Martin Fitzwater used his highly developed shoulders to carry back-to-back first place trophies at the 2024 and this past weekend’s 2025 EVLS Prague Pro events, but the work to build those boulder-like shoulders began many moons ago, requiring an epic workout that “The Martian” recently shared on Instagram.

The last 12 months have been a storybook year in the career of Martin Fitzwater, who beat a stacked lineup during November’s 2024 Prague Pro, including Chris Bumstead in his Open debut. The Martian then made it to fifth place during October’s 2025 Olympia event, before heading back to Prague for a back-to-back win. With industry insiders and fans sighting Fitwater’s combination of muscle fullness and peak conditioning as a major factor in his progression, the man himself recently provided an epic shoulder workout that he’s been completing in the run up to crushing his competitions.

“Blasting lateral raises is a must for my shoulder day,” shared the man of the moment. Of course, lateral raises are a great exercise for isolating the lateral deltoid, the muscle on the side of your shoulder, but the bodybuilder obliterates a variety of muscles on shoulder day. Here’s how to try this serious session for yourself.

Martin Fitzwater’s Competition Crushing Shoulder Workout

• Cable Lateral Raise (2 warmup + 2 working sets)
• Dumbbell Lateral Raise (1 warmup + 1 working set)
• Rear Delt Fly (2 warmup + 2 working sets)
• Seated Machine Shoulder Press (2 warmup + 2 working + 1 intensifier set)
• Machine Lateral Raise (3 sets to failure)

Workout Breakdown

Martin Fitzwater adds a warmup set, or two, to the majority of the exercises in this workout. Not only are warmup lets a great way to limber up and prime the body for the punishment ahead, but they also allow heavy workers like Fitzwater to feel out the weight he’ll use in the working sets. Starting out with cable lateral raises, the big man gets straight to work on the medial head of the deltoid muscle, otherwise known as the rounded muscle, that travels from the top and down the side of the shoulder.  He then doubles up with another round of lateral raises, but this time the winner from Wyoming, uses a pair of dumbbells. Not only does this detailed deltoid work have the effect of exhausting the desired muscle group, but raising the dumbbells will require more adaptation and stabilization than cables, since cables have a mostly pre-determined path.

Third-up is the rear delt fly, designed to seriously tax those rear deltoid muscles at the back of your shoulders. Fitzwater squeezes his rear delts at the top of the movement to get as much activation as possible here. For the seated machine shoulder press, The Martian not only hammers his shoulders, but the pecs, triceps, and core are also recruited to complete those reps. At this stage of the workout, opting for a machine is a sensible way to maintain heavy loads while reducing the risk of injury associated with fatigue on the free weights.

This approach also allows Fitzwater to add an intensifier to his last set, such as an additional pause for extra time under tension, or even going all out with as many reps as he can.

For the last exercise, Fitzwater performs his third lateral raise variation of the day, this time rounding out with the machine for constant tension and focused isolation while potentially eliminating muscle strains. Adding a variety of shoulder exercises is key to building stacked shoulders, because not only do you have the front, side, and rear delts to think about, but also the surrounding muscles such as the trapezius, pecs, and triceps. They all play a part in framing the overall appearance of the shoulders.

To replicate these reps for yourself, utilize the warmup sets to choose a weight that you can get 8-12 solid repetitions with, getting close to, or reaching failure for maximum muscle building potential.

To follow Martin Fitzwater on Instagram, click here. 

Simeon Panda has the type of arms that most people envy, so when the entrepreneur, fitness pro, and social media star decides to reach out and share his method for adding more muscle via Instagram, it would be foolish not to take note.

“Train arms with me,” challenged Panda, as he shared a straight-forward plan for pumping up his arms with his 7.8 million followers. With just six moves, you can get to work on building your biceps, triceps, and forearms too.

