Having big wide shoulders is a common goal for a lot of men and body builders of any gender with the intention of increasing the contrast between the waist and shoulders to give even more of the desired “V” shaped torso. Getting that “V” shape is done partly by working on the Latissimus Dorsi (the muscles that run across your back and down the sides of the rib cage) but working the Deltoids (the muscle that caps the outside of the shoulder and upper arm) is the best way to add size to your natural frame, making sure you look like a “V” and not a “U”.

Though big cannonball shoulders are a common goal it is very rare that I see a comprehensive approach to training the deltoids. Most people tend to give way too much attention to the front and middle of the deltoid (the typically stronger areas with more range of motion) and almost never focus on the rear deltoid. I also often see people doing what they consider a rear deltoid exercise but they most often do not have their shoulder rotated in the proper orientation to target just the rear part of that muscle.

For the reasons above and many others I have built a comprehensive shoulder workout that primarily targets the deltoid (and other assisting muscles) in multiple positions with every shoulder rotation possible to hit every last inch of the deltoid to make sure that you are building shoulders that truly look like cannonball shoulders rather than a front heavy blob.

Before you start this workout to get cannnonball shoulders there are a couple things to know; first there are four exercises, each with one set in four different rotations, which means that this routine will easily burn out your shoulders very quickly. Because of that you can choose to do the whole routine straight through as I do or you can split it up into two days (or different parts of the day) if you like. Secondly many of the motions in this routine are going to be very difficult so keep in mind that you will have to switch between weights from exercise to exercise and from one rotation to another. Especially for your first time through, drop your weights to at least half to one quarter of what you would normally use for the exercises you recognize. Third, many of these positions require a strong rotator cuff so if you know that your rotator cuff is not up to par then be sure to drop your weights even more until you know how the motions will affect you.

Cannonball Shoulders Workout

Workout Plan

• Do one set of each exercise in each of four different shoulder rotations; thumbs back, in, forward, and out coupling two exercises together at a time and moving back and forth between the two.
• The shoulder rotation is controlled by the hand and direction the thumb is pointing. Make a “thumbs up” position with the hand and put your arms by your sides. The direction you want your thumb to be pointing is noted below.

Bent Over Rear Deltoid Raise
10 Reps – thumbs pointing back
10 Reps – thumbs pointing in towards thighs
10 Reps – thumbs pointing forward
10 Reps – thumbs pointing out in opposite directions

Lateral Raise
10 Reps – thumbs pointing back
10 Reps – thumbs pointing in towards thighs
10 Reps – thumbs pointing forward
10 Reps – thumbs pointing out in opposite directions

Seated Reverse Fly
10 Reps – thumbs pointing back
10 Reps – thumbs pointing in towards thighs
10 Reps – thumbs pointing forward
10 Reps – thumbs pointing out in opposite directions

Ventral Raise
10 Reps – thumbs pointing back
10 Reps – thumbs pointing in towards thighs
10 Reps – thumbs pointing forward
10 Reps – thumbs pointing out in opposite directions

Shoulder Press, Burn Out – Optional
# Reps – traditional shoulder press seated or standing

We are using PowerBlock's adjustable dumbbells in this video.