Q: I recently competed and I got some constructive criticism from one of the judges who told me that my front delts were making my rear delts look puny.  What can I do to make my rear delts as impressive as my front?

A: Lagging rear delts are a common problem and there’s a simple reason—working front delts is a lot more rewarding.    What you need to do is put some serious energy into working your rear delts and bring them into balance with the rest of your shoulders.

Here are a few ways to “specialize” your rear delt training and accelerate their growth.

#1: Whenever you train front delts, work the rears first.  Perform several intense sets of bent-over laterals, the rear delt machine and cable rear laterals before you even consider shoulder pressing.  And don’t think they should be light sets either, just because rear delts are a small muscle.  Rear delts gain strength quickly and you should be doing your laterals with respectable poundages in no time if you work hard.

#2: Do special supersets on back day.  Pick a major rowing movement to do this with (barbell rows, seated rows, T-bar rows, etc…).  Do a set of bent-over laterals with strict form to failure and then move directly to the row.  As you’re performing the row, you’ll become very aware of how involved the rear delts are in the movement.  And don’t worry about sacrificing the weights used in your back workout.  Taking the time to strengthen your rear delts will allow you to increase your poundages enormously in the future.