THE BEST FULL-GYM SHOULDER WORKOUT

With access to all that a gym has to offer, you can work your shoulders from a variety of angles and, while you’re at it, rep schemes. Lower reps (six and under) with heavy weights result in the best strength gains. Medium reps (8–12) with moderate loads exhaust the muscles, sparking gains in sheer size. High reps (15 or more) train endurance, but in so
doing hit a different set of muscle fibers that aren’t tapped by the other rep ranges. The shoulder routine here takes advantage of all three ranges to leave no stone unturned in your journey for bigger delts.

The exercises are organized into trisets—three moves done back to back. The first lift in each triset is done heavy , the second is medium, and the third is light but for high reps. Combine the variety of the exercises, the rep ranges, and the fast pace and there’s little more you can do to shock your delts into new growth.

Perform the first triset (marked as “A ,” “B,” and “C ”) insequence without rest in between. A fterward, rest two to three minutes, and repeat for four total trisets. Then go on to the second triset and complete it in the same fashion.  

1A OVERHEAD PRESS

SETS: 4 REPS: 6 REST: 0 SEC.

Set the bar up in a squat rack or cage, and grasp it just outside shoulder width. Take the bar off the rack and hold it at shoulder level with your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze the bar and brace your abs. Press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward and shrugging your traps as the bar passes your face.  

1B STANDING DUMBBELL FLYE

SETS: 4 REPS: 12 REST: 0 SEC.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides. Without shrugging, use your upper body to swing the weights up a few inches. Your arms and torso will form an upside down V shape. Think of it as a lateral raise with momentum but without full range of motion.  

1C FACE PULL

SETS: 4 REPS: 25 REST: 120–180 SEC.

Attach a rope handle to the top pulley of a cable station. Grasp an end in each hand with palms facing each other. Step back to place tension on the cable. Pull the handles to your forehead so your palms face your ears and your upper back is fully contracted.  

2A HIGH PULL

SETS: 4 REPS: 6 REST: 0 SEC.

Grasp the bar with hands about double shoulder width and hold it in front of your thighs. Bend your knees and hips so the bar hangs just above your knees. Explosively extend your hips as if jumping and pull the bar up to shoulder level with elbows wide apart, as in an upright row.  

2B SEATED DUMBBELL CLEAN

SETS: 4 REPS: 12 REST: 0 SEC.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on the edge of a bench. Keeping your lower back flat, lean forward. Explosively straighten your body and shrug the weights so your arms rise. Allow the momentum to flip your wrists so you catch the weights at shoulder level.  

2C TRAP RAISE

SETS: 4 REPS: 25 REST: 120–180 SEC.

Set a bench to a low incline and lie chest-down with a dumbbell in each hand and your palms facing. Retract your shoulder blades, then raise the weights straight out so your arms are parallel to the floor.