With the return of the perfect workout series, I am updating the perfect shoulder workout to give you the best shoulder workout you can do. The biggest difference is that I am giving you not just one, but two perfect shoulder workouts for you to try that are not just randomly thrown together, but are based on science.
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With this perfect shoulder workout based on science, that doesn’t mean it is simply married to the latest research fads that everyone is jumping behind and throwing all other techniques out the window for. Instead, it’s going to be based on anatomy, biomechanics, as well as some of that newer research.
Now, the perfect shoulder workout based on science should consist of exercises not just for the front delt, but the middle and rear delts as well. That said, even that doesn’t make the shoulder workout complete. In order to round out your shoulders with a well-rounded, perfect workout, you need to fill in the gaps of what is lacking on those popular shoulder exercises and put science into your training.
We also know, thanks to science, that hitting the shoulders twice in a week is going to be better than once a week, which means we can include more opportunities for different ways to hit the shoulders as well as shortening the workouts so that you attack another muscle group in the same day.
Take note, however, that this perfect shoulder workout is designed to either compliment the perfect leg workout on the say day, or can be utilized as standalone workout on its own.
So what does the perfect shoulder workout look like?
Perfect Shoulder Workout 1:
1. DB Single Arm OHP / Barbell OHP: 2-3 x 6-8 FF
- If you have any orthopedic issues when it comes to your shoulder limiting your overhead pressing abilities, then the dumbbell single arm ohp is the perfect exercise for you. While this version of the press allows you to handle a heavier dumbbell, it also allows for stacking of the wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints which can provide stability and relief for shoulder pain when pressing.
- If you don’t have any shoulder issues, then the perfect pressing exercise would be the barbell overhead press to really overload the shoulders with tension.
2. DB Lateral Raises (Straight Arm into Bent Arm): 3-4 x 10-12 + Partials
- This mechanical drop set is a great way to overload the middle delts and allow you to train to and through failure. Once you reach failure on the straight arm lateral raise, simply bend your elbows to shorten the moment arm. This will allow you to continue performing repetitions until you reach failure once again. Don’t stop there, though. Eke out as many partial reps as you can once you’ve hit failure to continue stimulating the medial deltoids and give them a greater chance to grow.
3. DB Rear Delt Rows: 2 x 10-12
- Since we’ve been getting a decent amount of rear delt stimulation from our previous perfect back workouts, less volume is needed during the perfect shoulder workout. This means less sets in the workout, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook them.
- This exercise is one of the best for targeting the rear delts. This is because we are getting extension of the elbow back behind the body. Not only that, but this exercise can be loaded fairly heavy in order to get more tension overload on a muscle that is usually relegated to light weights when doing popular exercises such as the reverse fly. The problem I have with that exercise is that not only are you forced into using lighter weights, but you are also lacking that extension of the arm back behind the body, meaning you are leaving gains on the table.
Watch the video for the second perfect shoulder workout as it will round out the training that you will need to do to completely hit the shoulders over the course of the week and reach the ideal amount of frequency and volume.
Here are the relevant studies used to build this perfect shoulder workout:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27102172/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6950543
- https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/abstract/2022/02000/muscle_failure_promotes_greater_muscle_hypertrophy.8.aspx
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380851058_Resistance_training_beyond_momentary_failure_The_effects_of_lengthened_supersets_on_muscle_hypertrophy_in_the_gastrocnemius
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9935664
If you are looking for a step-by-step workout program with a meal plan included, be sure to head over to athleanx.com and use the program selector to find the program that best matches your current training goal and ability levels.
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