Shoulder Gauntlet

Mike Rabbitt and Thomas Colley get put through the shoulder gauntlet workout for the first time on camera.

As if the shoulder raise gauntlet alone wasn't enough to make you want to puke, putting it in the middle of a full blown Body Spartan style shoulder workout is the ultimate test of mind and body!

Inspired by CT Fletcher's triceps gauntlet, the shoulder gauntlet is ten sets of seated side raises. You'll be starting with a lighter weight and increasing with each set, going up the ladder for 5 sets with no rest. Then, after a quick 30-second rest, you'll grab the heaviest weight again and go back down the ladder to the lightest weight.

The goal has always been to get 20 reps on each set BUT no one has ever been able to accomplish this. 

It's a full on Spartan style attack on shoulders!

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Hammer strength shoulder press

Due to some ongoing shoulder issues, Gabe opted to start with the Hammer Strength shoulder press. You can substitute a shoulder press machine, dumbbells, or even a barbell shoulder press if you'd like. The goal here, is to be able to handle the drop set at the very end. It's a big double drop set, so you're gonna be fried.

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)
Hammer Strength shoulder press	1	—	Yes	20	2
	2	—	Yes	20	2
	3	—	Yes	16	2
	4	—	Yes	12	2
	5a	Yes	Yes	10	None
	5b	Yes	Yes	8	None
	5c	Yes	Yes	20	2

Wide-grip upright rows with a barbell

 

The crucial part of this exercise is to ensure your grip is wide enough to fully activate the lateral (side) delts. It's also important that you pull with your elbows and not your wrists. We see a lot of people getting their wrists and hands above their elbows. This puts a huge amount of stress on the wrists and elbows and takes a good amount of tension off the delts. Watch your form, keep your elbows above your wrists and really try to make that mind-muscle connection and activate those side delts to move the weight. 

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)
Wide-grip upright rows	1	--	--	20	2
	2	--	--	20	2
	3	--	--	18	2
	4	--	--	16	2

The shoulder gauntlet - side raises

 Like we mentioned earlier, this is 10 sets straight. You will need to have 5 different sets of dumbbells arranged in order from lightest to heaviest. When we designed this, the goal was to have each set consist of 20 reps. However, no one has been able to accomplish this yet. We've included our best reps below for you to match and/or beat!

After the first 5 sets, when you finish the set with the heaviest reps, you will take a 30 second rest. Then, you'll start again with the heaviest weight and then go back down the ladder (pyramid down) to the lightest weight.

With side raises, it's important to keep your wrists inline or slightly below your elbows. If your wrists start going above your elbow on the positive (upward) motion, you're putting unneeded stress on your rotator cuff and labrum. You're also not using your side delts as much as you could be. 

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time
Shoulder gauntlet, seated side raises	1	—	Yes	20	None
	2	—	Yes	20	None
	3	—	Yes	18	None
	4	—	Yes	16	None
	5	—	Yes	10	30 sec
	6	—	Yes	10	None
	7	—	Yes	12	None
	8	—	Yes	18	None
	9	—	Yes	20	None
	10	—	Yes	20	None

Reverse pec deck

There's only two tricks here. First, get the seat low enough so that your arms will be inline with the middle of your face. Your chin should rest on the top of the seat pad. Next, make sure you treat this like a true fly. The bend at your elbow should stay the same for the entire range of motion. The hinge, should be at your shoulder. So if you find yourself moving your arm at the elbow to complete the range of motion, check yourself and get that form right!

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)
Reverse pec deck	1	—	—	20	2
	2	—	—	18	2
	3	—	—	16	2

Bonus Tips

The big takeaway from this shoulder gauntlet workout, is that during the gauntlet itself, it's inevitable that your form is going to degrade, and it may get sloppy. You might get some looks as you grunt and grind your way through this massive 10-set exercise, but keep in mind that this is YOUR TIME. Nothing matters but you finishing what you started. Don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks and go be the best version of yourself.

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