Shoulders:Week 3

This week I’m introducing the rest-pause principle, which I’ve mentioned earlier. For rest-pause, you’ll choose a weight that takes you to reach failure at 15 reps, At that point, you’ll rest for several seconds until you’re able to perform 5 more reps. Complete those and then rest for only 90 seconds between all sets. You may need to makes adjustments in the amount of weight you’re using as you get deeper into each exercise.

NOTES:

* To rest for shoulder presses, you can hold the weights at your shoulders or you can bring them down to your waist, whichever provides you with what you need to recover.

* The rest-pause principle allows your body to create more adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical that we burn up with intense anaerobic exercise such as heavy shoulder presses. Taking just a few seconds allows your body to create more for a few more reps.

* For rope cable raises, straddle the cable and use straight arms to raise the weight. Check out the video for more tips on how I perform these.

EXERCISE	COMMENT
Standing dumbbell shoulder presses	4 SETS / 15+5 REPS Choose a weight that takes you to failure at 15 reps—then rest-pause before performing 5 more reps. Only rest 90 seconds between sets.

Side cable raises	4 SETS / 15+5 REPS Choose a weight that takes you to failure at 15 reps—then rest-pause before performing 5 more reps. Only rest 90 seconds between sets.

Bent-over cable rear delt raises	4 SETS / 15+5 REPS Choose a weight that takes you to failure at 15 reps—then rest-pause before performing 5 more reps. Only rest 90 seconds between sets.

Front rope cable raises	4 SETS / 15+5 REPS Choose a weight that takes you to failure at 15 reps—then rest-pause before performing 5 more reps. Only rest 90 seconds between sets.

TIP: Make sure you’re drinking In-Kaged during your workouts, but finish up this intra-workout beverage as you’re beginning front-delts rope cable raises. You want to have these nutrients in your system before you perform your last few sets.

Check out my video for detailed tips on how to perform each exercise and how to implement the rest-pause principle.