Let’s face it…

No great physique is complete without muscular, defined shoulders.  Unfortunately, when it comes to shoulder workouts, most people have no idea what they’re doing.

If you could magically snap your fingers on say, Tuesday, and make all 25 people in your gym decide to do shoulders, you’d likely see about 25 different shoulder exercises being performed by 25 different people, each one of them convinced that they’re well on their way to building bigger, stronger shoulders.

The truth is most of them aren’t going to get anywhere, though.

There may be 50 different shoulder workouts, but doing each and every one of them is useless at the very least, and potentially counter-productive.

That’s right, you may actually be sabotaging your gains without even realizing!

Most people make at least one of these critical errors when it comes to training shoulders:

1. Not actually working out their shoulders.
2. Working out their shoulders WAY TOO MUCH!
3. Doing inferior shoulder exercises.

So think of this article as my way of setting the record straight about shoulders.

Before we get into shoulder anatomy, the best shoulder exercises, and how to develop the ultimate shoulder workout routine, here’s a little cautionary tale…

Why You Don’t Want To End Up Like Me

I’ve been lifting for about 10 years and have suffered immensely from shoulder-related issues.

When I reflect on the most common issues with the average person’s shoulder workout, I’ve actually experienced them all.

Seriously, over the years, I’ve gone through periods where I:

• Didn’t train my shoulders at all for months at a time.
• Went way too hard and over-trained my shoulders.
• Trained incorrectly, focusing on the wrong exercises

Ironically, when I first started Momentum Nutrition and Singular Sport, I became so busy that I didn’t get to the gym more than 2 or 3 days a week.

Like most people, I hate missing Chest day, so during that time I made sure I still did Chest once a week even though I wasn’t training my other muscle groups on a regular basis.

I basically trained legs, chest, and arms every week, but I neglected my back and literally NEVER shoulders.

What happened?

I sustained possibly the most severe, prolonged shoulder injury of my lifting career.  Just as Momentum Nutrition was gaining traction too!

Worst timing ever.

That, combined with a typical North East winter (shoveling massive amounts of snow on a bad shoulder), was enough to keep me almost entirely out of the gym for 4-5 months.

During that time, I lost A LOT of what I had gained in the past year.

At the time of writing this article, I’m about 205 pounds.  It’s mostly lean muscle and very little fat, but that’s down about 15 pounds of super solid muscle from last summer.

Here’s another one with a better shoulder angle…

I still trained legs (thank God), so that sort of kept me in the game, but man did I lose A LOT of muscle!

Take it from me…

If you have some issues with your shoulders, take them seriously and fix them the right way.

That means:

• rest
• stretching
• taking it easy when you do lift

In fact, if you have a shoulder injury, I suggest you stop reading right now because you really should not even be THINKING about lifting heavy.

If, however, you’re in fine shape (not injured) but want to know how to build big shoulders that actually support and benefit your other lifts, you’ll want to keep reading…

Understand the information I’m about to share and you’ll be well on your way to the physique you always wanted.

Let’s begin…

Shoulder Anatomy 101

Your shoulder muscles, though collectively referred to as Deltoids or “Delts”, are actually comprised of three individual muscles:

1. Anterior Deltoid (Front Delts)
2. Posterior Deltoid (Rear Delts)
3. Lateral Deltoid (Side Delts)

This is what they look like and where they’re located:

While there are plenty of shoulder workouts that incorporate all three muscles, it’s important to target them equally when your doing any sort of isolation movement.

That’s where most people go wrong.

An imbalance in the strength of your Deltoids can cause far more problems than simply looking strange.  That’s really the least of your concern…

Neglect one part of your Deltoids too much while training the others and you’ll eventually wind up with at least one of the following:

1. Poor posture
2. A shoulder injury
3. Inability to progress on other lifts
4. All of the above

I don’t know about you, but those all sound horrible to me.  In fact, I’ve experienced all of them.  It sucks…

There’s one more part of the shoulder that most people neglect almost entirely when they workout…

Traps!

Your traps are the muscles that connects your shoulders to your neck and your back.

They look like this…

As you can see, your traps are an extremely important connective muscle group which connect your:

• Shoulders
• Back
• Neck

When it comes to building nice, solid traps, most people suffer from one of two things:

1. They don’t workout their traps enough
2. They workout their traps way too much (in the wrong ways)

Because the traps are so inter-connected, your working them out any time you do compound lifts such as:

• Deadlifts
• Cleans
• Military Press
• Bench Press
• Squats

So, you don’t need to add too many trap exercises on top of those to develop solid traps.

You see a lot of big guys in the gym doing shrugs with as much weight as they can grip, but when it comes down to it, your traps just don’t need the level of attention that other shoulder muscles do.

