Building a physique worthy of the crown in the Women’s Physique division is no easy feat. The balance of conditioning and full muscles on a frame that supports a V-taper and a chiseled lower body is an aesthetic accomplishment few can pull off at the elite level.
On Oct. 16, 2023, former Women’s Physique Olympia champion Dana Linn Bailey took to her YouTube channel to share her training tips and form cues to build bigger, more defined shoulders. Check it out below:
[Related: 2023 Figure Olympia Preview]
Dana Linn Bailey’s Shoulder Workout
Here is a snapshot of Bailey’s hypertrophy-focused high-volume shoulder training session:
- Face Pull — 4 x 25, 20, 15, 12
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise & Upright Row — 4 x 10-12
- Superset: Barbell Shoulder Press & Seated Dumbbell Front Raise — 4 x 10-12
- Seated Lateral Raise & Bent-Over Reverse Flyes — 4 x 10-12
- Machine Shoulder Press — 4 x 8-10
[Related: 2023 Women’s Physique Olympia Preview]
Face Pull
Bailey opened with a rear delt exercise. She connected a rope attachment to the cable pulley and set it slightly above forehead level.
The rear delts are usually the lagging of the three shoulder heads
Bailey assumed a wide staggered stance and kept her torso upright throughout the exercise to load her rear delts. She pulled the handles apart on concentrics and paused at the top. She ensured the cable was parallel to the floor throughout the exercise. She opined that pulling downward transfers the tension to the upper back while pulling upward biases the medial delts.
Dumbbell Lateral Raise & Dumbbell Upright Row
Bailey tweaked her range of motion during lateral raises, keeping tension on the medial deltoids. Her arms were at 45 degrees at the bottom. She raised her elbows slightly above parallel at the top. After completing 10 reps, she performed 10 reps of lateral raises through her full range of motion.
Bailey superset lateral raises with dumbbell upright rows. She pulled the dumbbells apart on concentrics. Her upper arms aligned at the top. Bailey advised against raising the upper arms above parallel to avoid engaging the traps.
Barbell Shoulder Press
Bailey used an EZ bar for the standing shoulder press and grabbed it near its collars with an overhand grip. She recommended locking out the elbows at the isometric contraction point at the top and pushing the head forward through the arms to bias the anterior and medial deltoids.
Bailey superset shoulder presses with seated front dumbbell shoulder raises. She held the dumbbells with a neutral grip and externally rotated her hands outward on concentrics to load the front deltoids.
Seated Lateral Raise & Bent-Over Reverse Flyes
Bailey performed another variation of dumbbell lateral raises to further bias the medial delts. She grabbed a pair of dumbbells with a pronated grip while seated on a weight bench. She lifted her arms to the side while keeping her palms facing backward.
Bailey superset lateral raises with seated bent-over reverse flyes to target the rear deltoids. Instead of raising her arms laterally, Bailey raised them at a 45-degree angle to limit medial delt engagement. “I call it skiers because it looks like you’re skiing,” said Bailey.
Machine Shoulder Press
Bailey concluded the workout with four sets of machine shoulder presses. She sat on the shoulder press machine, her chest flat against the back pad. This seating position tweaked the line of pull, allowing her to press the weight straight overhead. She advised against overarching the back to limit upper chest stimulation.
“By switching the form and exercises…[to] super isolated, [I] use probably half the amount of weight that I normally do.”
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Featured image: @danalinnbailey on Instagram
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