emusclemag.com | JANUARY 75

RÜHLSSHOULDERTRAINING

Themanwith thebiggest delts in

bodybuilding history is back

from retirement. Germany’s

Markus Rühl shares how he

built his bolder shoulders.

By Peter McGough, Special Features Editor

Photos by Kevin Horton at Apollon Gym, Edison, NJ

OF

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MarkusRühlstoodonstageat the2007Mr.Olympia as one of the event’s best-placedspectatorswitnessing the several standingovations accorded fourth-place finisherRonnieColeman.Theacclaimfortheeight-timechampgeneratedbecause itwas gen-erallyacceptedthat thisoutingwastobehisswansong.However, knownonly to a few,Markushadalsodecided thiswouldbehislastcontest.Gentlemanthathe is,hedidn’tpre-announce it becausehedidn’twant torain on Ronnie’s end-of-an-era parade.Truth is that theprevious twoyearshad

beentoughforthethen35-year-oldGermanmassmonster. In 2005 he’d torn his rightpec and hadn’t been able to train in theballs-to-the-wall blitzkrieg style that he’dbecome legendary for. Having finishedfifthat the2004Mr.Olympia, hisplacingshad faded since then— indeedhewasdes-tined to place out of the top 15 at this, hislast contest.Compoundinghisdecision to retirewas

the extra responsibilities he tookonwhenheandhiswifeSimoneopenedanewgymandsupplementstore intheirhometownofPlungstadt, about 20miles fromFrankfurtin southwest Germany.So on Sept. 29, 2007, the 15-year body-

buildingcareerofMarkusRühl,whichwaslaunchedatage20in1992witha160-poundframe,wasover… the same juncture, coin-cidentally, as legendaryNFLquarterbackBrett Favre.Fast forward to November 2008 and

Markus was getting edgy. His traininglacked focus: If it wasn’t done with thegoal of going onstage to hear thousands

erupt in rendering his signature anthem,“Rooooool! Rooooool!” what was if for?Also,he’d signedwithamajor supplementcompany,UltimateNutrition, in 2007andit seemed wrong to not be available forcontest-ready photos to advertise theirwares.Simonesensedhisdilemmaandsaid,“Markus, youneed tocompeteagain, don’tyou?” A sheepish (as sheepish as a 310-poundhumancanbe)Markusnoddedyes.

SHOULDER TO THE WHEELAnd so the beast that isMarkus Rühl re-turned to means-to-an-end gym actionwherenoneofhis exertions aremore fero-cious than the onslaught he reserves forhis delts. For someonewho has arguablythe best delts the sport has ever seen —they’re certainly thewidest—youmaybesurprised to hearMarkus reflect, “It tookmealongtimetomakeprogresswithshoul-ders; thebodypart that grewthebestwhenI was a beginner was biceps.”Markus is in no doubt that “The basic

pressingmovementsare theones thatbuildreal size and lastingmuscle. That meanssquats for quads, benches press for pecsandoverheadpresses for shoulders.”He’salso adamant that a combination of heavyweightsandhigh-volumeworkis thekeytobuilding 3-Ddelts of theRühl caliber.Heexpands on thatmaxim, “My best resultshavealwayscomefromgettingtheultimatepump,andIaccomplish thatonlyby liftingtheheaviestpoundagepossiblewhileusingperfect formforasmanysetsas it takes.”InthisMuscleMag exclusivewe follow himthroughhisfive-exercisedelt-fryingroutine.

RÜHLS OF SHOULDER TRAINING

For maximum gains you must train for the ultimate pump.To achieve the ultimate pump you must use heavy weightswith moderate to high volume. That requires a number ofexercises, sets and reps, so don’t expect that just a few setswill do the job.Begin every delt workout with a heavy pressing movementwhen your muscles are freshest. Presses are compoundmoves that require multiple sets of joints, thus recruitingadditional muscles. This enables you to go heavy and fullystimulate the muscle.After warm-ups, every set should be taken to muscle failure.Strict style is paramount to achieve the maximummuscle-building effect for each rep. Heavy weights combined withsloppy form is a recipe for injury.Peak contractions (holding the weight for 2–3 seconds atthe top of each exercise where the target muscle is fullycontracted) adds intensity and causes greater muscle stimu-lation. Therefore, using a full range of motion is critical.Rest at least two minutes between each set to allow fullrecovery to take place from one set to the next.Change your shoulder routine every 2–3 months so thatyour delts don’t become used to the same workload.

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8 RÜHLS OF DELT TRAINING

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How wide is Markus Rühl?Well, walk around him a cou-ple of times and that’s yourcardio for the day.

