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Video8 minWith Nikkiey Stott

Gym Shoulder Workout With Landmine Press and Cables

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This video is part ofStrength Training for Women266 lessons · where to start, common questions and more

In this video

If you want to build up your shoulders, this is a straightforward gym session you can follow set for set. Nikkiey Stott takes you through four blocks: a single arm landmine press, a cable upright row superset with incline bench Y front raises, cable side lateral raises, and a closing superset of Arnold presses and cable face pulls.

Along the way she shares the cues that make the work count. Take your full rest. Choose a weight where the last two or three reps are a real challenge. Use a small plate on the cable stack when the next jump is too big to hold good form. Keep a slight bend in your elbow on lateral raises so you actually hit the middle of your shoulder.

Save this one for your next shoulder day, especially if your goal is to build them up.

Key takeaways

  • Start with a landmine single arm press for 4 sets of 8 reps on each arm, resting 90 seconds between sets.
  • The landmine press works your shoulders, but your core does a big part of the stabilizing, so keep it engaged throughout.
  • Pick a weight where the last two or three reps are hard to get through; if they aren't, add weight to the bar or grab heavier dumbbells.
  • Superset cable upright rows with incline bench Y front raises, and increase the upright row weight if your first set feels light.
  • Do cable side lateral raises for 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps per arm.
  • If the next cable weight is too big a jump to keep good form, attach a five-pound plate to make a smaller increase.
  • On lateral raises, keep a slight bend in your elbow rather than a straight arm so the work goes to the middle of your shoulder, the medial deltoid.
  • Finish with a superset of Arnold presses and cable face pulls for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps each.

Questions answered

How do I know if I'm using a heavy enough weight for shoulder exercises?

Nikkiey's test is that the last two or three reps should be challenging to get through. If they aren't, put more weight on the bar or pick up heavier dumbbells.

How do I target the side of my shoulder on lateral raises?

Nikkiey says a common mistake is straightening the whole arm, which doesn't specifically hit the medial deltoid. Put a slight bend in your elbow and raise up to target the middle of your shoulder.

What can I do if the next weight on the cable machine is too heavy?

Instead of jumping up 10 pounds and losing form, Nikkiey adds a five-pound plate to the cable stack to make a smaller increase.

How long should I rest between sets of landmine press?

In this workout Nikkiey rests 90 seconds between sets and reminds you to make sure you take your rest time.

Does the landmine press work your core?

Yes. Nikkiey explains that while it works your shoulders, a big part of the stabilization comes from your core, which is heavily engaged in the movement.

Full transcript

Nikkiey: What's up, you guys? Today we are in the gym. We're about to hit some shoulders. So if you're looking to build up your shoulders, follow me along today. Let's go do it. Hopefully we get a solid pump from this workout that I'm about to take you on.

All right, let's kick it off with the first exercise. We're going to do a landmine single arm press. Four sets, eight reps for each arm.

Check how long my rest is. Next set, 90 seconds. Make sure you take your rest time, my friends.

So a really key thing to note here with this exercise is that you're not just working your shoulders, but a big part of the stabilization to this exercise is your core. So your core is heavily engaged in this movement.

Those last couple reps, man, they catch up to you. That's how you know you have a good weight on the bar. The last two, three reps are challenging to get through. If you're not experiencing that, you have to put more weight on the bar. Pick up heavier dumbbells.

On to the next. All right, next up on the agenda today for shoulders is a superset. We're going to do cable upright rows superset with an incline bench Y front raise. It's going to be brutal. That's light, 10 pounds. Brutal.

So we're on our second, third exercise in, feeling pretty good so far. Starting to get a little bit of a pump. That first set was definitely a little bit light for the upright row, so I'm going to increase the weight. Yeah, let's get to it. I'd much rather not be doing it on this piece of equipment.

Ten pounds might be too heavy. The incline bench opened up. Let's go. The pump is coming on.

Feeling the pump. My skin is so tight right now.

Next up we've got cable side laterals. Four sets of 12 to 15 reps per arm. That sounds like a burner.

I think the best way that I can explain a pump in a physical form, other than what's going on with the body, is my skin feels like it's going to rip off of my body. It feels so tight. And honestly, this is one of the main reasons why I like to stay lean, because I love that feeling. I love being able to get a pump on pretty quick. I love feeling my skin tight. I don't know how to explain it, but it's just a really good feeling.

I want to go up in weight, but I don't want to go up 10 pounds because I'm not going to be able to do that with good form. So a hack is: find a five-pound plate. Voila, 15 pounds. Typically that'll work, but let's try again. It works.

So a common mistake that I see when you're doing a cable side lateral, or a side lateral in general, even if you're doing it with just dumbbells, is people will straighten out their entire arm. It's hitting it, but it's not specifically hitting your medial deltoid. So put just a little slight bend in your elbow and come up. Middle of your shoulder.

So to close out the workout today, we're going to do a superset that's going to be Arnold presses superset with cable face pulls. It's going to be three sets, 12 to 15 reps for each.

I tried doing that after my shoulder day. Talk about a pump. I got some pumpkins on my shoulders. That's a hot lean.

All right, guys, that's a wrap. We have officially activated the pump from that workout. Feels freaking great. Definitely save this video and apply this workout to the next time that you're going to go hit shoulders, especially if your goal is to build them up. Go get it.

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