getting wider shoulders, does it take years ?

[TzuChan]

hey, I've been doing dumbell shoulder exercises for a while now, something like 2 months I think, to tell you the truth I don't see any results. I see serious results at the back of my shoulders, but not the width of my shoulders. So I think I need to add some specific new exercises to my workout ? I'm not going for an insane V shaped body, but wider shoulders are more then welcome ! Is it even possible to work out to get 'wider' shoulders ?


Thanks

[fa_jing]

When you look in the mirror - do your clavicles form a "V" or are they flat across? If they form a "V" then you *might* be able to lower the shoulders and widen them with exercise, arm swings etc. It would take a while though.

Also your side deltoids contribute to width - but you probably will have to keep at your workout routine for a long time.

[Ford Prefect]

Side delts and lats will aid greatly to the tapered V look. To premote growth you have to eat and lift right. Most people don't eat right and a great many don't lift right.

[TzuChan]

Could you define 'eating right' and 'lifting right' ?

Thanks !

[IronFist]

It's partially your side delts, and like Ford said, getting a V taper in your lats will help, too. Another part of it is your genetic bone structure. Some people have wider shoulder bones than others. You can't really do anything about the bones.

IronFist

[fa_jing]

you can change the angle of the bones. As they say in Kung Fu, "Sink the shoulders." Probably most of you guys already have sunken shoulders, so there's no improvement to be made there. It's the opposite of shrugged shoulders. Think about it - when your shrug your shoulders, they move closer together, to the point where you may be able to touch your ears.

I, with my upper back injuries, on the other hand, do not have relaxed, sunken shoulders, especially on one side.

[SevenStar]

by eating right, he means taking in an appropriate number of calories required to induce gains - you have to eat to gain weight. Of course, you're not gonna just haphazardly eat everything in site though, you need a plan.

As far as lifting right, you have to identify your goals and lift accordingly. For example, since you are lifting for size, you don't want to do endurance type lifting - you want to lift for size.

[SwaiingDragon]

do dips....careful not to hyperextend....

[lowsweep]

In the first few months of a good lifting routine, all of my shirts got tight around the shoulders. When I began Westside powerlifting a few months ago I experienced the same thing over again. Bench press (incline and maybe a little decline too), Pullups (you can do lat pulldowns but I've never gotten the same workout with those), and dips, as someone has already said. Make sure you keep strict form on everything, especially the dips (upper arms go to 90 degrees, no more). I haven't seen much in the way of results from lateral raises and other smaller excercises. Try doing a bulking stage, get tons of protein and calories, and take your upper body training to a new level. I don't know how long you've been lifting. If you are new to it, I would suggest reps in the 4-6 range except once and again to mix things up. If you've been lifting for a while, try incorporating some Westside powerlifting principles into your workouts. I also saw good results from supersets, for example doing some pullups in between sets of bench press. Be careful with this, though, it can be taxing on your body. Personally I found that worked best when I concentrated on one muscle group, working the opposing group more lightly with less sets. Also, Check out a book called Beyond Brawn (it's the sequel to a book called Brawn but the second one, Beyond Brawn, is a lot safer for your body). I haven't tried the program in it myself, but I have heard it's great for size and strength as well, and its geared toward hardgainers. Good luck,
adam

[TzuChan]

http://seniorhealth.about.com/library/exercise/blstrength6.htm

Does this count for a good dip exercise ? I'm not overweight or anything, so I don't think I'll be overdoing myself .. Or is this not what you are talking about ?