8 Reasons Your Shoulders Are NOT Growing (Science Based)

Summary

This video discusses common mistakes people make when trying to build shoulder muscles and offers tips for maximizing shoulder growth. Key points include using a full range of motion in exercises like overhead presses, balancing focus between front, side, and rear delts, and starting workouts with shoulder exercises for better gains. Emphasizing progressive overload, sufficient training volume, and proper nutrition, including a calorie surplus and adequate protein intake, are also highlighted. The video provides practical advice for achieving more defined, muscular shoulders while improving overall posture and reducing the risk of injury.

Takeaways

• 💪 Full range of motion is crucial for shoulder exercises, especially overhead presses, as lowering the weight fully activates the delts more.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Overhead presses focus mainly on the front delts, so it's important to incorporate exercises targeting the side and rear delts for balanced growth.
• ⚖️ Side and rear delts are key to achieving a wide, athletic shoulder look but are often neglected, unlike the front delts which get worked during chest exercises.
• 🗓️ Training shoulders at the beginning of a workout leads to better gains, as muscles worked earlier in a session see more progress.
• 🚨 Allowing traps to dominate shoulder exercises, especially side delts, can hinder shoulder growth. Stretching traps pre-workout can help reduce trap involvement.
• 📈 Progressive overload is key to shoulder growth. Gradually increasing the weight or reps in shoulder exercises is essential to muscle development.
• 🔄 Higher training volume (more sets per week) correlates with better muscle growth, so increasing the number of shoulder sets may help break growth plateaus.
• 🍽️ Being in a calorie surplus is necessary for muscle growth, but excessive surpluses lead to unnecessary fat gain, so aim for a modest surplus of 5-8%.
• 🥩 Sufficient protein intake is essential for muscle growth. Aim for at least 0.73 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
• 📊 Keeping track of workout progress, including weights and reps, can help ensure continuous improvement in shoulder muscle growth.

Q & A

What is the main benefit of training your shoulders through a full range of motion?

Training your shoulders through a full range of motion, especially in exercises like overhead presses, helps activate the deltoid muscles more effectively. The lower part of the movement stimulates the delts the most, leading to better muscle growth.

Why is it important to focus on side and rear delts rather than just the front delts?

Focusing on side and rear delts helps achieve a balanced shoulder appearance, improves posture, and reduces the risk of shoulder injury. Overemphasizing the front delts can lead to disproportionate muscle development since front delts are already activated during chest exercises.

Why should shoulder exercises be done earlier in the workout rather than at the end?

Training shoulders at the start of a workout ensures that the muscles are fresh, allowing you to lift heavier weights and stimulate more growth. Exercises performed earlier in the workout have been shown to produce better gains compared to those done later when muscles are fatigued.

How can lifters reduce trap involvement during side delt exercises?

Lifters can reduce trap involvement by stretching the traps before the workout, which decreases trap activation, and by focusing on pushing the dumbbells far to the sides during lateral raises, rather than lifting them straight up.

What role does progressive overload play in shoulder development?

Progressive overload, or gradually increasing the weight or workload over time, is essential for muscle growth. Failing to progressively overload during shoulder exercises can prevent meaningful muscle gains.

Why is overall training volume important for shoulder growth?

Higher training volume is directly linked to increased muscle growth. If shoulder muscles aren't growing, increasing the number of sets per week may help break through plateaus and stimulate more muscle development.

How does a calorie surplus impact shoulder muscle growth?

A calorie surplus provides the necessary energy for muscle growth. Consuming too few calories can stall muscle gains, while a moderate surplus of 5-8% above maintenance is ideal for maximizing growth without excessive fat gain.

What is the recommended amount of protein intake for muscle growth?

The recommended protein intake for muscle growth is 0.73 grams per pound of body weight. For a 180-pound person, this equals about 131 grams of protein per day. Eating more than this amount does not necessarily improve muscle-building progress.

Why are isolation exercises for the front delts often unnecessary?

Isolation exercises for the front delts, such as frontal raises, are usually unnecessary because the front delts are already heavily activated during common compound exercises like the bench press and overhead press.

What are the risks of performing upright rows for shoulder development?

Upright rows can potentially lead to shoulder impingement, which is why they are not recommended for training side delts. Instead, exercises like lateral raises or cable reverse flies are safer alternatives.

