Huge deltoids and trapezius muscles give a bodybuilder the broad shouldered and thick-necked look required to place at a contest and turn heads on a beach.
My delt routine is split up so that I work the rear delts and trapezius muscles on back day and the front and side delts on biceps day. I feel this has two advantages. First, the rear delts and traps are complementary to a lot of back movements and are already warmed up by the time I hit them on back day. Second, by reserving the front and side delts for another day I can hit them with that much more intensity because I don't have shrugs and bent dumbbell raises hanging over me in my mind.
Becuase of the weights and rep ranges that I use, I wouldn't even think of starting front/side delt workout without at least two sets of warming up followed by a moderately heavy set before I go really nuts. Torn rotator cuffs aren't uncommon in the world of lifting so take time to warm up and strech.
On to the exercises...
Sitting on a bench with a back rest, grasp two moderately heavy dumbbells and rest them on your thighs. Kick your legs up one at a time to help get the weight up to your shoulders.
Press the weights up and then slowly lower them back down. Take them all the way down to the point where the edges of the dumbbells touch your side delts before squeezing out another rep. Be sure to keep the weights moving in a completely vertical plane with no back and forth motion.
Front deltoids, secondary emphasis on side delts and trapezius.
This is the core movement of my delt routine.
Named after the seven-time Mr. Olympia who invented them, Arnold Presses are performed seated with two moderately heavy dumbbells. Begin the movement with the dumbbells curled up to your shoudlers in front of you with your palms facing towards your chest. Rotate your arms out to your side while at the same time extending your arms and lifting the weight over your head. Bring down and rotate back in front of you before repeating.
Front deltoids, secondary emphasis on side delts and trapezius.
This movement attacks the front delts from a slightly different angle and than the regular dumbbell presses and is a great movement.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and with a moderately heavy barbell in your hands. Hold the bar towards the center with your hands 6 to 12 inches apart. Row the weight up past your chin and pause before lowering in a controlled manner.
Front deltoids, strong emphasis on trapezius and rear delts.
If your split has you working traps and delts on the same day then this movement offers a good way to make the transition from one muscle group to the next in your workout.
You'll need two light dumbbells for this movement. Start standing with the weight at your sides. With the elbows slightly bent raise the weight up just past paralell. To isolate the side head of the deltoids, be sure move your arms up and down along your side rather than in front.
I have begun to perform this movement while seated on a bench. It prevents me from hunching forward to try and swing the weights up. This greater strictness of motion helps isolate the side deltoids in my opinion
Side deltoids, strong emphasis on trapezius.
This movement works so well for me I've never used anything else for side delts. If you want to up the intensity level, try holding a pair of lighter dumbbells at shoulder level with your arms outstretched as long as possible immediately after your last set.
Performed standing with two relatively light dumbbells. With the elbows very slightly bent, raise one dumbbell up to your forehead. the dumbbells should travel in an arc in front of your body during this movement. Some people raise the weights way up past this, but the deltoids are no longer involved past the forhead.
Front deltoids, secondary emphasis on trapezius.
This is a favourite of delt-master Kevin Levrone. A lot of bodybuilders leave out this movement because it is commonly believed that incline bench press and shoulder presses provide more than enough stimulation for the front delts. I can't pass judgement, all I know is that Mr Levrone has the most massive shoulders I've ever seen.
Sit on a bench with two light dumbbells at your feet. Lean over so that your torso is against your legs and pick up the weight. Keeping your arms as straight as possible, raise the weight up with your arms sticking out to your side. Be sure to raise them as far as possible before lowering.
Rear deltoids, trapezius.
You'll find that this works the trapezius just about as much as the rear delts. This is why I prefer to include rear delt movements in my trapezius and back workout. I personally use these as a warmup for heavy dumbbell shrugs.
A variation on this movement that I have begun to favor involves cables. Adjust both pullys to the lowest position and select a light weight. Grap the left handle with your right hand and the right handle with your left hand. Bend your legs, drop your butt and flatten your back by looking up. The cables should be crossed in front of you. Execute the movement by raising your arms until the are parallel with the floor and slowly lowering the weights back down.
I find that with the cables, it is easier to resist through the entire range of motion during the negative portion of the rep.
This movement can be performed seated or standing. Get a pair of heavy dumbbells and hold them at your sides. Shrug your shoulders up and back as far and as high as possible. Pause for a moment to get the most complete contraction and repeat.
Trapezius.
This is the mass builder for those trying to get a thick tapered neck. Performing these with deadlifts on the same day is an excellent trap workout.
These can also be performed with a barbell, but I find it much more natural to use dumbbells because they don't rub against you during the movement.