Building the Delts

A big powerful Overhead Press is one of the most admirable qualities of any lifter. There is just something fundamentally very cool and raw about a guy that can slam a huge weight overhead in the strict press. I guess part of the reason this is that a really big overhead press is still pretty rare.

It’s far more common to cruise social media and find a ton of big Squats, Bench Presses, and Deadlifts, but the number of guys who can strict press 300+ (or even 275) is pretty rare. Hell, even seeing a guy rep out 225 isn’t all that common.

But when you do see it, you know that guy is strong.

And the only thing cooler than a big press is having a set of fully developed shoulders to go along with the lift. You know…..actually looking like you have a big press.

Below is the outline of power-building template I used to achieve my best ever Press of 285. At the same time, I was able to perform doubles with 265, sets of 5 across with 235, and sets of 8-12 with 205. And these were strict presses. No double lay back.

I’ve had my best results training the Press just once per week, although I know many who do better with more frequency.

When I hit my best numbers, I was using my 8-5-2 training protocol. And this has also worked with dozens and dozens of my in-gym and online clients as well. It’s a very reliable protocol for training the Press.

Here is the template that worked well for me and many of my clients:

Thursday: Press + Delts / Triceps

Week One

Strict Press 3 x 8
Seated Dumbbell Press 3 x 8-10
Side Delt Raises 3 x 20
Weighted Dips 3 x 8-10 (bands)
Cable Pressdowns 3 x 10-20

Week Two

Strict Press 3 x 5
Behind the Neck Press (or Seated DB Press if you can’t do BNP) 3 x 8-10
Side Delt Raises 3 x 15
Weighted Dips 3 x 8-10 (weight belt)
Lying Tricep Extensions 3 x 8-10

Week Three

Strict Press 3 x 2
Strict Press Back Offs 3 x 10-12
Side Delt Raises 3 x 10
Weighted Dips 3 x 5-8 (weight belt)
Overhead Tricep Extension ( French Press) 3 x 8-10

So the first exercise is pretty self explanatory. Always a strict press rotating between 8s, 5s, and 2s. The second exercise rotated between Seated DBs, Behind the Necks, and High Rep Back Offs. I really like the High-Rep Back Offs on the doubles week for two reasons (1) it preps you well for the 8-rep work coming back around the next week (2) you can usually hit huge rep PRs after your system has been exposed to the heavy weight on the 2s. When you back that weight down by say 30% it feels light as a feather.

The side delt raises are strictly a cosmetic exercise, not a strength builder. I generally start the cycle with sets of 20, which are always rest-pause sets. Meaning, I hit failure around 10-15 reps. Rest for 20-30 seconds and then finish out the set to 20. The sets of 15, are also rest-pause, but a little heavier. The sets of 10 are straight sets with as much weight as I can do strictly. Usually followed by a drop set after the last set. Rest-pause and drop sets are pretty much a necessity on side delt raises because you just can’t do enough weight to get meaningful work strictly with load. You have to revert to “metabolic stress” (i.e. chasing a huge pump) in order to trigger growth. Again, this is what makes these a cosmetic lift, but your shoulders will improve within a few weeks if you do these right.

Side Delt Raises also give my triceps a rest, so I can hit hit the Dips harder and with more weight. For two weeks I do sets of 8-10 with either band tension or a weight belt and then on week 3 I load up a bit heavier for sets of 5-8.

Always finish with an extension of some sort. I like rotating angles between cable pressdowns, lying extensions, and overhead extensions.

Rear Delts, Traps, and Inclines

I do this workout on Thursday and on Friday I train Rear Delts and Traps as part of the Back Training Session. So after we hit exercises like Pull Ups and various types of Rows, we finish with Rear Delts and Shrugs.

Rear Delts are either Rear Delt Rows performed on a machine, or Rear Delt Raises with Dumbbells. Rear Delt Rows work best on a machine with a wide horizontal grip. Set the seat height so you can keep elbows up, parallel with the shoulders. This will hit all areas of the upper back. I like 3 sets of about 12-15 reps with a drop set at the end. Rear Delt Raises are done with dumbbells and again, 3 sets of 12-15 with drop sets works well.

Traps are usually strict barbell shrugs for 3 sets of 15-20 reps. Sometimes DBs, but I prefer the barbell shrug.

Monday, is our Chest workout and if you want to hit your shoulders again, make sure that strict Barbell Incline Presses are first or second in your workout. You’ll get plenty of delt work with Inclines and to a lesser extent on the Flat Bench.

Don’t neglect heavy Bench and heavy Incline training if you want to blow up your Press. You need that exposure to heavier pressing weights. My best Presses have always coincided with my best Bench Pressing. When I was hitting 275-285 for singles on the Press, I was hitting 375×2 on the Bench Press.