Shoulders Hypertrophy Workout - 45min Intermediate
Focus on building capped shoulders and thick triceps with this high-volume hypertrophy session. You will use a mix of heavy barbell compounds and high-rep cable isolations to maximize muscle fiber recruitment. This workout is designed to challenge your stability and push your upper body to the limit.
Intermediate lifters looking to improve their overhead pressing strength and develop aesthetic arm and shoulder definition. It is especially beneficial for athletes in sports requiring overhead stability like swimming or volleyball.
Equipment
Workout Plan
Rest 90s between heavy barbell sets, 60s between handle accessories, and 45s during the final rope finisher block.
Close Grip Barbell Bench Press
Triceps, Chest
Tuck your elbows toward your ribs and use Spotter Mode if you struggle with the final few reps.
Standing Barbell Overhead Press
Shoulders, Triceps
Engage the glutes and press the bar vertically while Tonal's digital weight keeps the resistance constant.
Lateral Raise
Shoulders
Lead with your elbows and feel the tension of the cables at the very top of the movement.
Front Raise
Shoulders, Abs
Keep a slight bend in your elbows and resist the weight on the way down using the eccentric phase.
Triceps Extension
Triceps
Pin your elbows to your sides and squeeze your triceps at the bottom of each rep.
Standing Face Pull
Back, Shoulders
Pull the rope toward your forehead and spread the handles apart to engage your rear delts.
Overhead Triceps Extension
Triceps
Extend your arms fully toward the ceiling and use the rope to allow for a natural wrist position.
Why this order
The session begins with heavy barbell compound movements to maximize mechanical tension while your central nervous system is fresh. We transition into handle-based isolation exercises to target the lateral and front delts from different angles, finishing with rope-based triceps work to drive metabolic stress and a localized pump. This sequence follows a classic compound-to-isolation progression to ensure total muscle fatigue.
Want this personalized for you?
This is a template workout. Connect your Tonal and the AI coach adjusts weights to your strength scores, swaps exercises around injuries, and progresses you week over week.
Start Free with AI CoachFrequently Asked Questions
What should I do if my shoulders feel tight during the barbell press?
Use Tonal's weight dial to lower the resistance for the first set or toggle off the 'Smart Flex' feature until you feel fully warmed up and fluid in the motion.
Can I use the Smart Handles instead of the Rope for extensions?
You can, but the rope allows for a greater range of motion and a more natural wrist position, which helps with the peak contraction of the triceps.
How heavy should the isolation moves like Lateral Raises be?
Focus on form over weight; if you find yourself swinging, lower the digital weight by 1-2 pounds to keep the tension strictly on the medial deltoid.