When it comes to shoulder workouts, save the traps for last.

Just about every shoulder workout you could possibly do also works the traps.

Don’t take my word for it though…

Ask the guys over at T-Nation.  They know a thing or two about training heavy and they agree that:

1. Shrugs are not the best way to build traps
2. You probably don’t need to directly train your traps much

It’s definitely true that strong traps will help the majority of your other lifts (especially your bench press) but, if anything, you should be focusing on your lower traps instead of your upper traps.

So, next time your friend tells you to do some shrugs with them, shrug it off and do some compound exercises instead!

Okay, now let’s get back to the topic at hand…

Your Shoulder Workouts Should Follow These Simple Principles

First of all, it’s important that we take a minute to discuss the fundamental lifting principle known as…

Focus On Progressive Overload

Progressive Overload simply refers to adding more and more weight to your workouts over time.  It’s not just a shoulder workout thing.

It applies to every workout and without increasing the amount of weight you lift over time, you won’t make any progress.

This is fairly intuitive and easy to grasp when you think about it…

Working out any muscle places stress on that muscle which eventually tears the muscle tissue.  Assuming you’re taking your post-workout recovery seriously, those torn muscles will then repairthemselves, becoming bigger and stronger.

While the principle of Progressive Overload applies to all muscle groups, it’s especially important when it comes to working out your shoulders.

A lot of people’s shoulder workouts consist of light weight, high repetition exercises.

The problem with doing twenty reps of a light weight (say 50% of your 1 rep max) is that it doesn’t place enough stress on the shoulder muscle to cause them to tear and subsequently grow.

You’re not sufficiently overloading the muscle enough.

Remember…

You can’t spell Progressive Overload without Progress!

If you’re doing more and more weight week over week, month over month, you’ll become stronger and more strength equals bigger muscles.

Train All The Shoulder Muscles Proportionately

This is probably the single most over-looked principle of shoulder workouts.  Just know that the term “proportionately” doesn’t necessarily mean “equally”.

For example, your anterior (front) delts and traps are most likely already taking a beating from chest day, back day, and even leg day.

So, training your front delts as heavy and intensely as your train your lateral and rear delts will almost certainly cause some problems after a while.

People who train chest super hard every week are the most likely to end up with disproportionate rear delts, both in terms of size and strength.

If you’re one of those people who does train chest on Monday, fresh off the weekend, you need to particularly careful when you train your shoulders.

Don’t train shoulders the day after chest.

Leave a couple days in between to allow for adequate recovery.  During your shoulder workouts, focus mainly on your Lateral and Posterior Delts.

They need it the most!

Switch It Up (Every Now And Then, NOT CONSTANTLY)

The notion that “muscle confusion” is necessary to build strength and size has been horribly exaggerated by just about every fitness publication there is, but switching up your workouts every now and then isn’t a bad idea.

This is one of those universal lifting principles that seem to apply especially to shoulder workouts.

The idea behind muscle confusion is that when you do a particular exercise over and over again, your muscles “get used to it” and stop responding.

But varying your exercises doesn’t trump the principle of progressive overload.

If you’re adding weight to all your lifts, week after week, month after month, you’ll stronger.  If you get stronger, your muscles will grow.

It doesn’t matter if you switch it up or not.

The truth is that exercise variation has been shown to improve certain training adaptations (such as fatigue resistance), but when it  comes to building strength and size, it’s not necessarily any better than consistent exercises.

You don’t need to switch up your workout every week to build strength and size, but if you want that angular, defined look that so many of as are after, it’s not a bad idea to throw some variation in there.

The Best Shoulder Exercises

Before we talk about which shoulder exercises you should be using to craft the ultimate shoulder workout, and why, I’d just like to make a couple things clear.

When it comes to building big, strong shoulders, you should emphasize heavy, compound exercises.

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Compound exercises are exercises that incorporate multiple muscle groups and joints.  Performing these types of exercises will allow you to lift more weight and allow you to grow stronger.

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As for the ‘heavy’ part…

Research shows that, when it comes to gaining strength and building muscle, performing exercises at roughly 85% of your 1 Rep Max is ideal.

That means, for the majority of the shoulder exercises we’ll discuss, you’ll be doing just 4-6 reps per set.

This may not seem like a lot, but you’ll quickly find that when you do 12-15 sets per workout at that level of intensity, your muscles WILL respond.

With that said, let’s talk about the shoulder exercises that ultimately make for the best shoulder workouts.

#1: Shoulder Press (Military Press)

The Shoulder Press, also known as Military Press, is performed by gripping  a barbell (or dumbells) a little wider than shoulder width and pushing the bar (or dumbells) from just above your upper chest to an over-head position.