Outlines

00:00

💪 Common Shoulder Training Mistakes and How to Fix Them

This paragraph emphasizes the importance of achieving a V-shaped upper body by developing well-defined shoulder muscles. It explains that many people fail to make meaningful progress due to common mistakes in shoulder training. One of the most prominent errors is not utilizing a full range of motion in exercises like the overhead press. Lowering the weights only to where the arms are parallel to the floor limits shoulder activation, particularly in the delts. The lower portion of the exercise is where the deltoids are most engaged, while the upper part primarily works the triceps. Research supports that a full range of motion is generally more effective for muscle growth, as shown in studies comparing full and partial movements in squats and curls.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Balancing Shoulder Muscle Training: Front, Side, and Rear Delts

Here, the focus shifts to how lifters often overtrain the front delts while neglecting the side and rear delts. The front delts are highly activated during exercises like the overhead press and bench press, leading to an imbalance in shoulder development. On the other hand, side delts, which are crucial for shoulder width, are less targeted by most compound exercises. Isolation movements for side and rear delts, like lateral raises and reverse flies, are recommended for achieving balanced shoulder development. Strengthening rear delts also contributes to better posture and shoulder health, reducing the risk of injury.

10:04

⏱️ Prioritizing Shoulder Exercises for Better Gains

This paragraph discusses the timing of shoulder exercises within a workout routine. Studies show that muscles trained earlier in a workout see more gains. Many people, especially those who combine chest and shoulder exercises in the same session, tend to leave shoulder exercises for the end, which limits their progress. Starting the workout with shoulder-specific exercises, particularly those targeting the side and rear delts, can lead to better results. A separate arm day that includes shoulder exercises can help maximize shoulder development, allowing for heavier lifts and better muscle growth.

📉 Reducing Trap Dominance in Shoulder Exercises

Some people overactivate their traps during shoulder exercises, particularly when targeting the side delts, leading to disproportionate trap growth at the expense of shoulder development. While it's impossible to completely isolate the delts from trap involvement, techniques such as static stretching of the traps before training can reduce trap activation. Additionally, focusing on pushing dumbbells outward rather than upward during lateral raises can help engage the side delts more effectively.

📈 The Importance of Progressive Overload for Shoulder Growth

Progressive overload, or gradually increasing the weight lifted, is critical for muscle growth but is often overlooked in shoulder training. Many lifters fail to track their progress or aim to increase weights in shoulder exercises like overhead presses or lateral raises. Small increments in weight over time can lead to significant gains. Keeping a record of workouts and striving to improve by small margins each session is crucial for shoulder development.

🔢 Increasing Training Volume for Bigger Shoulders

This section highlights the importance of training volume for shoulder growth. Research shows a direct relationship between the number of sets performed and muscle gains. Lifters who only train shoulders once a week or with too few sets may struggle to see growth. Increasing the number of sets per week, especially for side and rear delts, can help break through plateaus and stimulate further muscle development.

🍽️ Calorie Surplus: A Key Factor for Shoulder Growth

Muscle growth requires a calorie surplus, meaning you need to consume more calories than you burn to build mass. If shoulder growth is stalled, increasing your calorie intake may be the solution.

Keywords

💡Full Range of Motion

Full range of motion refers to the practice of moving through the entire span of an exercise, from the lowest to the highest point. In the video, the speaker highlights how this is essential for maximizing muscle activation, particularly in exercises like the overhead press. Failing to use a full range of motion, such as not lowering the weight to ear level during presses, can limit shoulder development.

💡Deltoids

The deltoids, or delts, are the shoulder muscles responsible for giving the shoulders their rounded shape. The video emphasizes the importance of training all three heads of the deltoids—front, side, and rear—to achieve balanced shoulder development. Neglecting the side and rear delts can result in disproportionate muscle growth, affecting both aesthetics and functionality.

💡Overhead Press

The overhead press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, especially the front delts. The video points out that while this is a staple exercise for shoulder development, it mainly activates the front delts and involves the triceps during the upper portion of the movement. To build broader shoulders, it's important to also focus on exercises that target the side and rear delts.

💡Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress on the muscles by increasing weight, reps, or sets over time. The video stresses that applying progressive overload is essential for muscle growth, including shoulder development. Small incremental increases in weight or reps ensure continuous muscle adaptation and growth.

