# Best shoulder excercise for mass



## 1990 (Jan 31, 2011)

DB vs Barbell - standing vs seated?

Personally i use military press standing and have done the whole time ive been training, it doesn't feel comfortable when im seated or using dumbells.... The question is am i missing out.... Does DB shoulder press have a place for mass building?

Should i maybe start alternating between BB and DB each week?

Are there any specific benefits from standing or seated and DB vs BB?

What do you think is the best shoulder excercise for building MASS??


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Dumbbells are much better for targetting the side delts and building an impressive set of shoulders. Arnold presses have proven to be the most effective mass buildr for me.


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## DutchTony (Sep 25, 2011)

Arnold for me


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## 1990 (Jan 31, 2011)

Interesting...

I do ppl and have always just done standing bb military press on push day. Throw in some db lateral raises as well. Think ill start mixing it up with db presses as well.

I read somewhere that when you use dbs it recruits different muscle fibers from when you use a barbell.


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## graham58 (Apr 7, 2013)

1990 said:


> Interesting...
> 
> I do ppl and have always just done standing bb military press on push day. Throw in some db lateral raises as well. Think ill start mixing it up with db presses as well.
> 
> I read somewhere that when you use dbs it recruits different muscle fibers from when you use a barbell.


i always do and always have done seated bb press,because i can use more weight,in my mind more weight means more growth and strengh,i rep with 40 kilos a side,no way could i press this standing or useing db


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## WallsOfJericho (Apr 4, 2009)

I like to start off with heavy Arnolds and finish off with high rep Arnolds


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## digitalis (Sep 13, 2011)

As bad as they are for the RC, behind the neck barbell press gave me the most mass in all the shoulder heads, and had the best bench carryover. Could never do them heavy now though, used to do them as a push press! Ouch.


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

db, bb and smith press infront and behind for me. i just alternate. i go lighter with arnolds if i do them and they are a finisher


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## Pancake' (Aug 30, 2012)

Prefer barbells for shoulder pressing movements. I would say the Behind the Neck Overhead press for the overall ''Best shoulder exercise for Mass'' (Hits all 3 deltoids to a great degree) but I prefer the Standing Military Press.


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## mccreesh (Jan 30, 2013)

for me personally its strict lateral raises, seen more improvement in my shoulder doing just that without even doing any pressing..


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## Robbiedbee (Nov 27, 2013)

Upright Row for me. I avoided the regular one as it hurts my shoulders, but I widened my grip a little and was able to add it to my routine, and my shoulders have really improved since then.

In terms of the press though, I've always preferred the dumbbell version. I find myself leaning back with a barbell, which isn't comfortable.


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## Pancake' (Aug 30, 2012)

mccreesh said:


> for me personally its strict lateral raises, seen more improvement in my shoulder doing just that without even doing any pressing..


x2 I can vouch for this also, I think there a must for every shoulder workout.


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## Trev182 (Sep 24, 2013)

Barbell strict form standing Military press


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## Major Eyeswater (Nov 2, 2013)

Seated barbell press for me. Behind neck presses aggrivate my shoulder joint.

I doubt there is a significant difference in the mass-building potential of doing it with a barbell versus dumbells.


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

Standing presses for me, and then push press for the last couple of reps.

Then side laterals to finish off.


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## J1mmyc (Mar 25, 2012)

Behind head press all day long as said above I do them in smith machine and my delts have took off since doing them along with dropset lateral raises with pauses at top of raise feel the burn


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## hometrainer (Apr 9, 2003)

either seated dumbbell press or seated barbell smith machine press


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## JR8908 (Aug 17, 2012)

Standing military press. Hits all 3 heads of the shoulder


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## micky12 (Oct 16, 2013)

i mix it up , 1 week standing BB press next seated DB press , i find the seated DB press work's my shoulder's alot more though but i like to mix it up with these


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## dt36 (Jun 3, 2005)

JR8908 said:


> Standing military press. Hits all 3 heads of the shoulder


If you watch Milos Sarcev Secrets of the Pros, he a states overhead press hits the front head.

There is a good in depth section on shoulder exercises in the film. Well worth a watch.


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## GaryMatt (Feb 28, 2014)

As with all parts, I think changing up your routine will ultimately lead to the best sculpted body part. That being said standing and seat Barbell press gained the most mass for me. When I learned about Arnold press and the laterals, my delts took new form. Also, strengthening my rear delt helped as well.



The front of my shoulder is over developed. That center part is what I am trying to catch up from years of seated and standing bar presses


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

Press behind neck,mill press...pretty good.


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## 1010AD (May 30, 2009)

@1990 Dumbbell and barbell coz if you just stick to one you'll just get use to it and won't progress plus if you perform shoulder exercises sat down you'll find it a lot harder isolating the muscle more


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## NoGutsNoGloryy (Jan 7, 2013)

Just started doing clean and press seen quite abit difference on delts already... I am on cycle tho but still hits them real good


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## dt36 (Jun 3, 2005)

GaryMatt said:


> As with all parts, I think changing up your routine will ultimately lead to the best sculpted body part. That being said standing and seat Barbell press gained the most mass for me. When I learned about Arnold press and the laterals, my delts took new form. Also, strengthening my rear delt helped as well.
> 
> View attachment 149165
> 
> ...


Maybe hit them first on shoulder day, while they are strong. Same really with rear delts. By pre fatiguing these two heads, when you finally finish off with overhead press you will get minimum assistance from the previous exercised heads.

Also try leaning slightly forward on side and rear delts to bias the lift away from the front delts.


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## dave-taff89 (Jul 14, 2013)

I do military press, dumbell press, side lateral raises, up right rows and arnie press until failure!