Here’s the thing…

No shoulder workout comes with as many variations as the overhead press.

If you want to throw some variation in the mix and really target those rear delts and traps, consider bringing the bar down behind your neck like this:

This simple variation allows you to put most of the stress on your Posterior (Rear) Delts as opposed to the original version where most of the stress is placed on your Anterior (Front) Delts.

If you’re working on your Rear Delts in particular (which you most likely should be), you’ll want to toss this exercise in your shoulder workouts.

Consider switching back and forth each week to maintain an even balance and proportionate delts.

Of course, the variation doesn’t end there…

There’s also the matter of whether to use dumbells…

Here’s a video, if you prefer…

While both the Barbell Press and the Dumbell Press activate the same group of muscles, Dumbell Press requires more stabilization.

This means you won’t be able to do as much total weight, but Dumbells have their advantages.

A 2013 study from the Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research sought to determine whether shoulder pressing with dumbells or barbells activated more muscle.

It’s worth mentioning that the researchers in this study used electromyogram activity (EMG) as the metric for measuring total muscle engagement.

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EMG really measures the electrical activity produced in muscles when they contract.  This method is fairly accurate for measuring total muscle engagement, but it’s not dead on.

Some variation should be expected…

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The researchers concluded that, while muscle recruitment was similar between these two exercises, the Dumbbell Press was shown to activate the muscles in the shoulder more than the Barbell Press. This doesn’t mean dumbbells are superior.  Remember, you can push more weight with a Barbell.

I personally incorporate both of these variations into my shoulder workouts.

One week I’ll do Barbell Presses, the next week I’ll do Dumbbell Presses.

I wouldn’t recommend you do these exercises in the same workout though.  Take it from some one who’s suffered from severe shoulder injuries on and off for about 10 years…

You don’t want to over-train your shoulder by doing every variation of an overhead press all in the same day.

If you do that, you’re just asking for a shoulder injury…

Seated Shoulder Press Vs. Standing Shoulder Press

Here’s the standing Barbell Press:

And here’s the standing Dumbbell Press:

Which one is better?

Well, fortunately for us, that very question was answered in the same study I referenced above.  Not only did the researchers in this study investigate Barbells Vs Dumbbells, they also investigated Sitting Vs Standing for each.

The results?

Standing Dumbbell Press resulted in the most complete shoulder muscle activation.

The reason?

Because standing requires more stabilization than sitting and Dumbbells require more stabilization than the Barbell.

The results of this study are depicted in the charts below:

Technically, out of all the variations of shoulder workouts performed in this study, the Standing Dumbbell Press was the winner in terms of total muscle activation except as shown in Figure B where seated Barbell Presses resulted in slightly more Lateral Delt activation.

Does this mean Standing Dumbbells are superior to every other variation?  No!

First of all, as you can see by the charts, all variations activated each muscle group to nearly the same degree.

The increase in muscle activation seen with seated vs standing and dumbbells vs barbell was pretty small.

Secondly, there’s no denying that you can push more weight with the barbell, so switching to only dumbbells would mean sacrificing strength.

If getting bigger, stronger shoulders is your goal, you should incorporate both standing and sitting, barbells and dumbbells into your shoulder workouts.

Arnold Press (Yet Another Variation Of The Shoulder Press)

The Arnold Press (named after the most famous Bodybuilder of all time, of course), is a slight variation of the regular Dumbbell Shoulder Press that places very little tension on your joints and allows for a more complete range of motion than it’s traditional counterpart.

It looks like this:

You won’t be able to push as much weight doing the Arnold Press as you would be able to with an ordinary Dumbbell Press, but the fact that you’re achieving a wider range of motion with this one makes it worth using throughout your shoulder workouts.

Again, you don’t need to do the Arnold Press every shoulder workout.

Just toss it in every other week or even every other other week.  It’s one of the few variations of shoulder press that actually make sense to incorporate in your shoulder workouts.

#2: Upright Barbell Row

The upright row is perhaps the most over-looked shoulder exercise there is.

It’s performed by gripping a barbell a little wider than shoulder width and raising it up to around your upper chest area.

Here’s a video of the correct way to perform the Upright Row:

To be clear, this is definitely considered a compound movement.

It incorporates the:

• Deltoids (all of them)
• Traps
• Biceps

As well as two joints:

1. Shoulder
2. Elbow

Unfortunately, this is one compound exercise that often gets left out of shoulder workouts.

Or worse, it gets executed with terrible form because people forget about it until they’ve run out of shoulder exercises and are already tired.

I’ve actually hurt my shoulder a few times trying to do Upright Rows (with improper form) at the end of my workout when I was too tired to maintain proper form.  I wouldn’t recommend that!

