Shoulders and Back Workouts
Yesterday’s shoulder workout was a good one. Although I always seem to be confused on what to do for my shoulders, as they seem to be my weakness, I always manage to put something together that is highly effective. This week, I swapped out the Smith machine upright row for seated DB front raises. Other than that, the only changes were in weights/reps. Todays back workout was great as usual. Since it was my second week doing deadlifts again, last week was to get my body to remember how deadlifts work, and this week I was able to improve. However, I was a little tired today, so I had a little less stamina, I was able to complete the full workout. This week, I took out seated cable rows, and went straight to lat pulldowns, then I added hyperextensions at the end of the workout.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Shock Therapy
Smith Behind-neck press
10×105
3×8x125
Seated DB lateral raise
2×10x25s
10×20s -> 10×10s
Seated DB front raise
2×10x20s
6×20s -> 10×10s
Standing bent cable lateral raise
2×10x25s
10×20s -> 6×15s
Standing side lateral raises
2×10x15s
Friday, October 26, 2007
Shock Therapy
Deadlifts
10×135
10×225
2×6x315
6×275 (wide)
10×225 (wide)
BB rows
3×10x135
BB shrugs
3×10x315
25×225
Lat pulldown
12×120
12×110
12×100
Hyperextensions
3×10xBW
October 26, 2007 at 10:16 am
so far so good. Have you tried doing upright rows with a barbell instead of using the smith? I like using a wider grip (shoulder width) when doing them. It seems to help keep my wrist in a neutral position. I wouldnt stop doing them altogether though. Also, have you tried leaning side lateral raises? You can lean to either side against a wall or lean outward holding onto a machine or something and do side laterals. I’ve found that leaning outward hits the upper part of my shoulder more and leaning inward hits the lower part. You do one arm at a time. This limits the amount of momentum you put into each rep. I feel that deadlifts work the lower back enough so the hyperextensions may not be necessary. I would throw those cable rows back into your workout since they hit your middle back and lower traps better. Also, wide grip chins are awesome for lat development. I found this out a few weeks ago. I will alternate wide chins for lat pulldowns every other week. Keep it up man. Hope I’ve helped a little.
October 27, 2007 at 11:52 am
Hey thanks for the insightful reply. I guess I have a few responses lol. First, yes I have done the barbell upright rows, as well as dumbbell uprights, EZ curl bar uprights, and that I guess it’s called a tricep bar uprights. I don’t know, it just seems that exercise doesn’t have as much effect on me as it does on most people. As for side laterals, again, I’ve tried every variation imaginable, but I love them, probably my favorite shoulder exercise
The reason I threw in Hyperextensions at the end of the workout was just for that little extra effort, they weren’t done with weight or anything, just a little addition I felt like doing. The cable rows I just took out for this week, because I just felt like going straight to the pulldowns. The reason I rarely do pullups or chins is because of the amount of strength I need for them, they have to be done first in my routine, and I just feel deadlifts, barbell rows and T-bar rows are best at the beginning. So yeah, I just like changing things every week, to keep things running smoothly. Again, thanks for taking the time to reply, it seems nobody does that anymore 
And good luck with your goals too.