Shoulder Bi & Tri Workouts

Grouping your shoulder, biceps and triceps muscles together is a common bodybuilding workout combination. This split can work well, as your triceps are involved when you perform any type of shoulder pressing movement, while your biceps work antagonistically with the triceps, meaning that while one is working, the other is resting. For these reasons, it makes sense to train the three muscles in one session.

  1. Straight to the Point

    • A straight sets workout involves performing each exercise in turn, with a rest between every set. This is a basic way to train, but it can certainly work. Start your session with an overhead press, using either dumbbells or a barbell in a seated or standing position. The overhead press has the benefit of not only hitting your shoulders, but also working your triceps too, according to strength coach Charles Poliquin. Follow this up with a lateral raise to work the side portion of your delts and finish with a biceps curl using dumbbells, a barbell or cable machine and a triceps extension using one of these too. Perform each exercise for three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. This is a fairly simple routine, so works well for beginners just getting into bodybuilding-style workouts.

    Supersets for Super Gains

    • A superset is two exercises performed back to back with no rest between. This can save you time in the gym, but is also an effective way of fatiguing muscles and increasing strength and growth. Trainer Sean Hyson recommends supersetting an upright row with a dumbbell overhead press for your shoulders and performing three to five sets of six to 12 reps on each. You could also replicate this with a rear or lateral raise and a barbell or machine press. For your arms, pick either seated dumbbell curls and dumbbell triceps extensions or cable curls and cable pushdowns for two sets of 10 to 15 reps each.

    Conquering the Giant

    • The next step up from the superset is the giant set -- three or more exercises completed back to back. An efficient way to structure this workout is to perform a compound shoulder exercise, then an isolation shoulder exercise and finish with a biceps and a triceps move. Choose an overhead press variation for your first exercise and go heavy, advises Arnold Schwarzenegger on SimplyShredded.com. Aim for five to six reps per set, then do your isolation exercise for eight to 12 or even 15 to 20 reps. Use the same exercises for arms as you did for the superset, or pick different ones, but stick with 10 to 15 reps. Rest for two to three minutes after the giant set, then repeat it a further three to four times.

    The Volume Onslaught

    • More advanced trainers often need a higher volume of training, with extra intensity tactics to stimulate gains. Kick off your routine with five sets of 20 lateral raises using dumbbells or a cable machine. Keep the weight relatively light, but aim to squeeze every rep and use a controlled, steady tempo. Move on to overhead presses next, followed by rear lateral raises, both for four sets of six to 10 reps. Hit your biceps with a standing barbell or cable curl for five sets of six to eight and use the same sets and reps on a compound triceps move like the close grip bench press or dip. End your workout with two sets of 15 to 20 machine biceps curls and triceps extensions.