Make it one of your first couple exercises.  You’ll push more weight and get a better pump.

While it certainly doesn’t take the place of the Military Press, the Upright Row is perfect for activating all three Deltoid muscles as well as the Traps.

Plus, when done correctly, there is little risk of injury.

If you’re not incorporating Upright Rows in your shoulder workouts, you’re missing out, period.

#3: Front Delt Raise

The Front Delt Raise is performed by holding a barbell (or dumbbells) about shoulder width apart, then raising each arm to about 90 degrees without the elbows bending only slightly to avoid placing too much tension on your shoulder joint.

As with the exercises above, you can use either dumbbells or a barbell.

Assuming these exercises are done with proper form and minimal swinging, their both pretty close in terms of total muscle activation.  It’s really just a matter of preference.

Here’s an example of the Front Delt Raise using Dumbbells.

Notice how in this particular video, he’s doing one arm at a time. This is yet another variation that probably makes a small difference in terms of stabilization and muscle activation.

In addition to targeting the Front Delts, doing each arm in isolation will work your core as well since it forces you to compensate for the uneven distribution of weight.

Just make sure to do both arms the same!

You can also switch it up by using a cable machine instead of free weights.  That would look like this:

Cables aren’t better than free weights, but they do place a constant amount of tension on the muscle while guiding the movement ever so slightly.

You’ll get more muscle activation with free weights, but cable exercises aren’t entirely guided either, so there’s still some stabilization occurring, not to mention an unlimited number of different angles to experiment with.

Use these as a refreshing change when the Dumbbells are being used or you just don’t feel like lifting free weights.  Just don’t make them a replacement for dumbbells.

#4: Dumbell LATERAL (Side Delt) Raises

The lateral raise is performed by holding two dumbbells and lifting them out and to the side, until your arms are at about 90 degrees, like this…

Needless to say, you can’t perform these with a barbell, but cables are an option.

Dumbbells are definitely the best, but cables can be useful as well.

Here’s the Lateral Raise using cables:

You’ll notice that, while dumbbell Lateral Raises are definitely more challenging, cables allow you to hit strange angles that you might not otherwise be able to hit.

#5: Bent Over lateral Raises

Bent over Lateral Raises are possibly the single best shoulder exercise there is for targeting your Rear Delts.

They’re basically the same as the Lateral Raises we talked about above, but in a bent over position.

This places the majority of the tension on the back-facing shoulder muscles, traps, and rhomboids.

If you’re not doing these, you’re missing out on some serious gains, and your Rear Delts are paying the price!

Seated Vs Standing

The Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise is a variation of the Bent Over Lateral Raise which requires less whole-body stabilization and allows for more isolation of the shoulder muscles.

It looks like this:

You can easily tweak this exercise to focus on either the Side Delts or Rear Delts.

To focus on the Rear Delts, simply adjust so that your arms move back instead of directly out.

This will place less tension on your Lateral Delts and more on your Rear Delts.

This a super versatile exercise in the sense that there are virtually an unlimited amount of different angles to choose from, each targeting a slightly different section of the shoulder.

Play around a little.  Find what feels good!

#6: Face Pulls

Face Pulls are definitely one of the most commonly over-looked shoulder exercises of them all.  Most people don’t regularly include them in their shoulder workouts at all!

It goes a little something like this:

As with many shoulder workouts, the trajectory of this particular movement can be easily modified to target different parts of the shoulder.

Here’s another example of Face Pulls which is more targeted toward the Rear Delts and Traps:

You should ideally play around with this movement, pulling the rope at different angles (above your head, below your chin, at eye level, etc.), to find what works best for you.

Remember, this is a highly targeted shoulder workout which will help you develop your rear delts and traps, but the exact position may change

What About TRAPS?

The thing most people don’t realize about their traps is that they’re already quite involved with just about every other compound lift you do, especially Shoulder Presses.

So, you don’t need to destroy your traps each and every workout for them to grow with the rest of you.

Still, if you’re specifically trying to build bigger traps, there are some exercises that can target them.  You’ve probably seen people doing them…

Dumbbell Shrugs

When most people think “traps”, they think shrugs. Especially Dumbbell Shrugs. Well, as it turns out, shrugs are not the most effective way to build traps…

But they’re worth incorporating in your routine, provided you’re doing them correctly.

Most people make the mistake of trying to do these with entirely too much weight.

You don’t need to use dumbbells that are so heavy your grip gives out before you can finish your set.  Just choose a weight that you can actually handle for the full range of motion.

Perform slow, complete reps until you REALLY fell it in your traps.

