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    Lifting WITHOUT broad shoulders

    Posts: 78 Member
    edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
    Hi! i've been heavy lifting with an upper/lower split for over a year now and have of course, gained muscle and strength. My shoulders grew broader and bigger, which I was not too fond of so i stopped doing upper body training and shifted my focus to glute training and cardio. My shoulders did shrink, just slightly when i stopped training them every week but I would like them to be just a little bit smaller. Anyway, I am now getting back into training my upper body since while i don't want broad shoulders, I do want some nice back and arm muscles. I am worried that my shoulders will broaden again, so i will not be doing exercises that specifically target the shoulders like overhead press, shrugs, deltoid raises. My upper body days will comprise mainly of back and arm specific exercises like lat pulldowns, pull ups, rows, renegade rows, bicep curls, tricep push ups. What I'm worried about is that the back exercises like lat pulldowns, rows, pull ups are compound exercises, meaning that my shoulder muscles will be used in the movement and as a result, my shoulders might get bigger, which is what I want to avoid. Should I just not do upper body exercises or should I do higher reps? I want a toned upper body WITHOUT broad shoulders. Help would be appreciated :):)

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    Replies

    • Posts: 945 Member
      Huh?
    • Posts: 21,219 Member
      Are you measuring? If not it could all be in your head.
    • Posts: 6 Member
      If it were me, I would do as you have said, yes - there are some compound exercises here - but I think the size gain will be minimal so long as you aren't specifically focusing on shoulders or eating to gain muscle.

      Looking at your picture though - for what it is worth - your shoulders aren't that big. Good luck :)
    • Posts: 7,166 Member
      Why do you not like slightly broader shoulders? Especially since you seem to like the muscular look in general. This is like wanting muscular legs but a flat butt.
    • Posts: 5,208 Member
      Muscles only get bulky in a calorie surplus, so the problem (if you want to call it a problem) is your diet, not your exercises.

      To answer your question, pushing exercises use the shoulders more than pulling. So limit the tricep pushups and similar stuff. Pulling exercises ("back") don't work the shoulders much.
    • Posts: 7,237 Member
      Oh, dear. I really don't think you have to worry about "too big" anything. You are tiny.
    • Posts: 78 Member
      usmcmp wrote: »
      Are you measuring? If not it could all be in your head.

      No i'm not measuring but you could be right in that it's in my head. But im sure my shoulders have grown because they look bigger in tank tops and t shirts etc.
    • Posts: 78 Member
      msamyg wrote: »
      If it were me, I would do as you have said, yes - there are some compound exercises here - but I think the size gain will be minimal so long as you aren't specifically focusing on shoulders or eating to gain muscle.

      Looking at your picture though - for what it is worth - your shoulders aren't that big. Good luck :)

      thank you :) I will continue with my routine then :D
    • Posts: 795 Member
      Your shoulders won't be as big as you think they are. I think mine are huge and broad but no one else sees it unless I'm trying to show them off.
    • Posts: 21,219 Member
      berrydana7 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      No i'm not measuring but you could be right in that it's in my head. But im sure my shoulders have grown because they look bigger in tank tops and t shirts etc.

      Most of the time our muscles look bigger when the fat around them disappears. Might want to start measuring.
    • Posts: 78 Member
      BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
      Why do you not like slightly broader shoulders? Especially since you seem to like the muscular look in general. This is like wanting muscular legs but a flat butt.

      I guess it's just a personal preference :)
    • Posts: 1,232 Member
      deksgrl wrote: »
      Oh, dear. I really don't think you have to worry about "too big" anything. You are tiny.

      Agree. You look fairly petite in your photos.

    • Posts: 78 Member
      Cherimoose wrote: »
      Muscles only get bulky in a calorie surplus, so the problem (if you want to call it a problem) is your diet, not your exercises.

      To answer your question, pushing exercises use the shoulders more than pulling. So limit the tricep pushups and similar stuff. Pulling exercises ("back") don't work the shoulders much.

      mmm understood but the thing is, i love doing tricep push ups since they place more emphasis on the triceps :D
    • Posts: 78 Member
      deksgrl wrote: »
      Oh, dear. I really don't think you have to worry about "too big" anything. You are tiny.

      haha thank you
    • Posts: 1,670 Member
      You crazy girl. I love my broad shoulders, they're my best feature. Love wearing tops to show them off. Though suit shopping sucks, cuz it's hard to find jackets that fit right and I usually have to buy jackets a size or two too big.
    • Posts: 78 Member
      SpecialSundae wrote: »
      Your shoulders won't be as big as you think they are. I think mine are huge and broad but no one else sees it unless I'm trying to show them off.

      Yeah they aren't as big now as they were before since I stopped doing upper body training, increased cardio etc. but now that i'm getting back into upper body training, I am worried they might grow bigger
    • Posts: 78 Member
      usmcmp wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Most of the time our muscles look bigger when the fat around them disappears. Might want to start measuring.

      hmm alright, i think i'll still focus on back and arm specific exercises :)
    • Posts: 78 Member
      VegasFit wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Agree. You look fairly petite in your photos.

      haha yeah that's due to limited upper body training though :o
    • Posts: 78 Member
      dym123 wrote: »
      You crazy girl. I love my broad shoulders, they're my best feature. Love wearing tops to show them off. Though suit shopping sucks, cuz it's hard to find jackets that fit right and I usually have to buy jackets a size or two too big.

      haha I'm glad you like them! :)
    • Posts: 7,237 Member
      berrydana7 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      haha yeah that's due to limited upper body training though :o

      I doubt it. You aren't building muscle unless you are eating in a surplus. Are you? Otherwise you are sculpting what you have, not really making it bigger.

    • Posts: 2,093 Member
      Are you sure it wasn't maybe improved definition from maybe losing some body-fat? It could just be the way you're built. It's important to think of your muscles as a unit. One dysfunctional area will negatively influence another and cause injury and / or just poor all around movement. That doesn't mean you have to go crazy with shoulder work. A shoulder press is enough to focus on your delts and traps. Dips parallel bars are good too. If you deadlift that will definitely work your traps.
    • Posts: 5,208 Member
      berrydana7 wrote: »
      i love doing tricep push ups since they place more emphasis on the triceps :D

      If you want bigger triceps, just do overhead tricep raises instead. If you have cable machine, also do tricep extensions.


    • Posts: 3,069 Member
      usmcmp wrote: »
      Are you measuring? If not it could all be in your head.


      Sounds like it's in your head to me too. If not, I wouldn't do anything upper body - better to be untrained than create an imbalance IMO.
    • Posts: 12,545 Member
      Please tell me your secret. I'd love a little more muscle in my back shoulder area but, alas, the more I lift and eat at a deficit the overall smaller I become.
    This discussion has been closed.

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