Help me figure out the best Shoulder routine for cannonball delts as as coping mechanism

[wjr]

As I recover from golfer’s elbow, for discussion’s sake I’m trying to figure out the BEST delt exercises for when I get back in the gym.
This is obviously a very important muscle group, and there’s been tons of discussions around it; personally I’ve made a lot of mistakes; help me cope with my bad elbows by comparing and contrasting here.

Here’s my personal take on the best:

OHP with warmed up lateral delts

I was super-setting my OHP with lateral raises (lat raises first, then OHP). This led to stellar gains (I now use the lateral raise machine prior instead due to elbow pain, which isn’t as good as no superset, but still good).

I emphasize the ‘move the bar back’ portion of the movement, and do NOT do them seated (I almost imagine I’m doing a y-raise when doing the movement). This helps activate the lateral delta more. On occasion I’ve been able to get a lateral delt pump without even the pre-exhaust.

Hypertrophy coach lateral raises

I got this from watching hypertrophy coach on Youtube. These are amazing - they have a larger range of motion, add resistance at every part of the movement (not just the top), and avoid triggering the traps which other exercises do. They also cover both arms at once. Unfortunately, (very unfortunately) they’ve blown up my golfer's elbow, so I've stopped doing them.

I got cuffs that wrap around entirely and clip in, however, they’re too small for my above elbow area. Anyone know where I can get cuffs that wrap above the elbow, so anyone can do these inspite of elbow injury? I heard it actually might be better for the deli as well

Ryan Humiston Lateral Raises (are these safe?)

Saw this video the other day - seems quite compelling biomechanically (does HC's lateral raises accomplish the same thing?). However, it also seems extremely unsafe, and will grind away your shoulders and leave them impinged.

This was a recent video so I'd love everyone's thoughts on the science behind this. When he’s talking about the muscle insertion point, is that legit? What can you do to really emphasize the lateral head of the delt? Should you be focused on building your front or rear delt instead? I didn’t really get it.

Lateral Raise Machine (help needed)

Any thoughts on the lateral raise machine? I can't get into the scapular plane so I find them a bit hard to active my delts with (and they trigger traps, which HC's avoids). However, they have zero set up, totally avoid tendonitis, so there has to be a way to make them better to use. Would REALLY love some advice here.

Rear Delts

Jury's still out on rear delts. Mine are super under developed and I find it difficult to activate them, so would love some advice. These are obviously very important for aesthetics; it seems from Ryan's video they make up the majority of the delt. Is that accurate?

 

[dawn16]

@wjr I think medial delt is the most important for aesthetics. It’s the head that contributes the most to the cannonball look. Overhead press at least once a week, and incorporate a lateral raise variant or upright row every upper/push day. Figure out which variant of each is most comfortable for you and feels as if it’s hitting the target muscle. No need to overanalyze it. Try out ones that look like they’re fun and will fit the bill. If they work, keep them. If not, try something else.

 

[roneal]

@wjr For the lateral raise, I found the leaning cable lateral raise the most effective for me. I try to go a high volume until I cannot take it anymore. Weight is always around the limit that would allow me to do at least 15-18 reps. This what I got from Wesley Vissers; he says that the high volume for delts is crucial for the growth.

As for rear delts, face pulls are great but I couldn't feel like my rear delts were getting activated when I was standing. Perhaps it's a skill issue. Anyways, I've been doing a half kneeling face pull and it's been great. I've also tried putting a towel on the ground or bench and pull it to my face, which worked great but I feel like I feel more comfortable with the kneeling setup.

 

[purple30]

@roneal When you’re doing face pulls kneeling, where are you setting the cable height? Thanks!

 

[roneal]

@purple30 Around the middle. I think facepull is one of the exercises that heavily relies on mind muscle connection, so you have to listen to your body. If I do not feel my rear delts, I either lower the weight or change the cable's placement

 

[purple30]

@roneal Thanks! I’ll mess around with this variant and see how it feels sometime soon

 

[livingme7]

@wjr Jay cutler has the best Side lateral raise form:

DB upright rows with correct swinging technique. Wide grip BB upright rows are great too.

The Yates row blasts rear delts like crazy.

For normal lateral raises I prefer cuffs with a ball in hand or pressing the thumb against the pinky+ring finger.

 

[dawn16]

@wjr Capped delts are always one of the muscles that get called out for roid use. One theory is that there is a high density of androgen receptors. Personally I think it's due to how prominent delts are when glycogen reserves massively increase. The intramuscular water gives it a full look. As a natty keep doing progressive overload for overall size increase of your physique, but what could be additive to the capped delt look is to add creatine to your stack and also include high rep training for the delts and specifically the side delt. This will force the additional adaptation of increased glycogen reserves