Sculpting impressive, 3D shoulders that pop is a goal for many gym-goers. But achieving balanced, proportional delts can be tricky. The front delts tend to dominate shoulder exercises, leaving the side and rear heads underdeveloped.
According to strength coach Sam Sulek, the key to next-level delts is to emphasize side and rear delt movements. By focusing here and using proper exercise technique, you can take your shoulders to the next level.
In this complete guide, we’ll break down Sam’s best tips for impressive shoulder gains plus additional expertise from top coaches and scientific research.
Shoulder Anatomy Quick Reference
Before diving into the ideal workout plan, let’s quickly review shoulder anatomy so you understand exactly which muscles we’re targeting:
Deltoids: The shoulder muscle group compromised of anterior (front), lateral (side), and posterior (rear) heads.
Rotator Cuff: Muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint, including supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis.
The delts are the primary movers we aim to develop for aesthetic purposes. However, rotator cuff strength maintains joint integrity for injury prevention and supports heavier lifts.
Now let’s break down the function of each delt head:
- Anterior Delts: Shoulder flexion and internal rotation. Lifting arm up towards front of body.
- Lateral Delts: Shoulder abduction. Lifting arm out to the side away from body.
- Posterior Delts: Shoulder extension and external rotation. Pulling arm back behind body.
This background will help you understand how to target each area.
Focus on Side and Rear Delts
Overdeveloped front delts with lagging side and rear delts is a common imbalance. The front delts get plenty of work from pressing exercises like bench press and shoulder press. As Sam notes, there’s no need to prioritize front delts.
Instead, shift attention to building the side and rear delt heads with targeted exercises. This helps develop the 3D, rounded look that turns heads. As Sam says:
“I like to hit rear delts first. And then finish off with side lateral delt work.”
Not only does this complete shoulder stimulation, it creates a killer muscle pump. By preceding side laterals with rear delt work, you get crazy vascularity and peak contraction.
Best Side and Rear Delt Exercises
Sam stresses that you don’t need to get fancy with a huge variety of lifts here. Stick to the basics:
- Rear Delt
- Reverse Fly
- Face Pull
- Bent-over lateral raise
- Low cable pull
- Side Lelt
- Lateral Raise
- Front Raise
- Upright Row
I recommend prioritizing reverse fly, face pull, and lateral raise in particular.
Sets and Rep Schemes
Shoot for 3-4 sets in the 8-12 rep range for isolation moves. Slightly higher at 12-20 reps for the facepull done with cables and bands. Minimal rest between sets of the same exercise, around 60 seconds.
So in total, 9-16 sets per muscle group each session hitting the shoulders.
This flies in the face of outdated “high weight, low rep” protocols. Modern research confirms that mid range rep schemes stimulate just as much muscle growth. Going to concentric failure and achieving full muscle activation is key, regardless of the load.
For example, a 2020 study in Applied Physiology found no significant difference in muscle growth doing lateral raises with either 30% or 80% 1RM (3 sets to failure). So no need to risk shoulder health heaving super heavy dumbbells!
Work these lifts consistently with excellent form and you’ll see excellent enhancement of shoulder width and thickness.
Adjust Your Program Based on Feel
One key tip from Sam is to adjust your shoulder workout based on how your body feels that day.
Muscle fatigue and recovery varies day to day based on factors like sleep, nutrition, stress, etc. Don’t rigidly stick to a pre-planned program if it doesn’t match your readiness that session.
As Sam explains:
“I can do an exercise one week and feel great. And then the next week, I try hitting the exercise the exact same way and I feel like absolute s***. The intensity is not there.”
Tune into how your body feels when warming up. Does your strength and energy match what you expected? Adjust weights and volume accordingly.
This auto-regulation prevents overexertion while still applying an effective stimulus. It’s all about balance – you want enough intensity to drive growth without going past your limits.
This mind-muscle connection also helps prevent injury. Pay attention to painful joint movements or impinging motions. Stop immediately if anything feels off.
Experts also advise adjusting volume depending on your training phase:
- Bulking Phase: Reduce overall number of hard sets to allow recovery between heavy presses
- Cutting Phase: Increase volume to counteract calorie deficit
- Season Transition: Back off direct shoulder work for a brief period to avoid overuse injuries
The more you can sync programming with your body, the better your progress and joint health.
Warm Up Thoroughly Before Going Heavy
Sam is a big believer is building up to working sets with multiple progressive warm ups.
Rather than jumping right to your heaviest sets, take 50% of your working weight for 8-10 reps to prep the shoulders. Then increase to 60%, then 70% of working weight before attacking your big sets.
As Sam notes:
“I like to do 2-3 warm ups. That way, you get the exposure to weight but you don’t pre-fatigue before that top, heavy set.”
These ramp-up sets serve a dual purpose:
- Gradual activation and blood flow to connective tissue
- CNS priming to lift heavier loads in working sets
The result is you enter your max effort sets feeling strong and explosive. This allows much more weight to be used before hitting muscular failure and exhaustion.
Warm-Up Tips
- Perform 1-2 light sets of 12-15 reps
- Use bands and cables pre-fatigue muscles
- Stretch shoulder girdle pre-exercise
- Mimic exercise pattern with low load
- Keep rest periods short (45-60 seconds)
Thorough warm-ups also reduce injury risk by prepping tissues for the stress to come. Make this a priority every shoulder day.