Simeon Panda’s Sleeve Shredding Arm Workout

• Concentration Curls — 4 Sets, 6-10 Reps
• Bodyweight Dips — 4 Sets, 10 Reps
• Hammer curls — 4 Sets, 8-10 Reps
• Cable Triceps Pushdowns — 4 Sets, 8-10 Reps

The Finisher:

·Cable Arm Reverse Grip Pushdown and Cable Bicep Curl (superset) — 3 Sets, 8-10 Reps

Workout Breakdown

For the first four exercises, you’ll work with 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps. This may be a departure from your usual 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, but the goal of exhausting the muscle remains the same. In fact, keeping the body ‘guessing’ by switching up your rep scheme from time to time is a great to stay stimulated, so give this a try. Just remember to aim for failure at around the 10-rep mark.

Panda gets started by positioning himself on a bench for concentration curls, a move that activates the biceps at the front of the arm, along with the brachialis that sits behind the biceps, and he’ll also recruit forearms. For correct form, keep the back of your upper arm rested on the inner thigh.

Next up are bodyweight dips, another compound exercise that taxes the triceps, but also the shoulders, chest, and back as you stabilize yourself. Remember to contract your core and glutes to remain balanced, and keep the arms and elbows close to your sides.

For his third arm blaster, Panda got pumped with some heavy Hammer curls, hitting his biceps and forearms for added thickness. To execute these for yourself, squeeze the biceps as you curl in order to encourage further muscle activation, and hold the dumbbell at the top of the curl for one or two seconds, for added time under tension.

Fourth, the fitness influencer hooked himself up with cable triceps pushdowns to punish his triceps and target the anconeus, which is the small muscle located on the outside of the elbow. Remember to avoid leaning forward too far and keep pushing/pulling until your elbows are fully extended.

For the finisher, Panda goes on an all-out arm offensive by combining cable single arm reverse grip pushdowns with cable bicep curls for a sleeve splitting superset. The difference between these two moves begins with the grip. The reverse pushdowns uses a supinated (palms up) grip and works the triceps , while the cable curls utilize a pronated (palms down) grip and bolster the biceps.

With just six efficient moves like this, you’ll be flexing with the best of them.

To follow Simeon Panda on Instagram, click here. 

Blessing Awodibu may be known as “The Boogieman” to bodybuilding fans, but the Irish muscle man is a gentle giant when it comes to spending time with his little girl, as he recently demonstrated by performing hanging leg raises with his “Baby Boogie.”

The Irish professional bodybuilder, who earned his IFBB Pro card in 2020 and holds two Arnold Classic titles has been in the gym with his little princess before, introducing her as his new training partner that “never skips snack day,” and recently took a moment away from his more serious training to engage in a bit of family fun for his birthday on September 20. “Early morning birthday workout with the GOAT spotter,” joked the big man as he hardened his abs while softening the hearts of those who follow him on Instagram.

Blessing Awodibu Made Child’s Play of Hanging Leg Raises

In the video, “Baby Boogie” holds on to her gigantic father’s legs while Awodibu supports the little tot with his feet. The bodybuilder then completed his reps of hanging leg raises, blasting his core and quads.

“The greatest gift a father can give his children is his time,” remarked one of his 1.7 million IG followers. “Gotta get them involved,” commented another.

At just 34, Awodibu still has plenty to prove in the bodybuilding world and is no doubt eying up qualification for the 2026 Olympia, but in the meantime, combining flexing with a balanced family life seems to be the way forward. “Teamwork made the dream work,” concluded another Instagram fan. Why can’t social media always be this wholesome?

To follow Blessing Awodibu on Instagram, click here. 

Television and movie giant Martyn Ford is proving to be a beast in the gym once again, as recent social media posts demonstrate his desire to add more muscle mass. To do that, the man mountain who plays Goliath in Prime Video’s House of David is putting his back into quadruple dropsets when tearing up the T-bar row.

“24 stone (336 pounds) has been hit,” wrote the 43-year-old Englishman, who stands at a towering 6’8″, via Instagram.  The man they call “The Nightmare” recently took to social media to share his rugged rep scheme for building solid mass.