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IN OVER HIS HEADTheaforementioned“heavy-weight/high-volume/ultimatepump”philosophyismostgraphically inevidencewithMarkus’open-ing shoulder salvo: overhead dumbbellpresses.As far ashe’s concerned, “Mydeltworkoutsalwaysstartwithapressingexer-cise.At thispointmydeltmusclesare fresh,so thepressingmovementmeans I canusemaximumweight tostressall threedeltoidheads and force them into new growth.”He begins his dumbbell presseswith a

light set of 30 reps to “get the blood flow-ing into the shoulder region” and thenbegins to pyramid up inweight for sevensets. Reps go from 16 to four on the lastset, atwhichpointhe’shandling175-pounddumbbells.Executionisreallystrict.Markuslowers theweights tonose level andholdsfor 2–3 seconds before exploding to the

MARKUS RÜHL’S TRAINING SPLITDAY BODYPART(S)Monday Quads, hams

Tuesday Chest

Wednesday Back

Thursday Shoulders

Friday Arms

Saturday Calves, abs, neck

Sunday Off

arms fully extendedposition.Heexplains,“The range ofmotion that places the deltsundermaximumstress on this exercise isfromthepointwhere thedumbbells areatnose level to the fullyoutstretchedposition.If you take thedumbbells lower thannoselevel you lessen the stress on the delts. Inaddition, holding for 2–3 seconds at noselevel means you can’t bounce the dumb-bellsupward—fromthatdeadstartyouex-plodetoutilize full shoulderpower.Besureto use a training partner on this exercise.”Apartfromwarm-upshetakesabouttwo

minutes’ rest between each set during hisdeltroutine.AsMarkusseesit,“Youhavetomakesureyourdeltshaverecoveredbetweeneachset inordertobestrongenoughtogiveeverything for thenext one. If you rush it,thewhole routine becomes an enduranceevent andnot amuscle-building project.”

RÜHLS OF SHOULDER TRAINING

FRONT MANMarkus’ second delt exercise is alter-nating front dumbbell raises. He de-scribesthemasfollows:“Thismovementisolates thefrontdelts, anareayouneedtodeveloptoattainfullandroundshoul-ders.Alongwithhaving that shelf lookfromthefront,bigfrontdeltsareimpor-tant during all side poses.”The starting position for this exer-

cise seesMarkus holding the dumb-bells in frontofhisupper thighs, stand-ing erect. Keepinghis arm straight, heslowly raises one dumbbell to justabove shoulder level andholds for2–3seconds before gradually returningto the start to duplicate the rep withhis opposite arm.While many body-builders don’t hold the top position,Markusadds that it “exertsapeakcon-tractionandadds intensity andgreatermuscle stimulation to each rep.” Healsoemphasizes, “It’sextremely impor-tant to use strict form on all straight-armmovements. Do that and you’llforce the front delts to grow.”He does four sets in the 10–12-rep

rangeusing55-pounddumbbells, afterwhich time his front delts look likethey’re ready to explode.

MARKUS RÜHL’S DELT ROUTINEEXERCISE SETS REPS^OverheadDumbbell Press

1*7

3016–4

Alternating FrontDumbbell Raise

4 10–12

Standing LateralRaise

5 15–12

Bent-OverLateral Raise

4 12–10

Dumbbell Shrug 5 12–6

*Warm-up set^Onmost exercises, theweight is increasedon successive sets, so the number of repscompleted decreases.

ALTERNATING FRONT DUMBBELL RAISE

Markusemploys aheavy-weight,high-volume,ultimate-pumpapproach toachieve hisphenomenaldelt size.

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THE SIDESHOWNext up is standing lateral raises. “I knowit’s no secret but this is the most effectivemovementthereis forbringingoutthemid-dle delts,” says Markus. “And if you wanttruewidthyouhavetohavethemostdevel-opedmiddle delts you can.”Graspingapairof60-pounddumbbells,

he lets them hang at arms length againsthis sides, and then in controlled fashion,without anymovement of the upper bodyor hips, he raises theweights outward to apoint where they’re just above shoulderlevel. As he raises the dumbbells, he turnshiswrists slightlyso thatat the toppositionhis thumb is below his little finger. Thisensures maximum stress is placed on themiddle delt. At this top position Markusholds thedumbbells for2–3secondsbeforeslowly returning to the start position forthe next rep. He does 15 reps with 50pounders and thendoes another four sets,working up to using a pair of 60-pounddumbbells for 12 reps.As a final payoff to standing laterals,

Markus adds, “Another benefit is that thisexercise also helps you carve out the diffi-cult to attain separation between the deltsand biceps.”

RÜHLS OF SHOULDER TRAINING

Grabbing a pair of dumbbells, he bendshiskneesandbendsforwardfromthewaistas far as is comfortable.With the dumb-bells hanging at arms length, his palmsfacing eachother andwithoutmovinghistorso or legs, Markus slowly raises thedumbbells in an arc out to his sides. Headvises, “To complete the movement toshoulderlevel, theelbowshavetobeslightlybent. As youmove toward shoulder level,turn thewrists slightly so your thumb islower thanyour littlefinger.This just putsthat final tweak of stress on the rear delt.”

