Shoulders Lagging- Need Advice

[Joy]

I have been concentrating on my shoulders for about 12 weeks now. They continue to lag and I'm not sure why. I start my shoulders fresh in the week. I also try to work my upper back in there too. My current routine is below:



seated shoulder press 10 x 30 4 sets
rear lat raises 10 x 20 4 sets
bent over rows (90 degrees) wide grip 8 x 50 2 or 3 sets depending on where I start them in my routine. I drop back to 10 x 40 if I'm tired.
bent over rows (45 degrees) close grip- I superset with the 90 degree rows so the weight and sets are the same.
upright row 8 or 10 x 40 4 sets
side lat raises 10 x 15 4 sets

bent over rows 12 x 35 4 sets
Wide grip pull downs 65, 70, 75, 75
assisted pull ups- weight set on 10 3 sets 10-12 reps
Shrugs 45, 55, 65, 65

I am working the front shoulders with my bench presses and they actually look pretty good. Lat, and post delts are lagging. I am 5' 3" 120 lbs bf approx 15% and am currently working on a slow bulk. Diet is good. Gains are coming elsewhere just not in the shoulders.

If anyone has any ideas I could use them.

[PillarofBalance]

You're probably either over training them since they're small and assist in other lifts or you aren't training heavy enough. Try laying off them for a week or two and then come back to your next shoulder day and stick to compound movements. Over head press and upright rows for example. And go heavy. 3 to 5 reps.

[bigdave1967]

Agreed. All that high-rep bullshit isn't allowing you to use enough weight to force growth. You need to hit your fast-twitch muscle fibers to coax the greatest amount of growth in your muscles, and 40-rep sets with a light weight just isn't going to get you there.

[Joy]

Thank you, both. I will give them a break for a week or so and then go back with low rep/ high weights. Maybe it would do me good to actually adopt that rep/weight scheme with my entire routine for a while. It would be a nice change. Thanks again. I really appreciate the input.

[PillarofBalance]

Thank you, both. I will give them a break for a week or so and then go back with low rep/ high weights. Maybe it would do me good to actually adopt that rep/weight scheme with my entire routine for a while. It would be a nice change. Thanks again. I really appreciate the input.

I stopped doing 4 sets of 12 reps of EVERYTHING and started really pushing myself over the last few months hitting reps of 1-5 and the amount of growth everywhere has been staggering. It'll help you pick up your appetite a bit so you'll be able to add more fuel to the fire.

[shan]

Yep...less reps and more weight...6-12 rep range would be much better for shoulders...

[sassy69]

Definitely too many reps. Are you competing or planning to compete? I would also work on your posing if you are. When I look at some women, I want to say shoulders are a genetic thing, altho I've seen some friends go from 8 yr old boy shape to a BEAUTIFUL big Y shape (figure competitor) in a matter of about 12-18 months. Try changing up your rep range for a while. Go heavy on the lifts that don't expose your shoulders to unsupported positions (I'd put lateral raises and Arnold presses in that group) and lighter on the ones that do. Meaning you don't need to go ultra heavy on things like front & side raises. The last thing you want to do is **** up a rotator cuff cuz that shit never goes away. So keep that in mind as you are increasing your weights - not necessary to go heavy on everything, but on stuff like presses & pulls, go for it, as long as your core is tight and your form is tight.

If you notice any soreness or pain, I would then suggest you incorporate some light rotator warm ups just to get started. Its a small but complex joint that is just too key to mess up in pursuit of shoulder growth.t

[Mr P]

[QUOTE=Joy;129047]I have been concentrating on my shoulders for about 12 weeks now. They continue to lag and I'm not sure why. I start my shoulders fresh in the week. I also try to work my upper back in there too. My current routine is below:

seated shoulder press 10 x 30 4 sets
rear lat raises 10 x 20 4 sets
bent over rows (90 degrees) wide grip 8 x 50 2 or 3 sets depending on where I start them in my routine. I drop back to 10 x 40 if I'm tired.
bent over rows (45 degrees) close grip- I superset with the 90 degree rows so the weight and sets are the same.
upright row 8 or 10 x 40 4 sets
side lat raises 10 x 15 4 sets

bent over rows 12 x 35 4 sets
Wide grip pull downs 65, 70, 75, 75
assisted pull ups- weight set on 10 3 sets 10-12 reps
Shrugs 45, 55, 65, 65

I am working the front shoulders with my bench presses and they actually look pretty good. Lat, and post delts are lagging. I am 5' 3" 120 lbs bf approx 15% and am currently working on a slow bulk. Diet is good. Gains are coming elsewhere just not in the shoulders.

If anyone has any ideas I could use them.[/QUO

super high reps for shoulders is unique but it takes longer than 12 weeks to get them ripped shreaded add 6 months to it and see what I mean

[Joy]

Not competing, but I want that Y shape badly!! I won't rule out competing if I can progress to the point where I could compete. I am not there- yet. I have changed my routine since the post and am heeding everyones advice. I am going heavy/ low reps. Form is sloppy on some- mostly the side raises, but when I start that I back the weight off. No pain..all is good. I am also working shoulders 1 day a week. Actually I am working each body part 1 day a week- heavy/ low reps. I am going to stick w/ this until the beginning of July. I am planning on running a cycle of anavar. I will see how I feel and how I look then and tweek if need be.

[Snake]

one thing I found was that bent over lat raises never did a thing for my rear delts until I started doing them standing up on cables...I think having resistance throughout the entire movement was key for me...bent over with dumbells is like half a movement compared to cables..hope this helps..

[Stumpy]

one thing I found was that bent over lat raises never did a thing for my rear delts until I started doing them standing up on cables...I think having resistance throughout the entire movement was key for me...bent over with dumbells is like half a movement compared to cables..hope this helps..

This is exactly what I do for rear delts. I've allways found rear delt to be a tricky one to try and isolate but using cables so far seems to be the best method.