Go Heavy on Shoulders for Growth
Once warmed up, Sam urges gym-goers to train with relatively heavy weight on shoulders. Stop short of failure, but push intensity into a brutal range.
As he explains, lighter “pump training” has its place. But maximum muscle growth comes from lifting challenging loads. Go heavy enough that reps feel like a struggle yet maintain immaculate form.
Visually, you’ll see the difference heavyweights make by the end of the workout:
“Even just picking up the water bottle to take a sip, it‘s starting to burn.”
That pump and burn leads to new muscle development over time. Shoot for loads that allow 6-10 perfect reps. Any more is likely too light for growth.
Max Effort Set Tips
- Load adequate weight
- Control tempo down
- Power up explosively
- Peak contraction hold
- 60-90 sec rest
- 4 total sets max!
With a heavy emphasis on progressive overload, your working weights will climb session to session. That leads to new growth as you constantly challenge your body.
Arrange Exercise Order Wisely
Beyond exercise selection, order matters too!
Sam recommends moving from rear delts to side delts over the course of a workout.
Finish off with side lateral raises so you end the session with the greatest pump and muscle tension. Since the side delts are the most visible part of the shoulder, this creates a phenomenal “finishing” effect.
You want to work your posterior chain first while fresh too. Compound pulling exercises like reverse flyes and face pulls require solid form to avoid back injury. Knock them out early on before fatigue sets in.
The overall flow looks like:
- Rear delt focus
- Transition to side delt work
- Finish session with intense side delt pump
Research confirms that sequencing exercises from largest to smallest muscle group optimizes performance and muscle activation.
So stick to the script: backside first, frontside last!
Sample Shoulder Workouts
Let’s outline some sample gym sessions applying all these guidelines for maximum intensity and efficiency:
Workout A
A1 Face Pull 4×12-15
A2 Lateral Raise 3×10-12
B1 Reverse Fly 3×10-12
B2 Overhead Press 3×6-10
Workout B
A1 Behind Neck Press 4×6-10
A2 Upright Row 3×10-12
B1 Reverse Pec Deck 3×12-15
B2 Front Raise 3×12-20
Cycle between these two routines all year long, adjusting weights as strength increases. This checks all the boxes: balanced stimulation, strength/size focus, exercise order, and progressive overload.
Advanced Training Methods
Intermediate and advanced lifters should incorporate intensity boosting techniques into shoulder sessions too.
Methods like supersets, drop sets, rest pause sets, and giant sets take muscle activation to the next level compared to straight sets:
- Supersets: Pairing exercises back to back targeting opposite muscle groups
- Drop Sets: Reducing weight after muscle failure to keep pumping out reps
- Rest Pause: Brief pauses mid-set to recover before resuming
- Giant Sets: Chaining 4+ exercises together with minimal rest
Not only does this provide training variety, it induces metabolic stress and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Mix these techniques into 20% of shoulder sessions for maximum results.
Adjust Volume for Bulking vs Cutting
Nutrition phase makes a major difference in ideal shoulder programming.
When increasing your calorie intake and bulking up in the offseason, Sam actually removes direct shoulder work temporarily.
Since shoulders get plenty of indirect work from large pressing movements, direct isolation isn’t always needed during this period.
The priority here is simply maintaining size while improving other muscle groups. Sam shared:
“Typically in the offseason, I train shoulders maybe once every 10 days to 2 weeks. I’m trying to recover from all the heavy bench pressing, shoulder pressing.”
Conversely, when cutting body fat, the priority shifts back to shoulders. NOW you want to continue building muscle while in a calorie deficit.
Hit shoulders twice a week in the cut to keep driving growth with direct work. This keeps them popping and prevents loss of size.
Bulking vs Cutting Guidelines
- Bulk Phase
- Train shoulders 1x week
- Focus on compound lifts
- Allow shoulder recovery
- Cut Phase
- Train shoulders 2x week
- Prioritize isolation lifts
- Keep volume slightly higher
Syncing to your diet and goal prevents wasting energy better used for muscle growth or fat loss. Program wisely depending on bulk/cut!
Additional Tips for Standout Shoulders
Implementing Sam’s advice should give you immediate improvements in shoulder stimulation and proportion. But you can take things even further by incorporating these extra techniques:
Dumbbells vs Machines vs Cables
While free weights allow the greatest range of motion, both cables and machines have benefits too:
- Machines provide fixed paths to isolate muscles
- Cables offer constant tension through motion
I advise using all three modalities for variety and joint health.
Prioritize Mind-Muscle Connection
Visualize muscles working through every rep. Concentrate on squeezing and contracting rather than just moving weight.
Studies prove this boosts activation compared to going through the motions without focus.
Achieve Single Digit Body Fat
Body fat obscures shoulder definition. Get as lean as possible through diet for maximum separation and cuts. Refeeds can fill out flatness if you overdiet.
Use Chains/Bands For Accommodating Resistance
Adding chains or bands increases tension as you lift through the motion. This leads to greater strength gains long term.
Pre-Exhaust With Lateral Raises First
Fatigue side delts before pressing for greater struggle and isolation.
In summary, balanced shoulders call for equal attention across all three delt heads. Focus your effort on the areas that tend to lag behind like your side and rear delts. Not only will your physique improve, you’ll enjoy head-turning pumps to motivate you in every workout!
Let me know if you have any other shoulder training questions in the comments. I’m always happy to help!