Bear Claw Shoulders Workout

Posted by AK on Jan 1, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments

Are your shoulders all go but no show? That is, they’re strong as heck but maybe don’t turn too many heads in the cuts and definition department?

What you need are separation and striations, STAT! This workout for “bear claw” shoulders has you covered. So called because it appears as if a bear took an angry swipe at your delts, bear claw shoulders are the ultimate in upper-arm aesthetics, whether for competition, camera, or chillin’ at the cabana.

Shoulders can be — operative phrase “can be” — one of the most stubborn body parts to train. They may require subjection to severe duress before they develop. If trained improperly — wrong ranges and tracks of motion, too much weight, etc. — they can become prone to injury. The trick with shoulders (and this is the Voice of Experience talking) is to train them intensely, get them hot and pumped, and not worry so much about weight, at least not initially. Variety is also key, so throw this workout into the mix often with other shoulder routines.

DOWNLOAD “Bear Claw Shoulders” Workout as a .PDF

 

 

 

 

 

           

You may notice this workout focuses on the medial (sometimes referred to as lateral) and posterior (rear) deltoid heads. What about the front, or anterior ones, you ask? Actually, most people get more than enough work for their anterior delts through other exercises, like push-ups, every variation of bench press known to humans, overhead presses, and so on. So no need to target the front delts specifically, here.

Watch the video for special tips and demonstrations of the exercises mentioned. For your training convenience, you can print this workout as a PDF or download it to your PC or mobile device.

 

 

A word on injuries, since they ARE so common with shoulders … this workout is specifically designed with higher reps in mind so you focus on:

1) using the primary muscles, not helper muscles

2) working toward the burn, which is an indicator of muscular stress (that’s a good thing) and…

3) making “cheating” unnecessary and therefore making injury/aggravation less likely.

 

Enjoy the burn!