THE BEST BAND-ONLY

SHOULDER WORKOUT
WORKOUT #49

BY JIM SMITH, C.S.C.S.

The knock on lateral raises done w ith free w eights is that the first half
of the mov ement is easy . Your shoulders only start to really kick in
tow ard the top, w hen y our arms are extended out from y our sides. Bands,
how ev er, put tension on y our muscles throughout the w hole mov ement and
make it harder at the end range of motion. If y ou thought bands w ere just
making the best of a bad situation (no free w eights), this w orkout w ill change
y our mindand fry y our shoulders.

H O W IT WO RKS Wev e taken conv entional free-w eight shoulder exercises

like the ov erhead press, lateral raise, and shrug and applied bands to them.
Youll hav e to fight the resistance on each mov ement as it increases, w hich
heightens the demand on y our muscles and also teaches y ou to lift fast. If
y ou cant explode y our reps, y ou w ont be able to lock them out, so y ou hav e
to do y our sets deliberately and w ith pow er; and pow er training recruits the
biggest muscle fibers.

DIRE C TIO N S P erform the exercises marked w ith letters in sequence. F or

instance, for pairs of A and B exercises, y oull do a set of A and then B
before resting. Repeat until all sets are completed. F or exercises 2A , 2B, and

2C , perform all three in order before resting and then repeat. The first exercise
(ov erhead press) is done as straight sets.

1 OVERHEAD PRESS
SETS: 4 REPS: 68 REST: 60 SEC.

Stand on the middle of a band (or use two, depending

on the length) and hold an end in each hand at shoulder
level. Stand tall with glutes and abs braced, and press
overhead.

2A LATERAL RAISE
SETS: 3 REPS: 1215 REST: 0 SEC.

Step on the free end of each band with the opposite

foot so the bands form an X in front of your body. Raise
your arms 90 degrees out to the sides until your upper
arms are parallel to the floor.

2B FRONT RAISE
SETS: 3 REPS: 1215 REST: 0 SEC.

Stand on bands and hold the opposite ends. Raise your

arms in front of your body to shoulder height.

2C BENTOVER LATERAL RAISE

SETS: 3 REPS: 1215 REST: 90 SEC.

Stand on the end of one band with your right foot and
hold it with your left hand. Do the opposite with another
band so that the bands cross each other. Bend your hips
back until your torso is almost parallel to the floor. The
bands should be taut in this starting position. Squeeze
your shoulder blades together and raise your arms out to
your sides.

3A SHRUG
SETS: 3 REPS: 20 REST: 0 SEC.

Stand on the middle of a band and grasp an end with

arms by your sides. Standing tall, shrug your shoulders to
your ears.

3B W RAISE
SETS: 3 REPS: 20 REST: 60 SEC.

Attach bands to a sturdy object at shoulder level and hold

the opposite ends in each hand. Stand back to put
tension on the bands. Squeeze your shoulder blades
together and row the bands to your shoulders with
elbows flared out so your upper arms make a W shape.
Hold for two seconds.