Leverage Shrugs

If you’re really trying to grow your traps, one of the best shoulder workouts is Leverage Shrugs. You know, that plate loaded machine in your gym that nobody ever really touches? Well, that’s actually a lot better for building traps than ordinary Dumbbell Shrugs.

Here’s Lee Priest showing us how it’s done:

The benefit of Leverage Shrugs is in the name…

Leverage!

You’ll be able to load a lot more weight on this guided machine than you could possible hold in your hand for dumbbell shrugs.

Overhead Lateral Raises

Overhead Lateral Raises are one of the lesser known shoulder workouts discussed here, but when it comes to targeting the Traps, they’re one of the best.

You can think of them as the second half of a full-range-of-motion Lateral Raise.

You won’t be able to do very much weight with this one, but it almost exclusively targets the traps.

Minding Your Tendons And Ligaments

The single biggest mistake people make with shoulder workouts, is not paying attention to the amount of stress and tension they’re placing on their tendons and ligaments.

You don’t need to sit there and study the picture above to understand one simple fact…

Your shoulders are VERY delicate.  They are the most inter-connected joint in your entire body, with all kinds of Tendons and Ligaments that you should be aware of.

You see, continuously increasing the weight every workout will cause your muscles to tear and grow more, but that doesn’t mean your Tendons and Ligaments can handle it.  If you don’t pay special attention to them, you’re asking for an injury…

And the universe will surely grant your request!

The best ways to avoid a shoulder injury are:

• Stretch (before, after, in the morning, at work, whenever!)
• Use proper form on each exercise in your shoulder workouts
• Rest!

The importance of that last one should NOT be over-looked.

Everyone loves to claim that they “lift every day no matter what”, but the truth is you need some time off to actually repair and grow your muscles.

While this is true of any muscle group, it’s particularly important to keep in mind for shoulder workouts.

Structuring Your Shoulder Workouts For Maximum Gains (Without Getting Injured)

When it comes to shoulder workouts, a lot of people make one critical mistake…

They do TOO MUCH!

That’s right, with shoulders, you’ll find that less is more most of the time.

The truth is that if you go hard on the majority of your other workouts, you don’t need to smash shoulders until you can’t move your arms.

In fact, that’s a great way to get injured really fast.

Generally speaking, you should structure your shoulder workouts so that you do maybe one or two heavy compound lifts followed by a few more targeted, isolation-type exercises.

Try These Awesome Shoulder Workouts

Below are two ultra-complete shoulder workouts that hit all the criteria of the ultimate shoulder workout!

You’ll notice that, for most of the exercises, you’re doing 3 sets of 4-6 reps per set at roughly 85% of your 1 Rep Max (1RM).

You don’t need to find your 1 Rep Max though to determine what weight to use.  Whatever weight you can get for 4-6 reps is going to be around 85% of your 1RM.

Just keep in mind the principle of progressive overload, and continually attempt to lift more weight.  That’s really the key.

So, find a weight that you can lift for 4 reps.  Work with it until you can get 6 reps.  Then add more weight so that you can only do 4 reps again.  Repeat until jacked.

Shoulder Workout 1

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Standing Military Press

3-5 sets, 4-6 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Barbell Upright Row

3 sets, 6-8 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Dumbbell Lateral Raises

3 sets, 4-6 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Bent Over Rear Delt Raises

3 sets, 4-6 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Face Pulls

3 sets, 6-8 reps (at around 75-80% of 1RM)

Shoulder Workout 2

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Seated Dumbbell Press

3 sets, 4-6 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Bent Over Rear Delt Raises

3 sets, 4-6 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Front Deltoid Raises (Dumbbells or Cables)

3 sets, 4-6 reps (at around 85% of 1RM)

Reverse Flies (Machine)

3 sets, 6-8 reps (at around 75-80% of 1RM)

Supplements That can Help

While supplements certainly aren’t a replacement for well-designed workouts, proper nutrition, and hard work, there are some that can actually help you build muscle.

It’s important to realize that supplements alone will not help you accomplish your fitness goals.  They’re simply serve as an addition to your arsenal, but without proper diet and exercise, they won’t be of much assistance.

Creatine

Creatine is by far the most extensively-researched, reliable, safe performance enhancing substance there is.  It has been investigated in literally hundreds of studies, particularly with regards to exercise performance and they all unanimously indicate that it’s worth using.

Creatine has been shown to

• Increase Strength (Total Weight You Can Push)
• Enhance Muscular Endurance (Reps You Can Do At A Constant Weight)
• Improve Aspects Of Exercise Recovery
• Expand Muscle Volume (Size Of Your Muscles)

There is also strong evidence in support of it’s use as a general health supplement, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on performance enhancement and muscle growth.

