Have you ever looked at a bodybuilder and tried to determine if he is natural or not? It’s often tough to distinguish. If the athlete has gotten into contest shape and managed to maintain most of his muscle mass, it can be a telltale sign. However, there is one visual giveaway that usually lets everyone in the room know who is juicing, and who is not – the “pop”.

When a bodybuilder first uses anabolic steroids, the deltoids (shoulders) and quadriceps (thighs) are the first muscle groups to explode with growth. Natural bodybuilders very rarely have that “pop” in these muscle groups. They might have very strong shoulders and legs – but in order to attain the rounded, cannonball delts which “pop out”, they either have to have one-in-a-million genetics, or they have to enter the world of AAS. The shoulder and thigh regions are very dense with muscle cell receptors. When a bodybuilder first uses AAS, he notices his squat and bench numbers skyrocket overnight, as a result of the muscles being required for these lifts (shoulders and thighs) initiating so much growth.

To make the most out of your shoulder development without the use of anabolic steroids (or to attain some world-class shoulder using AAS), there are a few key points which should be followed.

Don’t neglect traps

Many bodybuilders tend to avoid training their traps muscles with exercises like shrugs and upright rows, for fear this will eliminate the V-taper and make them appear narrow. While it’s true that extremely large traps on a very narrow man will remove some perception of width, it’s imperative that 99% of bodybuilders do train the traps in order to ensure the deltoids are receiving stimulation from every possible angle.

Vary rep ranges

In every shoulder workout, use both high- and low- repetition ranges. Complete seated dumbbell military presses for 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps, then two sets of 12 to 20 repetitions. The deltoids are a dense muscle group, and there is no way of estimating your fast to slow twitch muscle fiber ratio. To solve this, train using both sets of fibers!

Consider training them twice a week

In preparation for his 2008 Mr. Olympia debut, bodybuilder Phil Heath did what many other bodybuilders have done in recent years to challenge one body part to grow “one years’ worth” in only six months – train them twice per week. Training every body part in this fashion would quickly lead to overtraining and a crash of the central nervous system. However, training only shoulders twice per week can stimulate them in new ways, creating new growth.

Cables

Many bodybuilders enter the gym and run directly for the free weight section. This is very good for stimulating growth in the major muscle groups, of course. However, the shoulders are one of those muscle groups which benefit tremendously from continuous tension. Allowing a dumbbell to come to rest doesn’t allow that – but cable side and front raises keep continuous tension on the delts. Give them a shot!

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