At the top position he holds for a countof 2–3 to effect a peak contraction. Then,he slowly releases theweights under con-trolback tostart thenext rep.After the ini-tial setof 12 repshedoesanother threesetsof 12 reps with a slightly heavier weight.Markus emphasizes, “The priority

here is to notworry about the amount ofpoundage but concentrate on doing themovement correctly and squeezing at themidpoint for an intense peak contractionso that you really take the rear delts totheir limit.”

BENT INTO SHAPEFourth item on Markus’ meaty deltmenu is bent-over laterals. With thismove he’ll vary the style, sometimeslying facedownonan inclinebench setat 45 degrees. Today he prefers thestandingbent-over version. “Most peo-ple say this exercise is solely for thereardelts.While targeting thereardeltsis a priority, I also feel that because theothertwoheadshavebeenstimulatedtoahighdegree, youget apump through-out the entire shoulder area.”

BENT-OVER LATERAL RAISE

STANDING LATERAL RAISE

The most impor-tant rule for devel-oping delts, and infact any bodypart,is to master themental art of con-centrating on mak-

ing the weightbuild muscle andnot getting caughtup in using apoundage that’sheavy just for thesake of piling on

the plates. Sloppystyle won’t build amuscularphysique. Themind-muscle con-nection is funda-mental. As you

train on a particu-lar exercise, visu-alize how it’smaking the mus-cle fibers growbigger and biggerwith each rep.Another mentaldiscipline I follow

is before eachworkout, I go intomy office alonefor 15 minutes andpreview what I’mabout to do andget my mind andbody ready for thework to come.

Once I start train-ing, there’s no talkor jokes, and I’mtotally focusedmentally andphysically for thenext 90 minutesor so.

— Markus Rühl

RÜHLS OF CONCENTRATION

NEW RÜHLAfterhis2007“retirement,”Markus is cir-cumspect indiscussinghow longhe’s backfor this time. “I’ll go fromyear toyearnow.As longas I’mfilledwith thedesire to trainwith 100%intensity for theultimatepumpandIkeepfightingwithmybodytomakeitimprove, I’llgoon.”Again,hecitesSimone’sinfluence as amajor factor for himreturn-ing to flexing action: “Forme to return tocompetitionSimonehas become themainforcebehindourgymandsupplementbusi-ness.She’saverystrongpersonand,aswellas beingmywife, she’smy business part-ner and my best friend.”Inhis comeback contest, the 2009New

York Pro,Markus finished third to qual-ify for his ninthMr. Olympia shindig. It’sgreat to have him back in bodybuilding’s

show of shows asMarkus has carved outa unique place in the bodybuilding land-scape.Asmuchas experts (andmyself in-cluded) sometimes decry the pursuit ofextrememass and pine for a return to amore classical approach to bodybuilding,you tend to throw those considerationsasideasasmiling285-poundMarkus, com-pletewith the cheeky spiky hair,marchesout to rewrite the “WTF” dimensions ofphysical possibility. And, of course, thewhole tableaux is accompanied, com-pounded and completed by the roof-rais-ing chants of “Rooooool!Rooooool!” all ofwhichcombine tomakehis stagepresenceone for bodybuilding’s highlight reel.Welcomeback,Markus. Longmay you

“Rooooool!”For more information on Markus, visit www.ruehl24.de.

RÜHLS OF SHOULDER TRAINING

MONSTER TRAPSWith his delts screaming “Uncle!” wecometothefinalexerciseof theGermanjuggernaut’s shoulder routine: dumb-bell shrugs. If you wanted proof thatMarkus Rühl is not a follower of theMichelangelo’s David school of phys-ical culture, hear him out on shrugs:“This is the exercise that gives you aneck like a friggin’ cow and traps liketheHunchback of Notre Dame.”Hecontinues, “Someguys train traps

withback,butgoodtrapssetoffthewholeshoulderregionsoIprefer toworkthemwithmydelts.Quiteapartfromthevisualeffectof large traps, youneedtodevelopthemtoaddstability to theentire shoul-dergirdleandsoavoidinjurywhendoingyourheavypressingmovements.”For his first setMarkus takes a pair

of 95-pounddumbbells andholds themat his sides with his palms facing hiships.He lets his shoulders sagdownaslowaspossible.Then, keepinghis armsstraightandusingonly thepowerofhisupper traps, he raises his shoulders ashigh as possible. At the toppositionheholds for a peak contraction beforereturning to the startingpoint.Hedoes12 full-range-of-motion reps. He thendoes another four setswith reps goingfrom 12 to six on the last set in whichhe’s using 200-pound dumbbells. Theworkoutover,he’sdripping in sweatashe comments, “When shrugging in theoffseason I use two short barbells andput 225 pounds on each.”Markus offers some final advice on

delt training: “The shoulder musclesare very complex and you have to bevery precise in how you hit them. Youmust use correct formandgo to failureoneachset. It’s all about shocking theminto growth. That’s why I always rec-ommend you change your shoulderroutine every 2–3months so theydon’tbecome used to the sameworkload.”

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DUMBBELL SHRUG