Creatine is naturally occurring in our bodies and is present in meats such as Fish and Beef.  Unfortunately, you would have to ingest around 2-3 pounds of RAW fish or beef to get a clinically effective 5g dose of Creatine.  Practically speaking, this isn’t doable for most people.

Leucine

Leucine is commonly found in Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplements along with the amino acids Isoleucine and Valine.  Unlike the other BCAAs though, Leucine has a profound impact on muscle protein synthesis.

In fact, it’s the most potent amino acid with regards to stimulating muscle protein synthesis. It accomplishes this by activating mTOR, a signaling protein which essentially tells the body to make protein.

Of course, you still need to consume all the other amino acids which are used to actually build the muscle, but Leucine is king when it comes to telling the body to build muscle.

The most common argument against Leucine supplementation is:

“If you already get enough protein, you don’t need it…”

To be clear, this is true…But are you actually getting enough Leucine?  If you workout several times a week and eat like most people, the answer is probably not!

How much protein you should be consuming depends largely on two things:

1. How physically active you are
2. What are your goals as far as body composition

Research indicates that your protein requirements can double based on physical activity alone.  If you workout everyday (or almost everyday) and still eat like you did before, you’re probably not getting enough protein.

Furthermore, if you currently workout everyday and you want to actually GAIN MUSCLE, you should be taking in AT LEAST .8g-1g of protein per pound of body weight.

So, if you really get plenty of protein from your diet, you definitely don’t need to supplement with Leucine or BCAAs.  However, if you’re like me–busy with not a lot of time to sit there and eat elaborate feasts–Leucine can be quite useful as far as maximizing protein synthesis, especially in times of under-eating.

A Solid (Clinically Dosed) Pre-Workout

The right pre-workout can make a profound difference when it comes to

• Motivation To Train
• Maximizing Muscle Growth Over Time
• Building Muscle Over Time

In reality though, most pre-workouts are just stimulant cocktails which are designed to jack you up and make you feel really great…for about an hour.  Then they bring you down hard and ruin the rest of your day.

This has given rise to the notion that

“pre-workout supplements are a waste of money.  They’re just a bunch of Caffeine!”

To be clear, this is false!  Maybe YOUR pre-workout sucks, but mine contains several scientifically proven, safe performance enhancing ingredients at clinically effective doses.

 

The Bottom Line on Shoulder Workouts

If you want big, strong shoulders, you need to directly train your shoulders.

That’s just a fact…

It’s true that your shoulders get worked even when you’re working other muscle groups, but that doesn’t mean they don’t require any attention.

Most people just lift shoulders all wrong, focusing on high repetitions with light weight.

You’re not going to get very far doing this and you actually might be doing more harm than good.

So, next time it’s shoulder day, make sure you do the following:

• Low reps, heavy weight (85% of 1RM)
• Emphasize compound exercises
• Continually add more weight (progressive overload)
• Rest!

If you do those things consistently over time, you WILL build bigger, stronger shoulders.  No doubt about it…

At least, that’s what people say…

The truth is, not very much is known about the benefits OR the potential health implications of Cardarine.

Much of what you read on forums or blogs is controlled by companies that sell Cardarine and want you to buy it, no matter what.

They’re not interested in telling you the entire story…

So I will.

In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Cardarine, including what it is, how it works, and what the research (or lack thereof) has to say.

If you’re tired of reading a bunch of industry-influenced nonsense about Cardarine and actually want to know the facts, read on…

What Is Cardarine (GW-501516)?

Cardarine is a synthetic drug originally developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Ligand Pharmaceuticals as a treatment of dyslipidemia, a condition characterized by higher than normal triglyceride (fat) and cholesterol levels.

It is commonly referred to throughout the scientific literature as GW-501516.

So, not to be confused.  Cardarine and GW are exactly the same thing.

They just have different names, as do most similar compounds, like SARMs.

Early research indicated that Cardarine could up-regulate (increase) pathways in the body involved with fatty acid metabolism.

In other words, Cardarine is supposed to be able to mimic the effects of exercise.

In mice, it has been shown to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and protect aginst Type 2 Diabetes.

Now, you’re probably wondering what bodybuilders and athletes want with Cardarine, and that’s a fair question…

Why Do People Use Cardarine?

Cardarine is believed to:

• enhance exercise endurance
• increase fatty acid utilization
• improve insulin sensitivity

It has been shown to do all of these things in mice, but human studies are scarce.

One study found that Cardarine improved cardiovascular health in patients with Metabolic Syndrome (the precursor to Diabetes), but absolutely no studies have been conducted in healthy, human subjects.

Most of the benefits attributed to Cardarine–particularly better muscular endurance and increase fat-burning–are based on inferences drawn from rodent studies.

