Out of the 3 deltoid heads that wrap around our shoulders probably the easiest to develop are the front and medial delts.
For many, the rear deltoid is not all that easy to build. But when all 3 heads are evenly matched this gives that great melon-like appearance to the shoulders.
Back in 2023, when I competed in a Bodybuilding Contest, part of my judge’s feedback was that I needed to improve my rear delts.
So I decided to train them first in my shoulder workout with rear dumbbell raises lying on a very low inclined bench. This is a terrific movement that takes the lower back out of the equation so you can really focus on that mind to muscle connection with your rear deltoids.
The other important reason for doing this exercise first is that it’s a great way to warm up the shoulder joints before the heavier pressing movements. This is particularly paramount for me with my dodgy AC joints.
Another useful tip is to perform your heavy rowing exercises first when you train Back. The rear deltoids are worked indirectly with rowing exercises, so this is another good way to prioritise them.
Pictured below are a few pics leading into my recent contest where you can see my rear deltoid development is more balanced.
So try this switcheroo in your workouts, you’ll be pleased with the results!
I have been in the Iron Game for over 40 years and have had my fair share of niggles during that time.
These niggles can last for 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months or even 3 years!
The pinched nerve in my neck and resulting tingling down my right arm has been very frustrating for several years and, touch wood, is just starting to subside.
Strange title to this post, you might say, but this relates to the way people perceive the cause of this issue.
How did it start in the first instance? Was it muscular tension that created the nerve impingement (the chicken) or was it a mal aligned spine that kicked things off (the egg)?
IMHO, I believe its prolonged poor posture, particularly forward head posture, that creates the stiffness in the joints, which is then followed by tight muscles, muscles spasms (or knots) and then ultimately nerve irritation.
Many people will seek treatment via remedial massage, physiotherapy and myotherapy, which all have their place.
But treating the symptoms still doesn’t address the root cause of the problem…your spine is out of whack!
So the multi-pronged approach I have used for my pinched nerve has focused on aligning my spine correctly, performing antagonistic stretches, improving my posture when sat at in a chair for lengthy periods, and changing the pillow I sleep on.
Luckily, for me, the spinal alignment has been corrected by my fantastic Chiropractor, Yousef, via Macquarie Chiro (see links below). Yousef is the first Chiropractor I’ve used that has been able to mobilise my very stubborn thoracic vertebrae. And, unbelievably, he did this with a “Full Nelson” wrestling-style manoeuvre!
For anyone living in the South West Metro region of WA, you need to check this fine gentleman out, if you’ve been having ongoing back and/or neck issues.
Now the antagonistic stretches to address the muscular tension and postural correction can be found via YouTube posted by various practitioners. These stretching exercises really helped me, so check out the links below from Stefan Becker’s Channel – “Body Fix Exercises”.
I also got the HR Department at my workplace to change my chair to one that helps me sit more upright. Focusing on keeping my shoulders down and back was important too.
Finding the right pillow was quite literally the final piece to the puzzle. Most conventional pillows exacerbate forward head posture, particularly if you’re a back-sleeper, like me. They also don’t support your neck properly whilst simultaneously restricting your breathing, which in turn disrupts sleep!
I purchased the pillow pictured below from SLUMBLR which looks really weird with the dip in the middle, but trust me, it corrects the forward head posture, supports your cervical spine and definitely opens up your air-ways for better sleep patterns. Worth a try I reckon, and no, I’m not affiliated with this company in any way!
Pinched nerves can be extremely hard to get rid of, but with a holistic approach of finding a great Chiropractor like Yousef, paying due diligence to homework exercises and using ergonomic sitting & sleeping aids, you can move them on! 👍😊
For my 60th birthday last September my amazing partner Louise bought me a new set of Golf clubs.
Before the Iron Game, Golf was my first passion, from about the age of 12.
So as to improve my Golf swing’s mobility I have started adding broomstick side twists in my Abdominal training regime.
The way that I perform these perfectly mimics the Golf swing whilst working the serratus abdominal muscles. This exercise is also awesome for improving the range of motion with the all-important shoulder turn. As we get older and stiffer it gets harder to rotate the shoulders a full 90 degrees in the backswing as well as rotating the hips in both backswing and follow-through.
So performing these twists is a great way to improve your Golf game with bonus core work.
My Ab training is quite simple with 2 sets of crunches with 25-30 reps on the Ab Machine followed by 2 sets of broomstick twists with 120 twists per set (See the videos below)
So I’m now looking forward to playing more Golf while still enjoying the bodybuilding health & fitness lifestyle.
Bodychisel by Craig. 