Larry Wheels is learning the finer details of the art of bodybuilding through joint training sessions with experienced bodybuilders. He recently joined hands with bodybuilder Andrei Deiu for a shoulder training session.
Larry Wheels is a multi-faceted personality that has a decent footprint in powerlifting, bodybuilding as well as arm wrestling. He is best known in the YouTube fitness community for breaking his own personal powerlifting records. However, the incredible lifts were assisted by PEDs and Wheels never shied away from admitting to using steroids. But over ten years of abuse had started to show its adverse effects and Larry Wheels decided to get rid of them in favor of long-term health and well-being.
The 28-year-old has been on TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) ever since and feels that the quality of life has improved significantly as a result. In recent times, Larry Wheels has been focusing more on bodybuilding training. Wheels has chosen Classic Physique division over Men’s Open in spite of his massive size as he can be competitive at Classic Physique with TRT alone.
The 28-year-old feels that his body is built like a powerlifter and he took the same physique to the stage in his bodybuilding debut at the 2018 NPC Gold Coast Muscle Classic where he won in the overall category. However, wheels has been working smart to prepare for his return and has taken bodybuilding and posing lessons from the who’s who of the sport like Breon Ansley and late Joe Lindner, to name a few.
It’s not clear when Larry Wheels will return to the competitive stage. However, he is working on the launch of his ‘no budget’ public gym and intends to compete after a month of its opening. While a case of Rhabdomyolysis threatened to slow down his progress, Larry Wheels is back in the gym and recently trained with bodybuilder Andrei Deiu for a shoulder workout.
Larry Wheels goes through a shoulder workout with Andrei Deiu
Deiu is a Romanian professional bodybuilder that has competed in the Men’s Open division so far in his career. He is a two-time Olympia participant and finished fifth and seventh at the 2020 and the 2021 Olympia, respectively. His last competitive appearance came at the 2022 Texas Pro where Deiu achieved a runner-up finish. He intends to move up to the Classic Physique division going forward.
Larry Wheels and Andrei Deiu went through the shoulder workout together. Being the more experienced bodybuilder among them, Deiu led the workout as Wheels followed suit. So without further delay, let’s check out how Wheels is adapting to bodybuilding training.
Seated Shoulder Press
The duo started the training session with a seated dumbbell shoulder press to target the anterior/front deltoids. Larry Wheels’ workouts have undergone some noticeable changes since he quit using PEDs. He no longer lifts excruciatingly heavy weights the way he used to. His physique is responding positively to the stimulus and he can see the muscle mass building up. However, he has not fully come to terms with this type of training and said:
“[With bodybuilding], the objective is to use minimal weight for the maximum contraction, right? With weightlifting, it’s lifting maximum weight. You don’t care about the contraction. You just want to move weight from point A to B. And to me, that’s the fun part. So I’m adjusting, yeah…”
Deiu and Wheels cranked out some solid sets of shoulder presses and took to the medial delt exercise next.
Machine and Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Anterior and posterior deltoid muscles get activated through compound push and pull exercises. But that’s not the case with medial delts. You need to target them with specific movements and that’s why lateral raises are an essential component of shoulder training routine. Andrei Deiu and Larry Wheels first took to the machine lateral raises and cranked out a few sets to stimulate the lateral delts.
Following this, the training partners switched over to the free-weight version of the exercise and performed seated dumbbell lateral raises. Performing the exercise in a seated position eliminates the role of stabilizing muscles. Therefore it is easier to focus on the target muscles and build the mind-muscle connection more effectively.
Reverse Pec Deck Flyes
Although rear delt muscles are activated during compound pull exercises, hitting them directly with isolation movement like pec deck flyes can help with complete development. Wheels and Deiu executed some perfect sets of reverse pec deck flyes next and advanced over to the final exercise of the day.
Cable Front Raises
The training partners performed another anterior delt-specific exercise in the concluding portion of their joint training session. Deiu suggested using a rope attachment for doing cable front raises. Since shoulders need a lot of stimulation to grow, an isolation exercise like cable front raise is always a value addition to your training routine.
Andrei Deiu and Larry Wheels ran through a few good sets of the movement and wrapped up the training session. They practiced posing for a while and transitioned through several bodybuilding poses before calling it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout included:
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Machine Lateral Raises
- Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raises
- Reverse Pec Deck Flyes
- Cable Front Raises
Launching the no-budget gym is one of Larry Wheels’ priorities at the moment. However, he seemed interested in Breon Ansley’s suggestion to participate in the 2023 Amateur Olympia and attempt to earn the IFBB Pro card for maximum exposure. It will be interesting to see if Wheels follows through the advice and gives himself a chance to compete in November.
You can watch the full video of Larry Wheels and Andrei Deiu’s joint shoulder training session below, courtesy of Larry Wheels’ personal YouTube channel:
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