Name: Playbook - Luke Williford - 🐅SHOULDER Work🐆
Uploaded: 2021-01-18T11:47:01.564Z
Duration: 45 min
Description: 🐅SHOULDER Work🐆

This workout focuses on building out and strengthening your shoulders via overhead pressing and lateral raises. I’ve used this for the past month and it has yielded incredible gains!

Make sure to squeeze, stabilize and GRIND. 

🐆🐅

Find a resistance band of medium to light resistance, hold out in front of you, push both arms outwards to generate tension on the band, then SLOWLY bring the band behind you. 

Try shrugging you shoulders UP before rotating the band behind you to help warm up the your trapezius muscles. 

Always keep the motion SLOW and CONTROLLED.

Resistance Band Around the Worlds

Keeping your elbows in line with shoulders, externally rotate your arms from the elbow. 

Go slow and steady, and really try to mobilize your shoulders. Focus on the mind muscle connection. 

Keep your shoulder blades tucked down throughout the movement.

Plate External Roto Warmup

Use 2.5lb plates, or DBs if you have to. 

Using a half raise technique (bent at the elbow), isolate your shoulders and raise the plates up. 

Imagine a string attached to your elbows pulling them up. Visualizing yourself as a puppet here actually helps. 

Keeping as isolated as possible will be more effective.

Lateral Raise Warm Up

This is a tough one to teach via the short demo video and text. Check out my “Insights” page for a full tutorial. 

Quick pointers:

1. Everything should be tight and activated. A good way to do this is by making a glute bridge on the bench, digging your shoulder blades into the bench, then pressing you feet onto the ground, creating a SLIGHT arch in your back. 

2. From here, your legs will be firing. Your upper body will be activated. Now, make sure your shoulder blades are on the bench and your butt is on the bench.  Now you are ready to GRIP the bar. 

3. Slightly wider than shoulder width, actively grip the bar, not letting your wrist tilt back. Keep your arm and wrist IN LINE. 

4. Now, with everything tight, grip fierce, slowly lower the bar down to JUST below your nipples. 

5.  Lastly, breathing! Big breath in, bracing your core before you lower. As you lift up, exhale, using the breath as an extra boost.

Barbell Bench Press

With feet at shoulder width, grip a barbell with hands shoulder width apart. 

From there, make sure legs are somewhat locked and stable, core tight as well. 

Grip the bar firmly. Execute a full range of motion, allowing the bar to pass JUST BELOW your chin. 

Drive your feet firmly into the ground to stay stable.

As reps go down per set, weight should go up. By the last set, you should be near your 3 rep max. That said, stay safe and sensible.

Standing Overhead Press (Strict)

Perform a standard seated shoulder press, but allow your shoulders to adduct, onwards so your elbows point out in front of you. This rotation will help more completely target your medial and anterior delts. 

During the rotation, really focus on SQUEEZING.

Arnold Press

Using light plates OR dumbbells, raise the weight up, one hand at a time. 

Make sure to keep your arms slightly bent, and your shoulder blades tucked down throughout. 

Squeeze at the top. Go slow and controlled.

12 per side, 24 total

Alternating Front Raises

While seated with your back pressed against the seat back, press from 90 degrees to slightly before lock out. 

Notice the restricted range of motion. This will allow you to focus more completely on squeezing during the movement. 

Make sure to stabilize your shoulders and elbows.

Seated DB Overhead Press

Wedge yourself into a machine similar to the one SHOWN. 

Not much can go wrong with these, they are designed to be safe and to provide a good range of motion. 

Make sure to SQUEEZE and STRETCH your chest and front delts.

As reps go down, weight should go up. Leave the ego at the door and work with manageable weights.

Hammer Strength Machine Chest Press

Standing close to the cable machine, grip a rope cable attachment with intention and squeeze it. 

Execute each rep with a full ROM, and focus on squeezing throughout the movement, bringing the pieces of rope AWAY from each other. 

Maintain good posture with a neutral spine. 

The elbows should be stable throughout the movement.

Cable Rope Push Downs

Pretending that there are strings attached to your elbows, raise your arms from the elbow, keeping you shoulder blades tucked. 

ISOLATE your medial delts. 

Pretend you are a puppet, the strings are raising your arms to slightly below shoulder height.

🐅SHOULDER Work🐆

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