Martyn Ford Performs An Astonishing Quadruple Dropsets

“Time to grow,” commented Ford in a recent video shared with his 4.7 million IG followers. “Want to see change, then try this advanced training technique,” explained the entertainer, alongside a demonstration while positioned on the plate loaded standing T-bar row machine. The move itself is brilliant for building the back and rear shoulders, and improves pulling strength by also engaging the core, requiring stability and proper posture. T-bar rows also recruit the lats, adding to overall back width.

“Quadruple drop set… It’s a killer!” challenged Ford, as he truly raised the bar with 5 plates for his first set, and then performed each additional set with one plate removed. Ford performed his first set for 4 reps, then Set 2 for 6 reps. His third set, Ford did another six reps before maxing out as many reps as he could on the final set.

The bodybuilder’s larger-than-life approach meant no rest between rounds, making it a giant drop set with ascending weight, in order to significantly fatigue the muscles and trigger hypertrophy.

Recently, Ford explained his current physique goals. “I’ll aim to slowly add another 7-8 lb over the next 2 months, of just quality muscle, keep the excess chunk to a limit,” he wrote on September 30, 2025. And, for those who want to follow in this giant’s massive footsteps, the star had some motivational words for reaching your own potential. “Nothing can be done overnight,” he enthused. “Any transition in physique demands a set amount of time. If you try to speed up or cheat the process, it never lasts, and you can guarantee illness will creep up due to excessive demand on the system. Patience and persistence is key!” Well, who could argue with “The Nightmare?”

To follow Martin on Instagram, click here. 

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and with the world seemingly on his shoulders, Samson Dauda is making sure that he hits his peak physique to retain his Olympia title. To that end, the 2024 trophy winner is finding ways to win that are both smart and safe, revealing two genius shoulder blasting moves just days removed from Las Vegas.

Samson Dauda shocked many critics when he beat both Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford to win the jackpot in Sin City last year, taking the iconic Sandow trophy all the way back home to Britain. This year, however, Dauda is hoping to prove a back-to-back win would be no surprise, thanks to a detailed training program that has seen the big man invest blood, sweat, and tears into his own gym known as “The Cave.”

When it comes to his shoulders, Dauda is hoping to outshine his opponents but this close to the competition, he’s adopting a smart strategy that allows the titleholder to push himself to the limit while not risking injury with excessive free weights, instead leaning towards machines. “War ready,” exclaimed the Open division champion in a recent Instagram post for his 1.5 million followers, revealing the two shoulder blasters that could make all the difference to Dauda while on stage.

Smith Machine Single-Arm Seated Shoulder Press

Samson Duada sits side-on for this smith machine assisted shoulder pressing move that works one shoulder at a time. This close to the Olympia final, using a smith machine but still going heavy is a great way to avoid injury through unwanted movements, instead following a predestined track. Here, Dauda drills down and works the upper body, targeting the trapezius, deltoids, and even the triceps. He will also engage his core to stay balanced while undertaking a unilateral approach to bolster his strength and symmetry in each limb.

Machine Front Raises

Front raises can be executed with a dumbbell and are great for dialling in the anterior deltoids, taxing the front of the shoulder. They also recruit the side deltoid, trapezius, and upper pecs to provide shaping. Dauda’s gym includes a state-of-the-art Standing Side Lateral / Side Shoulder Multi-flight machine, that offers some serious features. The smooth, constant resistance can be set to match muscle strength, eliminating unwanted side-to-side movements and instead focusing on effective muscle activation.

For those who don’t have access to the same machine as Dauda, heavy dumbbell work is a great alternative but don’t overload yourself. You can still replicate the Olympia champ’s technique by maintaining a controlled range of motion and making the most of time under tension to really tear those muscle fibers and force them to build back bigger. Dauda’s dedication has been clear to see in the past weeks and months as he readies to defend the Olympia crown, but many feel that this year marks one of the most stacked finals in history, with the likes of Hadi Choopan, Derek Lunsford, and Nick Walker looking to dethrone him. Who will reign as the 2025 Mr Olympia? There’s not long to find out.

The Olympia Fitness & Performance weekend takes place from October 9-12, 2025. For more information click here. 

To follow Samson Dauda on Instagram, click here.