4 sets and 10reps, tiring to 8 reps per exercise. Apart for the arnies.


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

graham58 said:


> i always do and always have done seated bb press,because i can use more weight,in my mind more weight means more growth and strengh,i rep with 40 kilos a side,no way could i press this standing or useing db


Try not to fall into that trap, mate. The muscle doesn't have eyes. If you can do something like 70kg barbell presses for 6 reps and dumbbell presses with 25kg dumbbells for 6 reps, all the muscle knows is that the weight was heavy enough that it could only do 6 reps. Not to mention if you were looking for overall shoulder development, being able to manipulate the ROM with dumbbells means you'd be able to hit the side delts better. Using a barbell for presses means you're working the front delts, and obviously the front delts being the strongest of the three heads would mean you can go a lot heavier than if you were trying to target the side delts.

There are numerous reasons people sacrifice the weight being used to get better growth. For example, I never git much pec development from barbell bench presses. Since I gave up on barbell benching completely and srarted using dumbbells instead, my pec development has increased dramatically. The cumulative weight of the dumbbells is about 20% lighter than what I'd be handling with a barbell, but being able to manipulate the range of motion and improve pec stimulation means I've been growing at a much faster rate. My strength increases have been developing at the same rate too, and obviously being able to press heavier dumbbells would carry over to how much I can press on a barbell.

Likewise, with movements like SLDLs, I like to do leg curls first because my lower back is weaker than my hamstrings and would be the cause of failure to complete more reps, therefore my hams wouldn't have been worked to their maximum capacity. With leg curls first, though, my hams are weakened, which means using a much lighter weight on the SLDLs, but my hamstrings still get destroyed while my lower back doesn't get worked as hard because of the lower weight. Again, seen huge improvements since I switched.

A lot of people on here use these kinds of techniques in the interest of mass gain.

If what you're doing is getting the desired results, obviously stick with it. Just remember though, we're training our muscles, not our egos, and sometimes doing something that means using a lighter weight can often lead to better growth. The universally important thing is that you keep making increases in weight, no matter what methods you use, in order to avoid plateauing.


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## Thunderstruck (Sep 20, 2010)

Are Arnold presses actually names after the Arnold we all know and love? Because i have tried searching for him actually doing Arnold presses and have yet to find any evidence he ever did them?

PS. I have to admit i havent tried that hard but wouldnt of thought id have to if they were named after him.


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## John J Rambo (Mar 11, 2014)

Seated presses to the front have worked best for me. Very strict form. If you **** up your shoulder it's curtains.

I herniated a disc in my neck last year after a sloppy set of heavy standing overhead presses. Killer.

I like cable face pulls to finish off a shoulder workout. Overhead Press. Upright rows. Lateral Raises. Face Pulls. One workout a week with 3 sets of each, strict form, 45secs rest between sets, 8-10 reps on the Presses and Rows. 12-15 reps on Raises and Pulls. Been on this 9 weeks now and my shoulders have responded brilliantly.


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## graham58 (Apr 7, 2013)

> Try not to fall into that trap, mate. The muscle doesn't have eyes. If you can do something like 70kg barbell presses for 6 reps and dumbbell presses with 25kg dumbbells for 6 reps, all the muscle knows is that the weight was heavy enough that it could only do 6 reps. Not to mention if you were looking for overall shoulder development, being able to manipulate the ROM with dumbbells means you'd be able to hit the side delts better. Using a barbell for presses means you're working the front delts, and obviously the front delts being the strongest of the three heads would mean you can go a lot heavier than if you were trying to target the side delts.
> 
> hi and thanks for the reply,the reason i said seated ohbp was in response to the question.best shoulder exercise for mass.in my opinion the over head press is the king of shoulder movements and involves all 3 heads for mass.but i dont just do this as my workout i also use raises with db,cables ect.i also hit the side and rear delts direct,not my front they get more than enough stimulation from heavy presses.but my main shoulder routine always involves heavy presses


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Thunderstruck said:


> Are Arnold presses actually names after the Arnold we all know and love? Because i have tried searching for him actually doing Arnold presses and have yet to find any evidence he ever did them?
> 
> PS. I have to admit i havent tried that hard but wouldnt of thought id have to if they were named after him.


"This is the very best deltoid exercise I know, and I always include it in my routine" - quote from Arnold's book, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, under Arnold presses


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

graham58 said:


> hi and thanks for the reply,the reason i said seated ohbp was in response to the question.best shoulder exercise for mass.in my opinion the over head press is the king of shoulder movements and involves all 3 heads for mass.but i dont just do this as my workout i also use raises with db,cables ect.i also hit the side and rear delts direct,not my front they get more than enough stimulation from heavy presses.but my main shoulder routine always involves heavy presses


Fair enough mate, yeah I was just giving my thoughts on the part where you said the weight on the bar is what makes muscles grow. Granted, you lift as heavy as you can for that exercise to hit the desired rep range, but just choosing the exercise which allows you to lift the most is a mistake IMO. Not saying this is your attitude of course, just saying in general


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

I love a combination of both but in response to the question, Arnies have and will always be the best mass builders (all things being equal).

My absolute staple.

The biggest benefit of using dumbbells over barbell is greater range of motion (except for those muppets who do quarter-reps...what are they doing?)...

Greater ROM means a) more time under tension B) recruits more muscle fibres c) recruits more stabilizers and d) activates the traps.

In other words, more total muscle fibers are stimulated for growth.

Barbell OHP might work better for some, simply due to personal "preference" and effort/commitment etc. so that's all well and good.. but fact is, DB will always have greater mass building potential.


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