Erin Stern is a dominating force in the Figure and Bikini IFBB Pro League categories. In a recent video shared on her YouTube, Stern presents a comprehensive workout routine, emphasizing shoulder growth.
“Are you looking to build boulder shoulders are at least put some width on your shoulders, if so, I have got an excellent workout for you today. What makes this workout so great for shoulders? A couple of reasons. We are going to target both the fast and the slow-twitch muscle fibers.”
“Our fast twitch muscle fibers are responsible for heavy movements or fast movements and these muscle fibers will typically develop to be larger than the slow twitch muscle fibers; it’s going to give you a nice athletic look.”
Erin Stern has wasted no time during her bodybuilding career, having made her Pro debut in 2009. Taking 10th place at the Arnold Classic, she continuously displayed a balance of symmetry, aesthetics, and conditioning on stage. By 2010, Erin Stern earned the Figure Olympia title though she was dethroned in 2011 by Nicole Wilkins.
Seeking vengeance, Stern became a two-time Figure Olympia in 2012. Following her monumental victory, she decided to try her luck in the Bikini category and found success proving herself to be a well-rounded competitor. Now that she is a thriving Bikini standout, she takes it upon herself to offer fans informative and educational content on her YouTube channel, which boasts over 295k subscribers.
Erin Stern Shows Off Shoulder-Building Demonstration
In her latest venture, Erin Stern systematically broke down how these six exercises will help you achieve better and bigger shoulders.
“We’re going to choose some safe exercises to do this on and we’re also going to hit the slow twitch muscle fibers, this is the more aerobic muscle fiber. Your distance or your endurance muscle fiber and typically in reps of 10, 12, 30 is going to target those slow twitch muscle fibers” Stern says.
Exercise 1 – Heavy Millitary Press Or Shoulder Press Machine
“I’m choosing a machine for the first exercise; this is because it’s a safer option. I’m not having to worry about balance or stability like I would with dumbbells or a barbell, therefore I’m able to simply focus on lifting heavy.”
“For sets and reps here, you’re looking at 3-5 sets of anywhere between 6-10 reps. You want to think about keeping it in that lower rep-range.”
Exercise 2 – Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise Heavy Partials
“This is an exercise I got from the late great John Meadows. What you want to do is pick up a dumbbell that is considerably heavier than you would normally use.”
“Your palms are facing each other. It’s really important to keep a constant tension on the muscles. You don’t want to allow the dumbbell to sit when you’re arm is perpendicular to the floor.
“As far as reps and sets go here, you’re looking at three to four sets, 12-15 reps.”
Exercise 3 – Face pulls
“This is a staple in a lot of my workouts and I know many people love this particular move for the ability to really target and grow those rear delts. Now what you want to do is you want to set that cable up to where the cable is right at about chin and forehead height.”
“And you want to go a little lighter on this exercise because it’s going to be a little higher reps. Three to four sets of I would say 12-15 reps or so. And you’re going to grasp the rope with an overhand grip. Step away from the cable just enough to where you’ve got that full range of motion. Feet, shoulder width apart, slight bend in the knees, you want to have a nice solid foundation to be able to pull from and to keep your body still,” explained Erin Stern.
“Think about keeping the elbows up for this exercise. That’s why I want to go a little bit lighter because the rear delt is so small that if you’re going heavy and you’re dropping your elbows, your lats, rhomboids, traps — those larger muscles are going to take over. There’s a little bit of finesse here. Get that constant tension. Get full range of motion.”
Exercise 4 – Cable crossover lateral raise
“This is an isolation movement. This is simply going to hit the delts.”
“Even think about a superhero, you’re opening your cape and that move is exactly what you want to feel. A slight bend in the elbow and you want to keep the rest of your shoulders nice and quiet so try to keep your shoulders down throughout this exercise.”
Exercise 5 – Bus drivers
“This exercise looks like it’d be pretty easy but it’s actually brutal and excellent for hitting slow twitch muscles on the delt.”
“This is also a kind of a mental exercise in toughness. So, really think about holding the plate or holding that dumbell and using just your delts,” added Stern.
Exercise 6 – Band pull-apart
“This is one of my favorite finishers. This is going to go ahead and hit the delts. Primarily those rear delts, so we’re really focused on building all three heads of the delt and focusing on the side or the medial and the rear delt specifically.”
“Two to three sets of as many reps as you can. Think about keeping your elbows up just like you would in that face pull.”
Aside from her latest tips for growing the shoulders, Erin Stern also gave a recent demonstration on building bigger quad sweeps. During the workout, Stern detailed three variations of the leg extension exercise with easy-to-understand instructions.
Even while working a hectic schedule as a Bikini bodybuilder, Stern makes time for these exercise tutorials, which serve as great tools for anyone looking to level up their level of fitness before the end of 2023.
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