We do voluminous, impressive deltoids - military press.

Many fitness enthusiasts, wanting to develop impressive shoulder muscles, include a lot of exercises in their training program and work in a large number of sets and repetitions. This method gives good results, but it will be even more beneficial if you prefer one basic key and primary exercise for the shoulders, namely the military press.

There are four variations of this exercise:

1. regular standing barbell press,
2. the same thing, but in a sitting position,
3. and two similar exercises performed with dumbbells.

This exercise works all the muscles of the shoulder girdle, upper pectoral muscles and triceps. For beginners who have not previously engaged in any sports, it is better to prefer the first option. This will be more productive for them - because when performing a standing military press, you can take on more weight and better use the ligaments and tendons, which play a major role in the development of physical strength.

For this exercise to be as effective as possible, it must be performed with strict adherence to technique, without the slightest cheating: swinging and squatting - usually this is a dynamic squat of about 1/4 of the amplitude. Some gym-goers, watching their more experienced counterparts doing leg momentum push-ups or partial reps, try to do something similar. However, in most cases, such “feats” turn out to be useless and even possibly dangerous! This happens because advanced techniques benefit only advanced practitioners who clearly understand the entire physics of the processes. An athlete working with a barbell weighing 2/3 of his own will not get much benefit from the squat, but an average or above average athlete will benefit from this technique.

The grip should be slightly wider than the shoulders, and the legs should be at shoulder level. Having placed the barbell on your shoulders, press it up without using the inertial force of your legs. Then lower it slowly. Ideally, at the lowest point of the amplitude, the bar should not touch the chest and shoulders. Number of repetitions – 6-10. The number of approaches is 3-4. Additional shoulder exercises are acceptable, but in moderation. In the military press, the front and side deltoids are mainly worked - therefore, for beginners there is no need for seated flyes and straight arm raises with dumbbells to shoulder level. 3 sets of bent-over cable raises or a similar exercise with dumbbells is enough to fully stimulate the shoulder muscles.

Having reached an average strength level, you can switch to another, even more effective exercise for greater emphasis on the deltoids. In the standing press, you can take heavy weights, but in order to place a good emphasis on the front and side deltas, which have already gained considerable strength, you need to completely exclude the help of the legs and lower back. To do this, you need to perform a similar exercise, sitting on a bench with an almost vertical back (except slightly tilted back). The recommended number of repetitions is from 8 to 12, the number of approaches is 4-6.

An average-level athlete should bench press a barbell with a weight one and a half times greater than his own, and standing press the weight 1/3 lighter. If an athlete cannot master this standard, then it is too early to switch to the above “pumping” cycle; You need to improve your shoulder strength. You don't need to include a lot of different isolation exercises to do this. In this case, there is no need to exclude basic shoulder exercises from the training program. You just need to add special exercises for the triceps and mid back.

Few people know this, but the middle part of the back (the rhomboids minor and major and the lower trapezius region) is used in almost all pulling exercises, and the triceps in all pressing exercises. However, many athletes have problems with shoulder development precisely because of insufficient development of the above muscle groups. To prevent such questions from arising, you need to determine the strength of the triceps and mid-back muscles in advance of switching to a “pumping” program. An average athlete should bench press a barbell with a close grip that is 15% heavier than what he can bench press in the military style, and in the vertical barbell row (standing barbell row to chin level) work with a weight 2/3 of the weight for the bent-over row . If these standards are not achieved, they must be achieved through specialized exercises for the triceps and back.

The same is true with the back muscles. In pull-ups and bent-over rows, the trapezius and rhomboid muscles, which have not yet really adapted to high-intensity training, work at full strength. But then, after several months of hard training, the latissimus muscles, already accustomed to hard work, take on almost the entire load, depriving the above-mentioned muscles of the middle back. In this case, it is necessary to add specialized exercises to the program:

1. bent over dumbbell rows,
2. standing barbell row,
3. and similar exercises.

Having properly prepared yourself and tightened all the tails (weak points), you can begin to pump your shoulders to the fullest! To focus on the development of muscle mass, you need to press the barbell not while standing, but while sitting - in order to work as isolated as possible and involve only the shoulder muscles in the work, stick to the average number of repetitions - from 6 to 10. You can also perform this exercise with dumbbells. In both options, the emphasis is on the shoulders, practically excluding the work of other muscle groups.

When swinging dumbbells, you must prevent them from touching at the top point, and make sure that at the bottom point they do not fall below your shoulders.

Even in the world of bodybuilding, there are two additional variations of the military press. In the first version, the barbell is lowered alternately - first behind the head, then behind the chest. In the second - the barbell is lowered to the level of the crown - the so-called principle of partial repetitions is used. Both of these exercises are more useful for relieving the psyche, which is tired of the same exercises. In general, there is no special, urgent need for them - because classic shoulder exercises can transform any deltoids. The main thing is to do them technically correctly and comply with all other principles and laws of athleticism.

There are athletes who have achieved impressive delt development with these unconventional exercises, but there is no evidence that they would not achieve the same results by performing classic shoulder exercises.

There are also athletes who prefer Arnold presses as the main exercise for deltoids. This exercise can be done with heavier dumbbells and more emphasis on the shoulder muscles, but there is also no evidence that this exercise will produce phenomenal results any faster.

How long should I stick to basic shoulder training? Here we can safely answer: as much as you like - because thanks to the basic exercises, outstanding athletes of all times have achieved and are achieving significant development - both in strength and in the mass of their shoulder girdle. The main thing is to train cyclically, variably, gradually increasing working weights and intensity.