. Use dumbbells, tuck your elbows in and stop when the plates touch your chest. However, this particular form of the bench press is hard to set up, and very hard to load with heavy weights.

The next best thing is thick bar bench presses, performed with a narrow grip (about shoulder width), with the elbows tucked in and the shoulders screwed tightly into the joint, with a full second pause at the bottom. This makes the bench press a fantastic anterior deltoid and tricep builder, but takes away somewhat from its value as a chest builder.

The next exercise is push ups.

The biggest problem with push ups is that they are just too easy for most really strong guys. If you are working up to the one arm regulation perfect push up, this problem is solved. The greatest advantage of the push up is that the scapula is free to move and the palms are flat. This makes it an incredible exercise from a safety perspective. It is one of the few exercises that actually develops the rotator cuff. However it is still very stressful on the ligaments.

My experience is that push ups are used best as tricep and rotator cuff builders. Combine your bench press sessions with medicine ball push ups, each hand on a different ball, and you will effectively bullet proof your rotator cuff from injury. In my experience, if you want to build powerful ligaments, you have to work the stretched position thoroughly, with relatively high reps, done in a steady fashion. Simply perform your medicine ball push ups with a full second pause at the bottom, for more than 20 reps a set, and your ligaments will also be bullet proof. The second key to ligament and rotator cuff strength is full contraction, which we shall talk about in overhead work.

The next exercise is the Military press.

Now this exercise is probably the best exercise that exists for building massive shoulders, but must people do them wrong, and sooner or later, jack their shoulders. I will keep it simple-

1. Medium grip- Extreme grips hurt the shoulders. Close grip is not that bad, but only if the ROM is restricted. My advice is, if you want to do close grip pressing, do handstand push ups. The ROM is perfect there.

2. No splaying out the elbows.

3. Thick bar- This will allow the humerus and the scapula to rotate.

4. Full lockout- This emphasizes the medial delt and really develops the muscles of the back and the external rotators. It also works the scapula retractors and depressors. It is the key to healthy shoulders. This is the prime reason why guys earlier (Before the Bench) rarely suffered from shoulder injuries. They really worked the lockout of the overhead press, and performed presses that emphasized it, like push presses. In addition, the full contraction builds strength in the tendons and ligaments.

5. Restrict ROM- Cut out the bottom 3 inches of your press. This is the ROM that damages the rotator cuff, due to the inability of the scapula to rotate. Instead, pause for a full second in the bottom (chin level). This will build strength in that portion of the Movement.

The thing is, done correctly military presses builder healthy powerful shoulders. And yes, they must be done standing with NO cheating and tight abs, quads and glutes. Chest out my friend. Most people however, will take forever to perfect this technique.

Which is why I recommend mastering the handstand push up first.

It has all the benefits of the military press, with the added fact that the perfect form is kind of default. It is fairly impossible to perform handstand push ups any other way. All handstand push ups should be practiced against a wall, so that it is a pure strength exercise, not a balancing feat.

Thus I give the following 5 routines for shoulders that will make superman look small. Spend at least 2 months before moving to a harder routine. And please start from routine 1.

Beginner Routine 1-
Horizontal Day- (say Monday)
Warm up set of Shoulder Friendly Bench presses- 50% 1 R.M for 8 reps- 2 Sets.
Warm up set of Machine/ Bent over/ Chest Supported row to the upper abdomen- 50% 1 R.M for 8 reps- 2 sets

3 work sets of Bench presses with over 80% of your 1 R.M. Do not perform more than 4-5 reps.
3 work sets of rows with over 80% of your 1 R.M. Do not perform more than 4-5 reps.
2 Bench singles with 90-92% of your 1 R.M.

2 sets of Medicine ball push ups, done with perfect form, for high but comfortable repetitions. Stop 2-3 repetitions before your form breaks down.
2 sets of palms away pull ups, slightly wider than shoulder with, with a second pause at the top, with the chin completely clear of the bar. Stop 1-2 reps before your form suffers. 

Vertical Day (say Thursday)
Warm up set of military presses with a really light weight. 8 reps- 2 sets. (Perfect your Form)
2 sets of 3 palms facing you chin ups.

Pike Push ups- Feet on an object about knee height. Your torso should be vertical. It should look exactly like a handstand push up, except your hips are angled.
Perfect form, comfortable reps. Stop 1-2 reps short of concentric failure.
3 sets.
3 sets of palms away, slightly wider than shoulder width pull ups.  Perform with a full second pause at the top, with the chin completely clear of the bar. Stop 1-2 reps before your form suffers.

3 singles of controlled handstand negatives. Try to go as slow as possible, take as much rest as you need between singles.
10 reps with a 10 rep max weight of Rows to the upper abdomen.

Beginner Routine 2-

The routine is the same as the previous one, except you will no longer do Pike Push ups. You will do the deepest partial handstand push up you can handle for 4 repetitions. Also, handstand negatives will be replaced with power negatives. Basically you will pause for 3 seconds in the mid point, and 5 seconds in the bottom.

Intermediate Routine 1-

This routine is the Same as the previous routine except you will add 2 exercises. You will replace handstand partials with full handstand push ups. You will also replace power negatives with High Incline (60 Degrees), bench press. The form will be the same as the standard bench press. Use a weight that will allow you no more than 5 reps in good form. Perform 3 sets of 4 with that weight.

Intermediate Routine 2-

This routine is the same as the previous one, except you will increase the depth of your handstand push ups using blocks or weight plates (anything that allows you to keep the palms flat). In the bottom position, your chin and palms must be at the same level. Also, you will perform 2 sets of 10 incline presses, with a weight you could have pressed 12 times for 1 set.

Advanced

You will replace handstand push ups with military presses with a weight higher than bodyweight. You will replace incline presses with 2 sets of close/diamond grip handstand push ups, performed 1-2 reps short of concentric failure.

Throughout this entire program, you will have to keep varying the rep range and weights, to avoid staleness. Every 4th week cut the reps to about half in all exercises  and increase the weight slightly (max 10%) for that entire week. Then get back to the routine. This should prevent your strength from stagnating.

In this program, the only upper body muscle that is not worked properly is your pecs. Do not use a pressing variation to work your pecs, and do not work them along with the rest of the upper body. Work your chest using cable flys on the days you do your lower body and abs. If you are a real man, you will opt for the manly pursuit of nail and bar bending. Simply, get a nail, and bend it using your chest power. Wrap it with a towel first. Frankly any rod or bar will do. If you are more man than flys, but not man enough to bend nails, get one of those chest exercisers. They are not bad, they do a good job of working the pecs.

For the lower body, keep it simple. Olympic Barbell Squats and deadlifts. One day light, one day heavy. Or you could emphasize squats one day, deadlifts the other.

Come back to me after a year and show me those cannon ball deltoids.