I just finished shoulders about an hour ago, and they are ripped!

I started off with two warm up sets on side lateral raises with dumbbells. I do the five-pound weights for a quick set of 20, staying very controlled but brisk. I then move to the ten-pound dumbbells for a set of 10 to 15, depending on how my shoulders are feeling. This usually creates the mind-muscle connection that I need and warms up my delts. I used to do a lot more, even warming up the rotator cuff and such, but I need to make sure that my delts are tired by the time I get to the beginning of the workout. I've never injured myself in the gym (knock on wood), so I know that as long as I've done a couple of light sets and some stretching, I'm good to go. This doesn't always work for everyone, though.

I did a quick set with just the bar on the reverse grip Smith machine press. My hands are placed on the bar just even with or just outside of my shoulder joint, and the bar rests on the fleshy portion of my palm. I'm on an incline bench, but the bench is set just below a 90-degree angle. This allows me to really hit the front delt area. I then put a 25-pound plate on each side and did two sets of 10 with this. It was massively heavy towards the end of each set. I struggled to get the weight up and had to put all my mental focus to fight through those last reps, but I did it! A drop set awaited me for the third set. Two tens on each side for a set of 12 or 14...I lost count. Then a ten was dragged off of each side and I thrusted out a good 12 or so more. The number of reps weren't a concern. Burning the muscle until I couldn't feel it was the main focus. I succeeded! My spotter told me that my veins were popping out in my biceps, shoulders, and even into the pec range. Wow! And once I stepped away from the Smith machine, I could see the striations not just in my side delts but also new ones in my front delts that weren't there previous to the Emerald Cup. I think this exercise is working!

Upright rows were next on the list. I do these wide grip. Many people do them very close grip, which is a mistake (don't worry, I made this mistake during the first few years of working out as well...you live and learn!). You end up focusing more on traps with a closer grip. A wider grip (where the fist is even with your side delt) will attack the cap of your shoulders while still incorporating the traps to some extent. It was a common belief that these should be brought up all the way to your nose (that was dangerous when I would do that; you've seen the size of my nose!). Instead I bring the to the point where it is even with my shoulders and then slowly bring it down. The key is to use your delts to do the work; the elbow should be even or just slightly below the shoulder joint when you reach the top of the exercise. Otherwise, this exercise won't do what is it meant to.

The only thing I'm curious about with this is how do girls with big chests or implants get through this exercise properly? I mean, I'm an A-cup (a large A, mind you; if there is such a thing), and I'm still knocking into my boobs. I'm sure y'all wanted to know that, but I'm serious. If I were any bigger, I would have to make an arc with the weight in order to get it up, and that would put so much pressure on the shoulder joints.

Anyway, the important stuff: I did a 60-pound barbell, a 70-pound one, and then back to the 60. All were sets of 12 or so.

Front delt raises, seated, were next. Twenty-pound dumbbells to failure (I think I belted out about 15 to 18 reps each set). Very tough, to say the least. I'm a quiet lifter (people are often telling me to breathe), but there were a few grunts and sighs throughout this one. I hold the dumbbell like a hammer and then as I come up with the weight, I rotate the shoulder in just slightly. Be careful with this and don't do any sudden or jerky rotation movements. It is a subtle turn in the shoulder.

I finished with a huge drop set for side raises. 25-20-15-10-5...in that order, each to failure, and without a break in between any of them. Those 25's felt so good! I think I could go up to 30's next week if I'm doing really low reps...like five to six. We shall see. I try to mix everything from week to week.

Rear laterals received a break. They'll be punished next time around.

Needless to say, my shoulders are numb, fatigued, and in desperate need of ice cream (where did that come from? Lol!). Just kidding...I think it's my mind that wants the ice cream. A few fries wouldn't hurt either. Well, they would hurt my placing in Chicago, so I won't be reaching for anything except my egg whites and cream of rice with Splenda, which is my next meal. I had steak, broccoli, and four ounces of a regular potato right after shoulders and abs, and yum! Yum! I love steak!

Okay, I'm done with working out for the day. Tomorrow is sprints. I'm going to keep them off of my mind and not worry. I can get through those. I know I can. Four hundred yards...schmohundred yards...who cares if I can't breathe or if I feel like my legs have been left behind about halfway through the track. I'll look good the day of the show, so it all be worth it! :)

Have a great Friday evening!

Jodi :)