Could you have shoulders like NBA star Dwight Howard? (Getty Images)

One of the most overlooked muscle groups in the body is the shoulders — and because of their importance, they really shouldn’t be. A strong set of shoulders will give the body a wider, more imposing look, as well as help support upper-chest movements and allow for greater width in the upper arms.

Athletes and gym rats alike should pay a little more attention to the entire deltoid area, and not just because well-developed shoulders can round out a strong physique. The shoulder is one of the most oft-injured joints in the body for athletes, and it usually is due to joint wear and tear caused by weak supporting muscles. This workout is designed to not only add on some size and detail to the delts, but also help prevent against crucial shoulder injuries by strengthening the rotator cuff, a group of four small muscles that is nevertheless hugely important.

SHOULDER THE LOAD

Start off by activating the deltoids, a three-muscle group on each shoulder responsible for moving your arms up and forward, laterally and backward. You’ll be working with a mix of strength and refining movements (in that order), and one tri-set to really emphasize the idea of your whole shoulder group working together to create the biggest gains.

• Standing barbell push press (4×8)
• Upright rows (3×10)
• Seated dumbbell shoulder press (3×10)
• Tri-set: Front dumbbell raises/lateral raises/rear delt raises (3 total sets). Use a weight that allows you to get 7 reps for each phase of the tri-set, for a total of 21 per set.

Finish by engaging the rotator cuff. You don’t need much weight to get these activated, and in truth, you really shouldn’t be handling a lot of weight in this area anyway. Five to 10 pounds is about as heavy as you want to go for cuff work.

• Cable external rotation (3×10)
• Cable internal rotation (3×10)
• Cuban presses (3×10)

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