The Secret To Superhero Shoulders
If aesthetics is the goal, shoulders have to be a top priority. Just have a look at anyone with an aesthetically pleasing physique and you’ll notice that they usually have wide shoulders which have a very rounded look giving them a very superhero-like appearance. In fact, if there’s one thing that can impact your body composition drastically, it is the shoulder to waist ratio.
The Golden Ratio
As I mentioned earlier, the key to changing your body composition and looking more aesthetic is improving the shoulder to waist ratio. This brings up the golden ratio. You may be wondering what this is.
The golden ratio is the ratio for the “ideal” male body. Based on research, the “ideal” male body has a shoulder to waist ratio of 1.618:1. This is the golden ratio for men. Now while this standard might be considered nothing extraordinary in the bodybuilding world, for most of us starting out in fitness, this is a great ratio to shoot for.
Measuring this ratio is very straightforward. Use a measuring tape to measure your shoulders at the widest point. Measure your waist as well.
Divide the two numbers and see where you stand. The easiest way to get closer to this ratio is by either building muscle to get wider shoulders and also losing fat to get a tighter waist. Now you see why I said it is one of the most important things for better body composition.
Training
Firstly, you have to realize that, as a natural, just a few sets of raises at the end of your workout will not be sufficient to help you build bigger shoulders.
Also, whenever we talk about how a specific muscle looks, you have to remember that genetics plays a huge role in it. But that is something that’s not in our control. You have to try to optimize variables that you have control on. Variables like frequency, volume, intensity and exercise selection.
Below, I’ll list the programming I have been using for my shoulder training.
1. Overhead Press
If there was only one exercise I could choose to put on this list, this would be the one. What I’m talking about is the strict standing barbell press. This is a great exercise for packing on strength and muscle and should be included in everyone’s program if aesthetics are the goal.
To read about my top 2 exercises for aesthetics, click here https://www.bodymindquotient.com/home/my-top-2-exercises-for-aesthetics
How I program this exercise into my routine is using reverse pyramid training. This basically means I perform warm-up sets ramping up in weight. Then I perform my main heavy sets followed my two back off sets. This allows me to hit my heavy set when I’m the strongest and then accumulate more volume using the back-off sets.
Here’s how it looks:
50% of working set
70% of working set
90% of working set
Working set 1 for 4-6 reps
Working set 2 for 6-8 reps
Working set 3 for 8-10 reps
I rest for 2-3 minutes between sets. Whenever I hit the top of the rep range for a given set, I move up in weight.
When I plateau on this movement, I switch to an alternative like seated dumbbell presses for a few weeks using the same programming. That being said, I still prefer the standing barbell version more.
2. Lateral Raises
This exercise doesn’t need an introduction. The lateral raise is a great movement to “isolate” the lateral head of your shoulder. Think of this movement as the cherry on the top of the cake. The majority of your shoulder size and strength will be built using a heavy compound lift. This just helps you work the lateral head a little more which usually doesn’t get enough attention in other compound movements.
I program this into my routine using Rest Pause Training. Rest pause is a great way to accumulate more volume in lesser time. While the conventional approach would be to do, let’s say, 3 sets of 15, only the last 6-7 reps in each set are what actually challenge your muscle.
How rest pause training overcomes this problem is by using one activation set followed by several cluster sets to give you the same training effect in lesser time.
Here’s how it looks:
Activation set of 15-20 reps
10 seconds rest
4-6 more reps
10 seconds rest
4-6 more reps
10 seconds rest
4-6 more reps
The above is just supposed to be performed one time. It gives you the training effect of straight sets by making you execute a higher percentage of challenging reps when compared to a conventional straight sets approach.
3. Face Pulls
The last exercise for my shoulders is an exercise focusing on the rear deltoid. Everyone should work the back of the shoulder as the majority of the pushing exercises lead to internal rotation. Not only can this cause injury, but it can also lead to a bad internally rotated posture. Also, to get the complete visual effect of a well-developed shoulder, the rear deltoid needs to be targeted effectively.
I program this into my routine using the same approach as the lateral raises. Rest pause works great for small movements like these. When I want to rotate exercises, I switch between the rear delt fly using dumbbells or the reverse pec dec.
Frequency
I perform these exercises 2x a week. I don’t do them separately on a shoulder day. I program them in my upper body training sessions. As a natural, research indicates that you’re better off training with a higher frequency, which implies that the training volume will be dropped to compensate.
Also, I don’t perform any sort of front raises. This is simply because the anterior delts get sufficient work in the overhead press, bench press, incline press and in dips. I don’t like the look of an overpowered front delt. Remember to select exercises based on the proportion you wish to achieve. You could incorporate front raises into your program if that is the look you are going for.
Conclusion
The golden shoulder to waist ratio of 1.618:1 is a great ratio to shoot for in order to improve your body composition. Having wider shoulders with a tighter waist can help you build an aesthetically pleasing physique. The majority of your shoulder size and strength will be built using a vertical pushing movement like the overhead press. Accessory work for the lateral and rear deltoid can be done to build well balanced and proportionate shoulders. As always, progressive overload should be applied over time to pack on strength and build round superhero-like shoulders.
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