Paige Hathaway designed this shoulder workout exclusively for Oxygen, a system of super setting that increases the time-under-tension, thereby increasing your opportunity for growth while also helping save your joints.
“Super setting allows you to pre-exhaust specific heads of the deltoid with the first exercise, thus allowing you to recruit another area of the deltoid while using less weight,” she explains. “This encourages hypertrophy while also helping prevent injury.”
Because shoulders can be a persnickety muscle group, Hathaway recommends a thorough and specific warm-up
Two continuous countdown sets of a shoulder press/lateral raise combo with very lightweight (5 to 8 pounds, max).
- Each set consists of 10 shoulder presses, 10 lateral raises, eight shoulder presses, eight lateral raises, and so on, down to four reps apiece.
- Without resting, do it all again until 56 continuous reps have been completed. Only now is it time to get to work.
Table of Contents
Shoulders
The correct name for the muscles of your shoulders is the deltoids. There are three sets of fibers that make up the deltoids, which are commonly referred to as heads. The deltoid heads work together to control your shoulder joint. Still, they can also be emphasized individually with certain exercises and movements.
Anterior deltoid – located on the front of your shoulders, the anterior deltoid flexes and medially rotates your upper arm. Exercises that emphasize this head include front raises and overhead presses.
Medial deltoids – the medial or middle deltoid is located on the side of your shoulder joint. Its function is to abduct your upper arm, meaning it raises your arm up and out to the side. The medial deltoid gives your shoulders their width. Exercises that target the medial deltoid include dumbbell and cable side raises.
Posterior deltoid – also known as the rear deltoid, this head is located on the back of your shoulder. It works in opposition to the anterior deltoid and is responsible for shoulder joint extension and external rotation. Exercises that target the posterior deltoid include reverse dumbbell flys and reverse cable crossovers.
Biceps
You probably already know more than enough about your biceps. After all, it’s the most famous muscle in the human body. Even non-lifters can usually identify their biceps and are happy to throw up an arm and flex for a biceps pose!
SQUAT CABLE CURL :
A great exercise that impacts the biceps along with your quads and core. Keep your back straight and core tight. Feel the motion and pause for a second at the peak. Weight stays less because you’re really isolating the bicep and the movement is much harder than a cable curl. Rather focus on your breathing. Breathe out as the weight goes against gravity.
PRO TIP: Aim to involve more than one muscle group at a time to burn more calories. Combine upper and lower body exercises.
SINGLE ARM OVERHEAD CABLE CURL
Primary muscles are the biceps brachii with forearms and shoulders as secondary muscles. A great exercise to add more mass on upper arm with a defined bicep. Keep your wrists firm so your hands don’t lie back as you execute the curl. Elbows shall be at a 90-degree angle with the ground. Keep the motions slow and don’t move your elbows.
PRO TIP: Focus on one arm at a time. Go for single or alternate bicep/hammer curls. This way the TUT(time under tension) increases.
REVERSE GRIP CABLE CURL
One of the few exercises that helps you get that perfect egg shape bicep curve joining your elbow. The weight stays less in this variation since the tension comes totally on the forearms and lowers the long head of the bicep. Keep your body fixed throughout the set. Don’t lean back as you curl up the bar. Elbows stay fixed to your body.
PRO TIP: Reverse it up. Try reverse grip curls to activate your forearms and get the perfect egg-shaped biceps.
ISOMETRIC PLATE HOLD
This exercise requires core, shoulder, biceps, and forearm strength to keep the weight up. A great exercise to add massive muscle mass. Try to include this exercise in a superset with another bicep exercise. Hold the plates for 40-60 seconds just after a bicep curl to feel the burn. Use a very slow rep timing and focus on the stretch and contraction of the muscle.
PRO TIP: Superset with isometric holds to maximize your pump and increase your muscle volume. Focus on breathing.
EZ BARBELL BICEP CURL
The primary muscle used is the bicep with brachialis and brachioradialis as secondary muscles. Helps to give you a slightly tilted grip allowing you to hit the inner head of the bicep. Retract your shoulder blades and raise your chest to keep your torso as upright as possible. Hold the position for a second at the top and keep the movement slow.
PRO TIP: Play with your grip and tilt your palms inwards to hit your bicep from a different angle. Choose between EZ bar curls or V-extension cable curls.
CABLE HAMMER CURL
Target muscles are brachialis and brachioradialis along with stabilizing parts of the deltoids and the trapezius muscles. Helps you get a stronger grip and allows you to squeeze the biceps for maximum contraction. Do the exercise in a controlled way. Remember, elbows stay fixed to your upper torso, and breathe out as the weight goes against the gravity.
PRO TIP: Just after curls, include the hammer curl variation to hit the muscle from a different angle. Go for dumbbell or cable hammer curls.
BICEP CABLE CURL
Targets the biceps along with back, shoulders & forearm muscles.
Keep your core tight throughout the movement so that the tension does not come on your back. Elbows stay fixed and aim for a full range of motion.
Hold the contraction at the peak for a second and bring down your hands slowly.
PRO TIP: Start with a basic exercise to warm up your muscle. Choose from cable curls, dumbbell curls or barbell curls. Increase the weight with each set.
As I always say, there is science behind your every movement while working out. Our custom training plans give you in-depth knowledge of each and every exercise. You need to have muscle & mind connections to make those muscles grow
Shoulder and Bicep Workout – Overview
This workout is designed to be done as part of a body part split routine, where you train different muscles on different days. For example, you might train your chest one day, your legs the next, and then hit your shoulders and biceps a day later.
You can do this workout once or twice a week as needed. Do it twice if you want to build your shoulders and arms more quickly. However, avoid hitting the same muscles on consecutive days, as they need time to recover between workouts.
But, before hitting the weights, make sure you spend a few minutes warming up and preparing your body and mind for what you’re about to do.
Begin with 5-10 minutes of easy cardio, such as rowing, air bike, elliptical, or jump rope. Next, do some dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for the muscles and joints you’re about to use. Finally, end your warm-up with 2-3 sets of the first exercise of the workout.
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