💡Training Volume

Training volume refers to the total number of sets and reps performed for a muscle group over a certain period. In the video, the speaker explains that higher training volumes are directly linked to increased muscle growth, as demonstrated by multiple studies. Lifters struggling with shoulder growth might not be performing enough sets per week, and increasing volume could break through plateaus.

💡Caloric Surplus

A caloric surplus occurs when you consume more calories than your body needs to maintain its weight, leading to weight gain and muscle growth. The video stresses the importance of being in a caloric surplus to maximize muscle gains, but also warns against excessively high surpluses, which can lead to unnecessary fat gain.

💡Side Deltoid

The side deltoid is the middle part of the shoulder muscle that contributes to the width and rounded shape of the shoulders. The video emphasizes that many lifters neglect the side delts, which are not sufficiently activated by compound exercises like the bench press or pull-ups. Focusing on side deltoid exercises, such as lateral raises, is crucial for achieving a broader, more athletic look.

💡Traps Activation

Trap activation refers to the engagement of the trapezius muscles during exercises. The video points out that some lifters unintentionally overuse their traps, especially during side delt exercises, which can limit shoulder growth. Techniques like stretching the traps before shoulder workouts or focusing on lateral movement can reduce trap involvement and target the delts more effectively.

💡Protein Intake

Protein intake is the consumption of dietary protein, which is crucial for muscle repair and growth. The video discusses the importance of getting enough protein to support muscle building, recommending 0.73 grams per pound of body weight per day. Sufficient protein helps maintain a positive protein balance, which is essential for muscle growth, including in the shoulders.

💡Isolation Exercises

Isolation exercises are movements that target a specific muscle group, as opposed to compound exercises, which work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. The video recommends incorporating isolation exercises like lateral raises and reverse flies to specifically target the side and rear delts, areas that are often neglected in typical shoulder routines.

Highlights

Three-dimensional cap-like shoulders create a V-shaped appearance, making the upper body appear leaner and more athletic.

Training shoulders through a full range of motion, especially in exercises like overhead presses, maximizes shoulder muscle activation.

Lowering weights to ear level or below during overhead presses targets the delts more effectively than partial presses.

Overemphasizing front delts is a common issue; rear and side delts must also be trained for balanced shoulder growth.

Side delts play a critical role in creating the wide-shoulder look, but they are often neglected in favor of front delts.

Rear delts contribute to shoulder joint integrity and help prevent injuries, making their training essential for both aesthetics and health.

Starting workouts with shoulder exercises, especially if your goal is shoulder growth, is more effective than leaving them for the end of a session.

Traps can take over in shoulder exercises; stretching the traps before workouts can help reduce their involvement and allow for better shoulder activation.

Progressive overload is crucial for shoulder growth, but many fail to apply it in shoulder-specific exercises.

Tracking workout performance and gradually increasing weight or reps over time helps achieve continuous muscle growth.

Not enough training volume can stall shoulder growth—doing more sets per week may help break through plateaus.

Eating in a calorie surplus is necessary for muscle growth; a surplus of 5-8% above maintenance is ideal for building muscle without excessive fat gain.

Consuming sufficient protein is key for muscle repair and growth; 0.73 grams per pound of body weight per day is sufficient for most lifters.

Overhead presses primarily target the front delts; side and rear delt isolation exercises are essential for well-rounded shoulder development.

A balanced shoulder workout includes a variety of exercises targeting front, side, and rear delts to maximize muscle size and prevent imbalances.

