This weekend, I had a Marvel movie marathon. I started from the beginning and crushed ’em all in two days.
Of all the actors who turned themselves into superheroes, Chris Hemsworth, by far, has the most heroic physique.
But what sets the God of Thunder apart from the rest is how massive his shoulders are.
Go watch that scene in Thor where he picks up Mjolnir in the rain. His freaking delts are huge.
Delta Force One
Bros, for a long time, all I focused on was making my chest look bigger, getting a six-pack, and having monstrous arms for summer.
You’ve all thought the same, right?
Each year, I was overlooking—undertraining—my shoulders. When it comes to making your upper body and arms look bigger you never want to skip or reduce, direct shoulder training.
Overhead presses, Arnold Presses, and dumbbell lateral raises these are great movements for targeting your shoulders.
But if you want to build some Thunder God like shoulders you might want to add in a few of these exercises.
Build the Shoulders of a God
Landmine Shoulder Press
If overhead pressing hurts your shoulders or you find it slightly discomforting. You’ll find doing a one arm landmine shoulder press far more enjoyable.
Landmine pressing allows your shoulder to move in a more natural arc, thanks to the angle at which you’re pressing.
Take a barbell and place one end in that home plate-shaped device at your gym. If your gym doesn’t have a landmine, you can wedge a barbell in a corner. The other end will rest on one of your shoulders.
Keep a small bend in your knee and press the barbell forward and overhead. Complete 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of this exercise.
Not only will you be getting a good pump in your shoulders, but you’ll also be training your core. Your abs will need to engage to maintain your balance as you press overhead.
Kettlebell Shoulder to Shoulder Press
Kettlebells are for more than swinging or holding open the door to your gym.
They’re an excellent tool for training your shoulders. Especially if you find barbell overhead movements difficult or uncomfortable.
Setting up for this exercise, place your thumbs around the kettlebell handle on your right/left shoulder, keeping your elbows underneath.
Press the bell over your head, lowering it to the opposite shoulder and press back to your starting shoulder. That’s one rep.
The kettlebell should move in a triangular pattern.
Leaning Dumbbell Lateral Raise
For most of us, lateral raises are a go-to exercise for training our middle delts.
There is one slight problem with standing lateral raises. At the beginning of the motion, the first 15-30 degrees of the movement, isn’t using our middle delt. Instead, it’s our supraspinatus.
One way to eliminate the supraspinatus, and use the delt from the start, is to grab onto a sturdy post and then lean your body away while hanging on.
Leaning dumbbell raises not only increase the time under tension for the middle delt, but they increase the range of motion. All that means is more gains and swole for you.
Grab a dumbbell, find a stable post, grab it around shoulder height, and lean away from the post until your arm is fully extended. Perform a side lateral raise as you would if you were standing.
Perform these at the end of your workout. Aim for sets of 3 with 8-12 reps per set.
Bradford Press
If you have issues with overhead pressing, the exercises I covered above are for you.
However, if you’re pain-free or have no issues overhead pressing, the Bradford Press is your new best friend.
You’re not going to do a ton of weight with this press. I advise trying it with just the bar at first or 10 pounds on each end.
This lift is best done at the end of your workout. Trust me, your shoulders are going to be on fire and you won’t have much, if anything, left in the tank.
Reps should be high(er), 12-15+ per set and all you’ll need to perform are 1-2 sets.
Live Amongst Men. Train Like a God
There is nothing more frustrating than grabbing a t-shirt and not having it feel snug against my upper body.
Building massive shoulders that fill out your shirts will not only make you look more muscular, but they will also help your arms pop and look better. If you need to see evidence of this, Google a picture of Chris Hemsworth in his Thor costume.
Add these exercises into your workouts and build shoulders worthy of a Norse God.