Hadi Choopan recommends beginners perform most of their exercises with the cable and dumbbells.
Following a disappointing second-place finish in the 2023 Olympia, Hadi Choopan has returned to his rigorous training regimen. Despite the controversial defeat last year, where an improved Derek Lunsford narrowly surpassed him, Choopan remains undeterred. He’s already set on sculpting his physique for the upcoming 2024 Mr. Olympia, a title he is determined to claim. Notably, Choopan has already secured qualification by winning the championship in 2022 and maintaining a top-three placement last year. “The Persian Wolf” recently shared his latest shoulder workout video, in which he provides valuable tips and routines, including the one arm cable front raise.
| Full Name: Hadi Choopan | ||
| Weight | Height | Date of Birth |
| 200 – 220 lbs | 5’7” | 09/26/1987 |
| Division | Era | Nationality |
| Men’s Open | 2000s – Till Date | Iranian |
Hadi Choopan’s One Arm Cable Raise & Shoulder Workout
You can see the shoulder workout video Hadi Choopan uploaded to his YouTube channel on December 11, 2023, below:
Hadi Choopan starts this shoulder and upper trap workout by doing bodyweight stretches to warm up. Research into stretching before training shows that it could improve your range of motion and reduce the risk of injuries (1). After training, he does hyperextensions and hops on the StairMaster to cool down, stating that you should start and end your training with stretching.
Concerning shoulders, Hadi Choopan states that exercises that train your shoulders should be done carefully. He cautions against heavier weights and advises adjusting your training to prevent injuries, especially as a beginner. Below are his exercises, a mix of free weight and machine exercises.
| Exercises |
| Cable Front Raise |
| Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press |
| One Arm Cable Front Raise |
| Seated Dumbbell Front Raise |
| EZ Bar Front Raise |
| Machine Shoulder Press |
| Barbell Shrug |
Cable Front Raise
Hadi Choopan starts his workout using a rope attachment for cable front raises on the machine. He says that he’s doing this training for his front delts. He does multiple sets of this exercise before heading to the next.
Besides targeting the anterior delts, this isolation exercise also works on your lateral delts, traps, and upper pecs. Doing the cable front raise with a rope attachment like Choopan helps to keep the resistance constant on your shoulders throughout the range of motion.
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
The next exercise for Choopan is the seated dumbbell shoulder press. He recommends that when doing this routine, your wrists, elbows, and shoulders should move in line with each other. Choopan also says doing shoulder and chest presses in the scapular plane is best.
“If you try to rotate externally too much, this will hurt your shoulder and AC joints since the angle of your movements is not right. For all exercises like shoulder press and chest press, try to do it in the scaption plane.”
Seated dumbbell shoulder presses work on your delts, triceps, traps, and pecs. During this exercise, you also engage your core as a stabilizer, so your abs get some training. A study in novice and trained women showed that the shoulder press was more effective for activating the anterior delts and upper traps than the incline and bench presses (2).
One Arm Cable Front Raise
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As his third routine, Hadi Choopan returned to the cable machine for front raises, but this time as a unilateral variation. He used the D-handle to do single-arm cable front raises and wore a weightlifting belt. While using a reverse grip, Choopan shares that the best way to do this for your shoulders is to raise your hand upwards rather than to the center of your chest.
The single-arm cable front raise is an exercise that allows you to target your front delt muscles. It builds each side independently, which is excellent for finding and fixing muscle imbalances. Using the cable machine also helps you avoid cheating with momentum and keeps the tension on your shoulders constant.
Seated Dumbbell Front Raise
After unilateral cable training, Hadi Choopan switched to the free-weight version of the front raises using dumbbells. He first did standing dumbbell front raises as a warm-up before doing working sets of the seated dumbbell front raise. Choopan raises each arm alternately and uses a neutral grip (hammer), which is effective for the anterior delts and can help prevent shoulder impingement.
As the cable front raises, the seated dumbbell front raise is an isolation exercise from shoulder flexion. In addition, your upper pecs also get activated to help stabilize the movement. This exercise is often recommended during rehabilitation as it is effective and reduces neck pain.
EZ Bar Front Raise
Hadi Choopan switches to the EZ bar next for this routine’s final variation of front raises. He uses an underhand grip for this, bringing his arms together. Choopan then shares that the toughest opponent to beat is the previous version of yourself.
“Competition on stage is easy, but if someone wants to compete against themselves, it is very hard. If a warrior wants to defeat himself, he must try so hard, but defeating others is much easier. We have to learn that each year, we need to defeat the previous version of ourselves.”
The EZ bar front raise targets the delts mainly but also involves the pecs and traps. Using an EZ bar for this routine brings your arms closer together, emphasizing the front. It also allows both shoulders to work together, which could mean being able to lift slightly more than the dumbbell alternative.
Machine Shoulder Press
Next, Hadi Choopan jumped on the Panatta Power machine for machine shoulder presses. This machine is plate-loaded, and the unique converging line helps you overload your anterior delts at peak contraction. After doing this exercise, Hadi Choopan shares a training program trick.
“Perform three exercises with cable, three exercises with dumbbells, and 1-2 exercises with barbells, then finish your workout.”
The machine shoulder press is a compound exercise that primarily focuses on your delts and recruits your triceps, pecs, and core. It helps to bring strength and definition to your shoulders and using a machine helps with your stability and ensures you use the proper form for the exercise.
Barbell Shrug
Hadi Choopan rounded up his shoulder workout with barbell shrugs. He also points out that most of the tips he has shared in this training video are for beginners. Experts like him and other professional bodybuilders can use barbells and dumbbells longer for their exercises as their muscles can handle that.
“If you see me and people who are like me using dumbbells and barbells much more with heavier weights, that’s because we have the appropriate muscular infrastructure, and our muscles have been under pressure for a long time. So our muscles have reached their muscular maturity.”
Barbell shrugs target your traps, but your shoulders are also involved. Research suggests using an upward rotation during a shrug since it better activates upper and lower traps (3). This exercise can also work on drooping shoulders and help your posture.
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References
- Behm, D. G., Blazevich, A. J., Kay, A. D., & McHugh, M. (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme, 41(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2015-0235
- Luczak, J., Bosak, A., & Riemann, B. L. (2013). Shoulder Muscle Activation of Novice and Resistance Trained Women during Variations of Dumbbell Press Exercises. Journal of sports medicine (Hindawi Publishing Corporation), 2013, 612650. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/612650
- Pizzari, T., Wickham, J., Balster, S., Ganderton, C., & Watson, L. (2014). Modifying a shrug exercise can facilitate the upward rotator muscles of the scapula. Clinical biomechanics (Bristol, Avon), 29(2), 201–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2013.11.011
