Mechanical Tension vs Pump for Shoulder Growth?

Heavy tension builds the base, pumps help fill in the details.

I grow best when I hit both in the same session.

Tension feels like long-term progress, pump feels like short-term feedback.

Shoulders seem to respond well to controlled load plus volume.

All tension, no pump feels incomplete for delts.

Pumps help me connect better, especially on laterals.

Mechanical tension matters, but joints limit how heavy you can go.

High-rep pump work keeps delts engaged without wrecking shoulders.

Alternating phases seems smarter than picking one side.

Best results usually come from blending heavy work with burn sets.