Tip: A New Exercise for Big Shoulders

The delts are one of the most difficult muscle groups to develop. They're also the most vulnerable to injury. The glenohumeral joint is the primary joint in almost all upper body functions. If you're looking to press and pull heavy weight, you better have shoulders that are up for the challenge.

There are two factors that need to be taken into consideration:

1. You have to use movements that protect the health of the shoulder joint.
2. You have to maximize the muscle recruitment to get them to grow

This is often a difficult combination, except in this case.

The Neutral-Grip Shoulder Press

You've used the neutral-grip lat bar for pulldowns. Now try it for shoulder presses. Note that the cable is attached at the bottom of the handle, so you’ll be pushing up, not pulling down. The pulley should be set at about the belly or lower chest level. It's a great pressing grip: elbows roughly 45 degrees from the body and hands in neutral grip (facing one another). The position of the arm alleviates unnecessary joint pressure to extend shoulder integrity.

Begin with 25% of your normal barbell military press for 4 sets of 10. The video shows Musclemania Heavyweight Pro, Fred Shaka, who normally presses 225 pounds for reps, but trains this exercise at 60 pounds.