That said, it does have a legitimate mechanism of action by which it MAY burn additional fat.

How Does Cardarine (Allegedly) Work?

Cardarine is a Peroxisome Proliferator-Activator Receptor-delta (PPARδ) agonist.

PPARδ is a nuclear hormone receptor which regulates fatty acid metabolism, among other things.

There are several sub-types of PPARs:

• alpha
• beta/delta
• gamma

PPAR-delta is the most ubiquitous of these sub-types, found in adipose tissue and many other tissues as well.

In theory, a potent enough PPARδ (or alpha) agonist, should be able to re-engineer the body to fulfill it’s energy needs by burning fatty acids instead of carbs, which are the preferred source of energy ordinarily.

Research has confirmed that Cardarine is a fairly potent agonist of PPARδ, but again, that’s just a mechanism of action.

The truth is, there is very little research on Cardarine at all, let alone as a practical solution for fat-loss.

Is There Any Research Behind Cardarine?

There is some research on Cardarine. 

• It has been shown to increase endurance in mice.
• It has been shown to increase fatty acid utilization in mice.
• It has been shown to improve lipid metabolims in humans.

Cardarine HAS NOT actually been shown to increase endurance or cause fat-loss in human beings, even though that’s why most people are using it.

It definitely appears to be effective for encouraging the metabolism of fatty acids and this could ultimately result in increased fatty acid utilization, but again, there are no actual studies confirming this in humans.

Cardarine Dosage (A Guessing Game)

You may not care that Cardarine hasn’t actually been proven to burn fat or boost endurance in humans…

Maybe rodent studies are enough for you to say “sure” and give it a shot.

That’s fine, but there’s still the issue of how much to take.

Since Cardarine has never actually been shown to burn fat or boost endurance in humans, it’s tough to say how much you would have to take to achieve those benefits.

In the lone human study, in which Cardarine was shown to improve cholesterol status in people with Metabolic Syndrome, the subjects took 5-10mg.

So it would appear as though Cardarine is at least biologically active at those doses.

Most people who use Cardarine for fat-burning take between 10 and 30mg/day for at least several weeks.

Does Cardarine Have Any Side Effects?

Most fat-burning drugs come with serious side effects such as:

• jitters
• anxiety
• rapid heart beat
• headaches
• nausea

Cardarine, on the other hand, does not appear to cause these kinds of side effects, at least not based on the little bit of human research.

It’s not a stimulant, so it’s not likely to cause the kinds of side effects that most stimulant fat-burners cause.

Some people have expressed concerns that Cardarine may cause cancer, though.

It was discontinued because it appeared to increase cancerous growths in mouse intestines.

Elsewhere, however, Cardarine has demonstrated anti-cancer properties, so it’s not really accurate to claim “Cardarine causes cancer”.

Still, if you’re concerned with your health, it’s probably best to avoid it.

Is Cardarine A SARM?

Cardarine is often grouped in with SARMs but it actually isn’t one.

The term SARM stands for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator.

This is just a scientific way of saying:

Any substance which increase androgen (Testosterone) activity in certain tissues (like muscle and bone) but not in others (like the prostate, liver, and brain).

Since Cardarine has no impact on androgen receptors in any tissues, it’s not a SARM.

The confusion stems mostly from the fact that it was introduced around the same time that many SARMs were introduced and was created, in part, by one of the major pharmaceutical companies (Ligand Pharmaceuticals) responsible for SARMs like Ligandrol.

You’ll find that many SARM vendors also sell Cardarine as well, claiming it’s the “ultimate cutting SARM”.  But again, it’s actually not a SARM at all.

It’s a PPAR agonist.  

They’re two entirely separate classifications of drugs.

Is Cardarine Legal?

Cardarine is legal to buy, possess, and sell.

It is not legal to sell it as a dietary supplement and label it for human consumption, however.

If this seems at all confusing, that’s because it is…

You see, in the US, we have a legal gray area between unapproved drugs and supplements.

Unapproved drugs (like Cardarine) can be sold as research chemicals as long as they’re “not for human consumption”.

Obviously, most people are buying Cardarine to consume it, but that’s just the country we live in…

Ultimately, as a consumer, you’re not going to get in trouble for buying any supplement, even if it’s mislabeled as is actually an unapproved drug.

It’s the companies that sell it and label it as a supplement that may get in some legal trouble, if anything.

Effective Fat-Burning Supplements To Consider

If you’d rather not roll the dice on Cardarine, I understand. 

I personally don’t care for it because there are just too many unknowns.

If that’s your stance too, there are some other useful fat-burning supplements which have actually been proven to work AND are entirely safe.

Synephrine

Synephrine is often compared to Ephedrine because they share the same basic mechanism of action, but it’s a lot safer (and legal).

