Circuit Workouts for Big Shoulders and a Ripped Six-Pack

This four-round circuit will build muscle and strength in the shoulders and abs.

Following a workout routine day-in and day-out can get tedious and boring. Sometimes it's a good idea to just break the routine and go with a quick and easy workout to focus on specific areas you want to build up. What better place to start than shoulders and abs? Building your shoulders gives you a broader look, and a ripped six-pack is what every man wants.

THE WORKOUT

Complete three to five rounds of the following sets. Rest two minutes in between sets. Add five pounds of resistance to each exercise per set/round.

30 Minutes to 3-D Shoulders

Build big, round shoulders with this high intensity, 30 minute circuit workout.

Sometimes there's no better way to start the work week than with a circuit. This week, we're highlighting a shoulder circuit that will help you achieve that 3-dimension look. You'll target the front, rear and side delts in 4 moves. You should complete this workout in 30 minutes after performing the 3-4 total circuit rounds. (not including warm-up)

Workout Finisher: Shoulder Drop Sets

Build and define your shoulders with this 3-part shoulder drop set.

You’ve done your foam rolling. Actually spent time warming up with movement prep. Banged out heavy sets of deadlifts. Crushed the bench press, pull-up bar and leg press machine. You even managed to fit in a few rounds of high intensity intervals on the rowing machine. All that’s left is for you to shower, grab your protein shake and head on home. But wait, if you haven’t included a “finisher” - usually a brutal one to two set single-exercise or circuit protocol - you aren’t really finished with your workout.

Finishers are great because they don’t only add volume to your training sessions (rep ranges are usually quite high in finishers) they also test your mental toughness, challenging you when you are already fatigued. Add them to your program to drive up your results and test your limits.

Super-Sized Shoulders

This superset won’t let anything limit the growth of your delts.

Overhead presses are generally seen as the best exercise for the shoulders, but they depend on your triceps, too. As you get stronger, it can be harder to lock out your elbows to finish the movement, and you may not be able to give the delts the stimulation they need to keep growing. The solution: Superset presses with upright rows.