Eccentric Shoulder Sweepers

It’s impossible to miss Men’s Health Fitness Director B.J. Gaddour’s shoulders. They resemble two giant boulders sitting on either side of his head. (Check them out in the video above.)

So what’s Gaddour’s secret to supersized shoulders? Eccentric sweepers.

Think of sweepers like alternating front and lateral raises . . . on steroids. Instead of bringing up the weights to shoulder level, you’ll lift them all the way overhead. Then, you’ll spend at least 5 seconds lowering the dumbbells to your thighs.

Drawing out the eccentric—or negative phase—of the lift recruits more muscle fibers and triggers greater strength gains in your deltoids than if you were to just focus on the lifting phase, Gaddour explains.

And in order to increase the challenge to his core, Gaddour performs sweepers in a tall-kneeling position, too. This means you may have to use a little bit of “body English”—or rocking—to get the weights overhead. Just make sure the momentum comes from your hips, and not your lower back.

One quick heads up: Eccentric lifting causes serious DOMS—or delayed onset muscle soreness. So stick to 3 sets or less of 5 reps of each sweeper if this is the first time you’re doing them, Gaddour says, or you’ll regret it tomorrow.

Source: Eccentric Shoulder Sweepers