Targeting the Shoulders & Back

Training Beginners
1


To make a long story short, about a year and a half ago, I injured my right shoulder in a football collision, and the right deltoid is hanging down. I completed the Physio for about a month after that, and my doctor told me I was on my own to “work at it” since then, and try to regain my “normal” posture. I wish I had posted on one of these forums then, but that’s over with.

I went out and purchased a free-weight set at that time (a year ago, Dumbells, Barbell 90 Pounds of weight) which is ok, but the routine which came with it was not. I have just come to realize that it was some sort of keep fit on minimum time kind of thing. So a week ago, I decided to purchase 90 pounds more, and start over. I just need help! [By the way, there was no nerve damage, it was tissue, I’ve regained the strength (Tests & Physio Concluded), it just looks plain awful]

To give you and idea, my right shoulder is slanted forward, and down, which looks extremely awkward because I have some build/tone. When I’m not conscience of it, my entire upperbody just looks uneven and weird. I need to correct it & move on. So I was thinking a routine to strictly focus on the shoulders, back, posture, deltoids etc… But you guys know better than me, so correct me if I’m wrong, please.

I’m 18
Height - 6"1
Weight - 185-190
Body Fat - 13-16%

How long you have been training (seriously!)
About 2 Years Training “Seriously”, but not continually (4 Months On, 2 Off, 5 On, couple weeks Off for lazy and stupid reasons…)

Your Goals?
My Goal is to Straighten & Broaden my Shoulders, develop great Posture, & add Muscle & Tone to my Back.

How long have you been on this same routine?
Since I began working out.

Have you made gains on this routine, and if so in what way (Heavier weights / mass)?
My Biceps & Triceps have made good gains. In combination of fat + muscle mass, I’ve added about 7-10 pounds. My shoulder has made minimal progress.

What is your diet like?
I try to get as much Carbs as I can, 3-4 Medium/Big Meals, all sorts of things in between. I don’t eat much green, or vitamins, I can start on a dime, if it would seriously benefit me though.

Have / are you taking any supplements and/or anabolic agents (optional)
Just creatine, before and after, but I don’t think I was burning all of it sometimes… which means it turned into fat? right?

Thats about it, there is a website which has good diagrams for improving posture, but there are too many different exercises listed (I need help finding the most effective ones, and putting together a Tues/Thurs/Sat routine), These might help you, help me better, I’m not sure.

shapefit.com/shoulder-exercises-
standing-military-presses.html

shapefit.com/shoulder-exercises-
seated-dumbbell-presses.html

Thanks guys.

2

you try to get as much carbs as you can?.. i think you should reword that to “protein”, eat 6 meals, look up Berardi’s “massive eating” and figure out what you need.

you cant turn creatine into fat, it has no calories. try taking it in the morning, then after a workout

to fix your posture you are going to have to get to real gym and use cables to start doing some facepulls, but you can also do external rotations with what you’ve got

they poundages you are using are far too low to make go progressive gains on, i suggest finding a real gym and just using what you’ve got right now to do cardio and rehab stuff at home

oh and finally…

THERE IS NO DAMN SUCH THING AS “TONE”

3

lol, , ok thanks man.

4

sorry i was being mean, but true youg otta overhaul this whole thing, its mens health style and thats only designed basically to keep you from getting incredibly fat and weak, but isn’t really made you pack on pounds and gain tons of strength.

you are gonna have to find a real gym to go to with barbells, dumbbells and a power rack.

read up on the articles here, theres no real substitute for just plain putting time in and reading about stuff

5

That routine is bad. Where did you get it?

The link to the military press is just wrong. That is not a military press.

Pick a good beginner program from this site and go for it.

Here are some of the most effective shoulder exercises:

(note that legs are not involved)

(note that legs are involved)
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/HangJumpShrug.html.

I looked some more at some exercises on that shape/fit site. Whatever you learned there, forget it. Pick a basic routine here and learn how to do the exercises properly.

6

You may want to look into the “Neanderthal No More” series of articles on correcting posture. There’s also a ton of articles on shoulder prehab/rehab/strengthening in the archives. Just hit the search button and knock yourself out.

7

Thanks Guys.

8

Ok, So I’m Trying to Finalize this.

This is a list of the exercises I’ve been told to look at from stuward, Articles on this site, & Mike Robertson’s reply.

I want to do a Three-Day a week routine, is it better to mix it up, or stick with some core ones workout after workout? Also, Reps (More? Less? In between?) for my situation?

— Already Apart----- [The one’s from the site stuward linked]
Barbell Military Press
Clean
Push Press

Others:
Push-Ups
Face pull
Overhead shrug
Scaption with a shrug
Dumbbell Fly’s
Dumbbell Flat Bench Chest Press
Bench Press
Snatch Exercise
Upright Rowing
Dumbbell Power Cleans
Pullovers
Tricep Raise

– Right Shoulder Only –
Internal Rotation
External Rotation
Rotator Cuff Exercising

Can you guys let me know which ones to keep, and which ones to ditch. Thanks A lot.

9

You need a basic routine first:

Day 1
Heavy Squat
Light Press
Medium Pull

Day 2
Light Squat
Medium Press
Heavy Pull

Day3
Medium Squat
Heavy Press
Light Pull

Rotate your Pressing exercises, bench on heavy days, incline on medium days and overhead press on light days is one way to set it up.

In a similar way, rotate your Pulls, say deadlifts on Heavy, bent rows on Medium, cleans on light days. Another way would be heavy high pulls, medium squat cleans, light power cleans or snatches.

On each day add on some of the isolation moves to balance them off according to what you feel you need to work on. Do them after the main exercises as you want them fresh.

Stu

10

Awesome, thanks dude, finally on track!