5 EXERCISES TO BUILD BIGGER SHOULDERS

IFBB Pro Fouad Abiad's best exercises to build bigger shoulders

How to Build Bigger Shoulders

Nothing completes a physique more like having big, capped shoulders. In this video, Fouad Abiad shares his tips and tricks to build bigger delts. The key to maximizing growth is to learn how to isolate each of the three delt heads—the anterior deltoid (front), lateral deltoid (side), and posterior (rear) deltoid. No matter how hard you are hitting your shoulder workout on any given day, if you're not effectively isolating the different heads, then you're not going to see well-balanced broad, round shoulders. Follow these tips to get massive shoulders.

Before you dive into the workout, make sure you have mixed up your INTRA[R3] intra-workout, so it's ready to start sipping on as you move through each exercise. Intra-workout, also known as peri-workout, is a crucial period in the workout window to provide your body with nutrients. Giving your body essential amino acids, fast-acting carbs, electrolytes, and other performance boosters like betaine, PeakO2 mushroom complex, tyrosine, and taurine, will help you train harder for longer.* With a brutal workout from the Hoss, you're going to need all the help you can get!

Fouad Abiad's Shoulder Workout

Reverse Pec Deck
Start your workout with the reverse pec deck. You will be completing four sets of 12-15 reps each set. Doing this exercise early in the workout is a great way to loosen up the shoulder joint and get everything warmed up for the bigger compound movements later. Proper setup is crucial for this exercise. Start by sitting with your torso as close to the pad as possible, arms outstretched in front of you. You want to make sure to decompress your shoulders and not shrug your shoulders while performing this exercise. When you shrug, your traps and rhomboids take over the movement and takes the emphasis off of the shoulder muscles. Be sure only to pull the weight back to the point that your arms are in line with your torso and no further. Remember, further back does not mean you are getting more out of the exercise. Pulling further back will cause you to use your back muscles and not your shoulders. 

Hammer Strength Press
Start this exercise off with two warm-up sets of 8-10 reps each set. You want to make sure you sit back in the seat all the way. Resist the urge to slide your butt forward to use more weight. By positioning yourself correctly in the seat, you'll keep the focus on the shoulders instead of shifting the work onto your chest muscles. For the last set, you want to start with a weight that is challenging but still light enough to do a double drop set. You will perform the exercise to failure and then immediately drop the weight and rep out to failure again. You will repeat this twice on the last set.

Lateral Raise Machine
Time for an unconventional spin on a traditional piece of equipment. You are going to perform this exercise facing your back to the pad. You want to bring your hands straight out to your sides and slightly turn your wrists in like you’re pouring out a glass of water. You want to bring the weight up quickly and hold it at the top for 2 seconds. Make sure you control the weight back down.

Cable Military Press Superset with Seated Cable Front Raise
You will need to set up an incline bench on the highest incline or use a 90-degree bench placed in front of a cable station for this exercise. Set up two D-handles and perform a shoulder press. It should feel similar to a dumbbell shoulder press. The cable allows for constant tension on the shoulder muscles. Once you've completed the presses, immediately drop the weight and bring handles down to your sides to do front raises. From this starting point, you will pull the weight up out in front of you, making sure to keep your arms straight as you perform the movement. This exercise is a great finisher to burn out the shoulders completely.