In order to create complete, full shoulders, you must perform the main mass building exercise correctly, the barbell press.  The barbell press is the mass building exercise for the shoulders as the bench press is for the chest.

The set up and the grip is the same. Place your hands on the bar by spacing your hands far enough apart so that when bar is lowered to your chin, your forearms will be perpendicular to the ground.  When the bar is lowered to your chin, you are in full stretch.  Pressing the bar to the top (or the contraction portion of the exercise), always squeeze your elbows up and aim towards an intersection point toward the top of your head. Never push straight up, if you do, you will most likely push up too quickly. By pushing up too fast, you run the risk of locking and snapping your elbows. This also adds an undue stress on the tendons and ligaments of the elbows.

Performing this exercise correctly is very important so you don’t damage your delicate rotator cuff.

Start with 8-10 reps to warm up the muscle and increase blood flow.  On your next set, up the weight and reduce reps to 6-8. You should be feeling maximum burn at about the 6^th rep (once you increase your weight) and then try to push out the last 2 for total muscle exhaustion. It’s wise to have someone spot you during this exercise to ensure that you are able to return the bench to a safe resting position on the bar behind you.

Let’s start with the bench press exercise. To many times I seen men and women performing this exercise incorrectly.  The key is in the range of motion…and that is often the first thing I see people doing wrong.

When performing the bench press exercise with a straight bar, you should always complete a full range of motion, bringing the bar all the way back down to your chest. The reason for this is so you get maximum stretch and a full contraction, this encourages a complete breakdown of muscle fiber so you can stimulate growth.

In order to get maximum growth you need to rest the empty bar on your chest, while it’s resting there you forearm should be at a ninety degree angle or perpendicular to the floor. This will create maximum stretch in the pecs and place the least amount of stress on the elbows and the shoulders.  If your forearms are any further apart it will not encourage proper pec development, it will just add more stress on the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints. It may also cause rotator cuff problems.

Bench correctly and be injury free while achieving thick, full pec development.

About Edward Albert:

Edward Albert is a former body builder and former Mr New Jersey title holder.  He is currently the owner and director of personal training at Ultimate Fitness Training Center in NJ.