Transcripts

three-dimensional cap-like shoulders

help form a v-shaped appearance for your

upper body making you appear leaner more

attractive and more athletic it also

helps your arms look significantly more

muscular when you have pronounced

shoulders that appear to separate from

the rest of the muscles in your arms

unfortunately many guys make the same

common mistakes that prevent them from

adding any meaningful Mass to their

shoulders at all so today I want to go

over eight of the most common mistakes

that are holding you back in terms of

bulking up those shoulders and the first

one that I see all the time is that most

people don't train through a full range

of motion especially when doing

exercises like overhead presses if

you're someone that actually does go all

the way down when you do overhead

presses next time you go to the gym take

a look at how most people perform their

barbell dumbbell and machine overhead

presses you'll see that most people

don't lower the weight further than the

point where their upper arms are

parallel to the floor before pressing

the weight back up what you want to do

instead is lower the weight all the way

down until your hands are at least at

ear level and you can go even lower than

that until the dumbbells are about the

same height as your shoulders this is

beneficial because it's specifically the

lower part of the exercise that

stimulates the delts the most the upper

part on the other hand is largely a

function of the triceps if we divide the

motion of an overhead press into a lower

middle and upper portion we can see that

the triceps are heavily involved in

locking out the weight during that upper

portion not so much your shoulders your

shoulders fire fully in the lower and

middle portions of this exercise on top

of the fact that your shoulders are more

active in the lower and the middle

section research also indicates that in

general training through a greater range

of motion is better for muscle growth

for example studies show that full

squats cause more glue and adductor

growth than partial squats and full

range of motion curls produce more a

bicep growth when compared to partial

curls another common mistake is that

you're focusing too much on the front

delts but not enough on the side and the

rear delts this is usually done

unintentionally and this issue can even

affect Advanced bodybuilders forming a

disproportionate amount of volume for

your front delts is common for two

reasons first one of the most staple

shoulder exercises in everyone's routine

is the overhead press unfortunately the

overhead press as great of an exercise

as it is focuses primarily on the front

delts meanwhile the side and especially

the rear delts get much less activation

the second and also the bigger issue is

the fact that you already train your

front delts quite a bit during all your

horizontal pressing exercises like the

dumbbell and barbell bench press so when

you train your chest you inadvertently

also train the front part of your

shoulders a lot even your rear delts

will get recruited to a decent extent

when you perform different pulling

exercises like pull-ups rows and

especially bent over high rows but

that's not the case for the side delts

which are especially important for

giving your shoulders that wide look

with the exception of upright rows which

can actually lead to shoulder

impingement your side delts are not

activated to a very significant extent

from most other compound exercises

including the bench press pull ups and

rows that's why you want to put extra

emphasis on training your side delts

during your shoulder workouts there are

pretty much no lifters that need to do

isolation exercises for their front

delts like dumbbell frontal raises for

example however pretty much every lifter

can benefit by adding more side and rear

delt exercises like dumbbell lateral

raises and cable reverse flies now on

top of the aesthetic benefits focusing

on the side and rear delts is also

beneficial from a posture and shoulder

Health perspective a study published in

the journal of clinical biomechanics

found that strengthening the posterior

head of the deltoid helps to ensure

shoulder joint integrity and reduces the

likelihood of a shoulder injury next is

the mistake of saving your shoulder

exercises till the end of your workout

or simply hitting shoulders too late in

your workout many studies including a

randomized controlled trial show that

exercises and muscle groups that you

train first in a workout are the ones

that you'll see the most gains from

however a lot of people that are trying

to grow their shoulders don't train

their shoulders first if your split

training routine combines chest

shoulders and triceps for example into

one push workout you're most likely

starting your workout with exercises

like bench presses and dumbbell presses

which means you'll exhaust your

shoulders quite a bit before you finally

get to your shoulder exercises that

works just fine if your primary goal is

to grow your chest but if you primarily

want to grow your shoulders it would be

much better to hit them at the beginning

of your workout this is why I like to

combine shoulders biceps and triceps

into one arm workout on a separate day

from my chest and back workout having an

arm specific day where you can start

fresh with shoulder exercises that

Target your mid and rear deltoids like

bent arm lateral raises and dumbbell

reverse flies can wind up being

extremely beneficial for balancing out

the shape of your shoulders even if you

start the workout with overhead presses

which Target more of your front delt

starting off with shoulder exercises can

help you lift significantly more weight

than if you were to finish with shoulder

exercises and that in turn will benefit

muscle growth another mistake is

allowing your traps to take over for

your deal else this definitely isn't the

case for everyone but some people feel

shoulder exercises and especially side

dealt exercises more in their traps than

they do on their shoulders due to this

increased level of trap activation their

traps grow like crazy while their

shoulders get left behind this can be a

