How to Build A Physique That Stands Out – Part One the Shoulders

It has been said that shoulders make the man, and I could not agree more. Big, round and ultra-wide shoulders will set off any physique and make it stand out from the rest. Especially since you do not see very many people with really great shoulders. One reason for this is, work, and by this I mean the art of building big shoulders takes hard work and unfortunately a lot of people simply do not want to put the work in.

A DIFFERENT PRESS

When you talk about presses most people automatically assume you mean bench presses, but the kind of press I am referring to is the overhead press. Long before the bench press caught on like no ones business, the overhead press was the upper body exercise of choice, and for good reason. Not only does it work all three heads of the shoulders hard, but works the middle back in a unique manner, helps keep the muscles that make up the rotator cuff strong, and it will give your triceps quite a workout as well. These can be done with a barbell or dumbbells and to be honest I prefer dumbbells as I feel they are easier on the shoulders, but give both a go and see which version you like best.

Another thing you can do is to alternate between barbell presses and dumbbell presses, as each one works the shoulders a bit differently and this approach also helps to prevent boredom. I know, I know, people talk about standing or seated lateral raises for the side deltoid head, but trust me on this, when you work up to handling some good poundage in the overhead press-your side delts will be working hard. And you will see the results.

A COUPLE OF POINTS

First, if you were born with naturally narrow shoulders focusing on the side delt head is a great idea because it will create the illusion of having wider shoulders. And it will help your waist look smaller if you are naturally thick in this area.

Second, though, is a point most people over look when trying to build a physique that stands out and this is the rear deltoid head. So many physiques are lacking in this area (and the overhead press works this area-hint hint) that by taking care to see to it that this area of your body is on par with everything else, you will stand out from the crowd.

LAST POINT

I mentioned this earlier, but I want to expand on it. The overhead press will help keep your rotator cuff muscles strong, which is especially great, as ask anyone who has injured a shoulder-it is seriously hard to train with a hurt shoulder. So take care to do your overhead presses with good form and hold the barbell or dumbbells over head for a few seconds after each rep, as holding a heavy weight overhead helps strengthen the rotator cuffs.

CONCLUSION

Wide, thick and massive shoulders will set off your physique like no other body part. And if you take the take the time to make sure all three heads-but especially the side and rear heads-are equally developed, you will really stand out. If this sounds good to you, I urge you to give the exercise above a go. Your shoulders will thank you.

GIVE IT EVERYTHING