As a beta-receptor agonist, Synephrine is capable of directly stimulating lipolysis, the breakdown of fat.

You see, your body has 2 types of receptors which regulate lipolysis:

1. alpha-receptors
2. beta-receptors

Beta-receptors initiate lipolysis and alpha receptors put a stop to it.  Normally, these receptors work closely to regulate the amount of fat your body burns.

By increasing the activity of beta-receptors, Synephrine is capable of directly increasing the amount of fat you burn and boosting your metabolic rate.

Unlike Cardarine, Synephrine has actually been shown to cause weight-loss in humans.

Rauwolscine (Alpha-Yohimbine)

Rauwolscine, otherwise known as Alpha-Yohimbine, is a close chemical relative of the popular fat-burning supplement, Yohimbine.

Both are found alongside each other in various plant species but, due to the fact that Rauwolscine is considerably more potent, it has developed a reputation as one of the single most effective natural fat-burning supplements available.

It works by blocking alpha-receptors which ordinarily signal the body to STOP burning fat.

When these receptors are blocked, you’re able to burn much more fat than you would normally during your workouts.

At doses of just 1-3mg, Rauwolscine is capable of eliciting noticeable fat-loss in as little as a few weeks.

The effects may be further amplified by stacking Rauwolscine with supplements like Synephrine, Caffeine, and other stimulant fat-burners.

Singular Sport Rauwolscine is the only Rauwolscine supplement which contains pure Rauwolscine HCl and is Third Party Tested for identity, purity, and potential contaminants.

Unlike most brands which claim to be Third Party Tested, we actually post the results for the world to see.

Caffeine

You’re probably aware that Caffeine increases energy and alertness, but did you know it also burns fat?

That’s right.

Caffeine has been shown to increase fat oxidation by triggering the release of a group of fat-burning chemicals, called Catecholamines.

Catecholamines include:

• Dopamine
• Noradrenaline
• Adrenaline

By increasing level of these fat-burning chemicals, Caffeine can increase the amount of fat you burn.

Unlike Cardarine, Caffeine has been proven to help you burn fat and lose weight.

CIRSIUM OLIGOPHYLLUM

Although Cirsium Oligophyllum is relatively new on the supplement seen, preliminary studies indicate that--unlike Detox Teas with bogus ingredients--it can actually induce Lipolysis (fat breakdown) and energy expenditure.

Currently, studies are limited to mice, but the results have been quite impressive with subjects losing considerable amounts of weight in a relatively short period of time.

Fortunately, we know exactly how Cirsium Oligophyllum works and it's a mechanism of action that is well established in the eyes of science--offering further credibility to this obscure herb.

Cirsium Oligophyllum copntains specific alkaloids which up regulate Un-Coupling Protein 1 (UPC1)--a mind of mitochondrial switch which induces fat loss when activated.

By activating this protein, Cirsium Oligophyllum causes fat to breakdown at an accelerated rate and researchers have concluded that it may very well be an effective tool against weight gain and helpful for fat-loss.

That's exactly why we added Cirsium Oligophyllum to our comprehensive fat-burner which we believe to be the absolute best on the market

The Best Natural Fat-Burner

Reddy Nutrition Fat-Burner is a product I created after researching and experimenting with a ton of different fat-burning supplements.

Needless to say, most fat-burners contain ineffective ingredients or under-dosed “would be effective” ingredients, so most of them won’t actually help you burn more fat or lose more weight.

Reddy Nutrition’s Fat-Burner contains a thorough blend of unique fat-burning ingredients which:

• increase the metabolic rate (amount of calories you burn at rest)
• trigger lipolysis (fat-breakdown)
• help curb your appetite

The result?

A fat-burner that actually works…

Reddy Nutrition’s fat-burner contains only research-backed ingredients at true clinical doses, in-line with what has been PROVEN to work in scientific studies.

Cardarine MAY work, but Formula DEFINITELY works. 

It’s worth considering if you’re trying to get leaner, but don’t want to experiment with strange, potentially dangerous drugs.

Or perhaps you’re already on Cardarine and you want to kick that fat-loss up a notch!  Either way…

The Bottom Line On Cardarine For Women

Cardarine is an interesting drug which may burn fat, boost endurance, and ultimately function as an exercise-mimetic.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much research on it so it’s pretty speculative.

To make matters worse, it was discontinued due to safety concerns, so it’s unlikely that there will be much research in the future.

While Cardarine doesn’t appear particularly dangerous, we really have no idea what the long-term health implications are.

If you value safety AND efficacy, you should probably pass on Cardarine.

If you don’t mind being the guinea pig, feel free to give it a shot