tricky situation because unfortunately

it's impossible to stimulate your delts

without also having your traps involved

in the movement but the good news is

that there are a couple things you can

do to reduce trap recruitment first you

can static stretcher traps before you do

your shoulder workout various studies

show that stretching a muscle for 60

seconds or longer decreases subsequent

muscle activation during exercise you

can effectively stretch your traps by

simply bending one arm and putting it

behind your back as you take your

opposite hand and pull your head down to

the side towards your shoulder you'll

want to hold that position for 60

seconds on each side for one to two sets

before training your shoulders another

great way to train your side delts while

reducing trap involvement is to focus on

pushing your dumbbells as far away to

your sides as possible possible as you

bring them up during a lateral raise

rather than just focusing on lifting

them straight up moving on to the next

one we have the common problem of not

applying Progressive overload it's very

interesting when it comes to the bench

press many lifters try to beat the

amount of weight that they lifted the

week beforehand or the month beforehand

which is a good thing because increasing

the amount of stress you place on your

muscles like this stimulates growth but

I find very few people that are focused

on trying to increase the amount of

weight that they can use on compound

shoulder exercises like overhead presses

and especially on isolation exercises

like lateral raises that's a big mistake

when doing shoulder exercises or any

other exercise for that matter you want

to focus on Progressive overload this

means that you have to gradually

increase the amount of workload that you

put on a muscle it doesn't have to be a

huge increase small little increments

will add up to large increments over

time so focus on just increasing the

amount of weight you can lift by even

two and a half pounds in one month if

you're doing a weight load for 10 reps

and not hitting fan failure increase

that weight load until you're doing like

six or seven reps before hitting failure

then work on getting your rep count back

up to 9 or 10 reps before upping the

weight load again and repeating that

entire process this is also why it could

be highly beneficial for you to keep

track of your workouts so that you know

how much weight you use during your last

couple workouts and how many reps you

were able to do with that weight this

way you always have a tangible number

that you can try to beat over time

another issue you might be running into

aside from just not upping your weight

load is you're not doing enough overall

training volume if you only train your

shoulders once per week or you only do a

couple of sets here and there that's

likely the reason why your shoulders

aren't growing to maximize muscle growth

you absolutely have to do enough

training volume in fact the

meta-analysis found a dose response

relationship between training volume and

muscle growth in train lifters the more

sets the participants did the more

muscle they gained also looking closely

at another eight week study where

participants did either one three or

five sets per X exercise the results

once again show that there was a dose

response relationship where higher

training volumes led to more muscle

growth so if your shoulders aren't

growing consider doing more sets for

that muscle every week so if you're

currently doing let's say nine sets for

shoulders per week try 12 or 15 sets per

week and see if that helps you break

through your Plateau now even though

I've just been talking about your

shoulder workouts one of the main

reasons you might be struggling to add

Mass to your shoulders is that you're

not consuming enough calories consuming

enough calories is crucial if you want

to maximize muscle growth so if your

shoulders aren't growing make sure to

check whether you are in fact in a

calorie Surplus if not that could be the

fix that you need to get your shoulders

growing again keep in mind you don't

have to go crazy stuffing yourself with

as much food as possible to maximize

muscle growth you don't need that big of

a calorie Surplus in fact a huge Surplus

can do more bad than good this was

proven in a study where a scientist

compared muscle growth and fat gain in

individuals that consume different

calorie surpluses while one group

consume a regular calorie Surplus the

other group went 600 calories above the

regular calorie Surplus Group after 12

weeks both groups gained a statistically

similar amount of muscle but the group

that consumed an additional 600 calories

gained more than five times the amount

of fat so if you want to keep it stupid

simple I recommend that you consume a

calorie Surplus Target of around five to

eight percent above maintenance per day

that'll be enough to maximize muscle

growth while minimizing fat gain finally

last but not least you may not be eating

enough protein so not only is getting

enough calories important for muscle

growth but you also want to consume

enough protein that's because the amino

acids found in protein form the

foundation of our muscle mass in fact

muscle growth is all about building up

more protein in a muscle compared to

what gets broken down on a daily basis

if you can accomplish that your muscles

will grow now just like with the calorie

Surplus more is not necessarily more a

2018 meta-analysis published in the

British Journal of sports medicine found

that you only need 0.73 grams per pound

of body weight per per day that equals

about 131 grams of protein for a 180

pound person you can of course eat more

protein than that amount but based on

the scientific evidence it won't have

much more of an effect on your muscle

building progress instead I recommend

saving those additional calories for

fats and carbs that can make your diet

more enjoyable so that about wraps it up

I really hope you guys enjoyed this

video and if you have make sure you

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guys soon

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