We all receive different gifts when it comes to our individual body parts. Some of us are given decent arms upon which to build. Others are blessed with a solid chest, which has responded well and in a balanced manner since we began our training. While the variance in blessed body parts may range from one to another, shoulders are one area that many bodybuilders just seemed to be cursed. For those of you who are cursed with poor shoulder development to begin win, never fret. Dedicated, specialized training can help you develop shoulders that, while may never be outstanding, can be very solid, and never viewed as a weak point in your physique. Here are some techniques for overcoming genetic weaknesses.

Proper shoulder training involved hitting them from every possible angle – side, front, and rear. It doesn’t depend upon free weights, machines or cables – rather, a combination of the three of them to help fill in any weak areas of your deltoids while keeping the solid parts, well, solid. Take each individual area of the shoulders – the front, side, and rear deltoids – and determine if there is a weakness. Then, address that weakness with specialized training.

A complete shoulder workout always starts with the front deltoids. These are the muscles which are used for the heavy compound movements, which are the first ones you should always target when training the shoulders. If this are is weak, then 5 or 6 sets of barbell front rows then presses would be advised. Heavy free weights lead to front delt beef!

Next come the side deltoids, or the muscle group which makes you appear wide. Hitting the side delts isn’t done with heavy barbells or insanely heavy dumbbells. Rather, these muscle groups are hit with isolated movements, designed to hit the shoulders with a targeted intensity. The weight you use for this muscle group will be much lighter than that which you employed for the front deltoids, and that is acceptable – even preferable. The side deltoids are a very small muscle group which can’t hold 60 or 80 or more pounds in the way the front deltoids can. Exercises like side dumbbell raises, side cable raises, and other later movements target the side deltoids. Keep your movements slow and deliberate, and work to feel every repetition. Make it burn, and you’ll grow.

The rear deltoids are trained last, and are a body part that is often neglected by many bodybuilders. The pros train them – and this is evidenced by their thick upper backs and rear deltoids. Amateur bodybuilders tend to neglect them until they first get on stage and are thoroughly humiliated by a competitor with far more thickness. To hit the rear delts, use movements such as bent over dumbbell and cable laterals. There are also a few machines – including reverse pec-deck flyes – that hit the rear deltoids in a similar fashion. Train for feel, but move a whole lotta weight. Patience and a few hundred additional calories are also helpful for delivering some rear delt growth.

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