JUSTIN SHIER’S SHOULDER AND BICEPS WORKOUT
Bodybuilder Justin Shier takes us through a shoulder and biceps workout 4 weeks out from NPC Nationals.
Warm up
Banded over and backs:
Take a light resistance band and grab it at shoulder width. Put the band apart and lift it up and over behind your hind your head and down the to the mid part of your back. Next, reverse the path and bring the band back up your back and over your head and in front of you. Do this 10-20 times.
Workout
Dumbbell Lateral Raise Superset with Shoulder Press:
Take light dumbbells and perform 15 reps of lateral raises. Start by standing up tall with a dumbbell in each hand and lifting them out to the side until his arms are parallel with the floor. He controls the weight back down and completes 15 reps. He then brings the dumbbells up to his shoulders and presses them up to the ceiling. Once his arms are extended, he controls the weight back down and completes 15 reps. He does this circuit 3 times.
Reverse Pec Deck:
Starting with reverse pec deck will warm up the shoulder joint and ready for the bigger compound movements later. Proper setup is crucial for this exercise. Sit with your chest on the back pad, facing in towards the seat. Extend arms out in front of you and grab the handles with your palms facing the floor with your shoulder slightly internally rotated. Begin by pulling the handles apart until your arms are extended out to the side and in line with your body. Do not pull the handles back past this point as it will take the emphasis off your rear delts and will put it on your traps and rhomboids. Work up to 1 set of failure, where you hit failure at 15 reps. Once you hit failure, stop, and take 15 deep breaths and then immediately perform as many reps as possible and then pause again for another 15 deep breaths and do as many reps as possible to failure.
Smith Machine Shoulder Press:
Set up an incline bench or 90-degree bench inside of a smith machine. Begin by lifting up on the bar and twisting the bar to unhook the safeties. Control the bar down so that it is in line with your nose/chin area. Once at the bottom explode up and drive the bar towards the ceiling. Perform sets of 3-4 reps to feel the weight out. Work your way up in weight each set until you are at a working weight that you will fail at 20 reps.
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press:
Adjust the seat height so that the handles are about 2 inches above your delt or so that your arm is bent to a 90-degree angle. Sit tall with your butt all the way back in the seat. Drive the handles up towards the ceiling once at the top, control the weight back down. Your shoulders will be warmed up at this point so do not waist energy on too many warmup sets. Perform sets of 3-4 reps per set, climbing weight up each set. On the last set, reach failure at 10 reps and do a rest pause set here separating each point of failure by 15 breaths. Do this rest pause twice, doing as many reps as possible after the two pauses.
PRO TIP: Make sure your feet are planted square. You want a strong base to be able to drive as much weight as possible and generate the most growth and prevent injury.
Cuff Single-Arm Lateral Raise:
Attach an ankle cuff to your wrist and clip it to a low cable pulley. Stand up tall and raise your hand out towards the side until your arm is in line with your delt. Once at the top, pause for a second and control the weight down for a 3 second negative and then pause at the bottom before exploding up for a 1 second count. Perform sets of 10 reps, climbing up until you hit a peak set to failure.
Seated Side Laterals Superset with Heavy Partial Lateral Raise:
Set up a 90-degree bench or an incline bench completely inclined. Sit with your butt near the end of the seat so that your body is almost in an inclined position. This will eliminate your body from being able to rock back and forth and use momentum to swing the dumbbells up. raise your hand out towards the side until your arm is in line with your delt. Once at the top, pause for a second and control the weight down for a 3 second negative and then pause at the bottom before exploding up for a 1 second count. Perform sets of 10 reps, climbing up until you hit a peak set to failure at 15 reps. Only do the superset on the working set. For the superset, once you have completed the seated laterals, stand up and grab heavy dumbbells and perform laterals. The weight should be heavy enough so that you can only raise the dumbbells 6-8 inches from your body. Do not swing or rock the weight up.
Single Arm Preacher Curl:
Position yourself on a preacher curl so that you have one of your arms resting flat on the pad. Start with your arm outstretched and then being to drive the handle up and bring your hand towards your shoulder. Once at the top, contracting your bicep hard and then slowly returning the weight back to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner. Perform sets of 10 reps per hand, climbing up weight each set until you hit failure on a set of 10 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Biceps Curl:
Lay back on an incline bench set to a high incline. With a Dumbbell in each hand, perform curls with palms facing up. Really focus on getting a full stretch and full contraction with each rep. Do sets of 10, increasing weight each set until you hit failure on a peak set of 10 reps.
Standing Dumbbell Hammer Curls Against a Wall:
Lean against a wall with a dumbbell in each hand. Place shoulder blades against the wall and walk feet about a foot away from the wall. This will eliminate your body’s ability to rock back and forth and take away any momentum from this exercise. Keep hands in a neutral position like you’re holding two hammers. Curl the weight up towards your shoulder, keeping your elbows in a fixed position. Once at the top, pause for a second and then control the weight back down to towards the floor. Perform feeder sets of 10 reps until you reach a peak set and hit failure at 10 reps.