Full Shoulder Routine

Hey guys whats going on ? Like I mentioned on the last post, staying more consistent with these blogs is something I genuinely enjoy doing. I like being able to have the space to go in detail about my workouts that way I can give you guys as much helpful information as possible.

Having said that, lets get into it ! So this morning I got to train with a buddy of mine who I haven't seen in some time. We always have awesome workouts together so it was nice to get in a good hard session! We trained over at Worlds gym in Coram which is an unbelievable place to train at. If you are reading this and you're on long island I definitely recommend heading there to check the place out. Its not an extremely large facility but the equipment, and layout of the gym is absolutely perfect, at least if you're like myself and prefer "old school" gyms. 

Now, for the workout. This routine was something I have never actually done before but I had the itch to implement something a little different today. I do normally always train in higher volume fashion (5-8 working sets) for compound exercises but today I took things to a different level and implemented some GVT or "German Volume Training", which if you aren't familiar with it, basically involves performing ten sets of ten reps of a given exercise and ideally utilizing a 60 second rest period between each set. That being said, the exercise of choice was none other than standing military presses. An extremely difficult and taxing exercise to perform even in lower amounts of volume. The main focus for me today was making sure to hit my reps as controlled and strict as possible even if I didn't necessarily hit "10" reps on every set. I wanted to avoid any bouncing or jerking to get the weight up to really get the most out of the exercise.

Once completing the GVT set for military presses I moved onto to a very popular superset to really keep the intensity going. Utilizing an EZ grip bar and an underhand grip I performed front raises to target the front of the delt. Immediately following this I went right into an upright row. As far as the rep scheme goes I performed four sets of 12-15 reps on each exercise. The first two sets were 15 reps until I jumped up in weight which brought the sets down to 12 reps respectively. At this point my training partner and I were on such a roll tat we could not slow down.

After finishing this superset we went into my favorite shoulder exercise which happens to be lateral raises. I will perform these in a number of different ways, but if I had to choose one my favorite way to perform them is through giant set fashion. If you're unfamiliar with the term "giant set" it basically involves going from one weight to the next with no break in between and typically involves 3+ "mini" sets in one set. So, I started off using 25lb dumbbells for 20 reps, than immediately picked up 30lb dumbbells for 15 reps, 35lb dumbbells for 12 reps, and 40lb dumbbells for 8-10 reps. Obviously the weights you utilize will depend on experience and strength level. I completed this giant set twice which had my shoulders burning beyond belief. Due to the extreme intensity of this set, not all reps are performed strictly. Try your best to keep your reps as clean as you can for as long as you can. 

After finishing this, it was about time to do some rear deltoid work. I headed over the seated pec deck since it was open( this is typically how I choose my exercises for the day) and went to work ! The rep scheme here was really quite simple. I always usually stick to higher reps when it comes to rear  so what I did was start out at 20, 15 and then 12 (all in standard set fashion) After the set of 12 reps however I dropped the weight and performed another set of 20 to finish things off from the rear. One trick I like to implement on this machine is letting my hands "rest" on top of the handles as oppose to gripping them. This will help take arm muscle recruitment out of the equation nd place more tension on the rear deltoid.

At this point there wasn't much else left to do ! I ran over the lateral head of the shoulders one more time with a low cable lateral raise. I really just wanted to hit the same exercise again in a different fashion and use a bit more control to really burn out the shoulders and cap them off. On this I simply hit three sets of 12-15 reps keeping tight form on every single rep. Once done with these, the only thing left to do was hit traps so I headed back over to the power rack to finish off with barbell shrugs.

For me, going super heavy on trap exercises seems to yield the greatest results. I know there' s a lot of opinions on what works best for specific muscles and many favor a  slow and controlled "squeezing" style for training traps but it just doesn't work for me. I started off my first set with 315lbs and proceeded to 405lbs for three more sets with a rep range of 8-10. However on the last set, I decided on doing a double drop set and went down to 315lbs and then 225lbs immediately following each other to end things on a high note. All in all this shoulder workout was one of the better ones I have had recently and I definitely recommend giving this entire workout a try if you're looking for something challenging ! I'll list out the full workout again below to make it an easy read for you guys. If there's any questions on anything, feel free to email me at confessoreconditioning@gmail.com !

- MAKE SURE YOU SCALE NUMBERS APPROPRIATELY FOR YOURSELF ! USE WEIGHTS THAT YOU CAN HANDLE

1) Standing military presses GVT style 10 sets of 8-10 reps (95lbs first 6 sets all 10 reps accomplished, 115lbs last 4 sets getting 8 reps) 

2) EZ bar underhand front raises SS upright rows 4 sets 12-15 reps( first two sets 15 reps, last two sets 12 reps) 

3) Lateral raise with dumbbell giant set 20,15,12,10(25lb,30lb,35lb,40lb) REPEAT TWICE

4)Reverse pec deck w/ drop set 20,15,12 (drop set) 20 

5) Low cable lateral raise three sets 12-15 reps (Control negatives)

6) Barbell shrugs 315lbs 12 reps 405lbs three sets 8-10 on last set drop to 315lbs, drop 225lbs

Anthony Confessore

Owner: Confessore Conditioning 

"Create The Best You"