How Bikini Bodybuilder Phoebe Hagan Trains Shoulders For the 2023 Olympia
British pro bodybuilder Phoebe Hagan entered the upper echelons of the pro-Bikini circuit by finishing seventh at her debut Olympia in 2022. She qualified for the 2023 Olympia by winning the 2022 Battle of Texas Pro on Dec. 10, 2022, and dedicated a long off-season to improving her physique.
On Oct. 2, 2023, Hagan shared a video on her YouTube channel wherein she trained shoulders with her coach Adam Bonilla. While recording, Hagan was six weeks out of the Olympia. Check out the video below:
[Related: Brett Wilkin Withdraws From the 2023 Mr. Olympia Contest]
Phoebe Hagan 2023 Olympia Shoulder Workout
Here is a summary of Hagan’s high-volume shoulder training session:
- Machine Bent-Over Rear Delt Row
- Dumbbell Bent-Over Rear Delt Flye
- Incline Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Dumbbell Front Raise
[Related: Terrence Ruffin’s 2023 Olympia Back Training with Fellow Classic Physique Competitor Mike Sommerfeld]
Machine Bent-Over Rear Delt Row
Hagan opened with rear delt rows on the shrug machine. She leaned forward slightly, grabbed the handles with a neutral grip, and flared her elbows on concentrics to bias the posterior delts. She employed slower eccentrics to increase her time under tension, thereby promoting hypertrophy.
A study conducted by the Journal of Physiology found that “greater muscle time under tension increased the acute amplitude of mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis,” leading to greater muscle growth. (1)
Dumbbell Bent-Over Rear Delt Flye
Hagan moved on to the rear delt flyes to further isolate her posterior delts. She maintained her torso at 45 degrees, retracted her scapula, and limited the movement of her shoulder joints to ensure her rear delts moved the weight.
(@phoebehagan_)Hagan did a double drop set on the final set to maximize muscle fiber recruitment. A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis found that “drop sets present an efficient strategy for maximizing hypertrophy.” (2)
Incline Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise
Hagan set the incline bench at 70 degrees, placed her back flat against the pad, depressed her shoulder blades, and pushed her chest out to eliminate using momentum. She followed a slow-rep cadence to load the lateral delts to mechanical failure, continuing each set with partial reps to total failure.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press & Dumbbell Front Raise
Bonilla recommended Hagan train heavy seated dumbbell shoulder presses to retain strength and muscle mass while cutting. Hagan sat upright on an incline bench to eliminate core recruitment.
Hagan trained through her full range of motion, lowering the dumbbells until her hands aligned with her ears and then locking out her elbows at the top. Hagan performed a double drop set on the final set to failure.
Posing Session
During their posing session, Bonilla pointed out that Hagan was near her goal muscle density. However, she needs to shed body fat and some upper body muscle mass, especially in her arms, to align her muscle symmetry and balance with the Bikini division standards.
References
- Burd NA, Andrews RJ, West DW, et al. Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. J Physiol. 2012;590(2):351-362. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200
- Sødal LK, Kristiansen E, Larsen S, van den Tillaar R. Effects of Drop Sets on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med Open. 2023;9(1):66. Published 2023 Jul 31. doi:10.1186/s40798-023-00620-5
Featured image: @phoebehagan_ on Instagram
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