by Thomas Incledon, PhD(c), RD, LD/LN, RPT, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Once upon a time, trap training was virtually ignored in the bodybuilder’s routine. The major muscles got the workouts and the traps were delegated to the rest day because nobody actually trained them. Welcome to the twenty-first century of bodybuilding where smart lifters know that to make a physique complete, all of the muscles must be targeted, especially the “tie-ins.” The M&F Guide to Shrugs and Traps training covers basic and advanced shrugging movements and will teach you how to perform these movements safely.
Barbell Shrugs: Difficulty Rating: 1
This is the basic exercise for developing the trapezius and should be the first place to get started with a trap program. But don’t view it as just a beginners’ exercise. Barbell shrugs can really add size and are great for experienced lifters too.
Starting Position: Stand in an upright position holding a barbell in front of your body using an overhand grip. Position your hands just outside of your thighs. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders back and do not let your elbows bend. Exhale at the top and then lower your shoulders back down. Keep the movement under control and look straight ahead.
Dumbbell Shrugs: Difficulty Rating: 2
Another fundamental exercise for your trap program is the dumbbell version of the shrug. Many bodybuilders like this version because they can position the dumbbells where they feel their muscles contracting the most. For example, pro bodybuilder Darrem Charles prefers keeping the dumbbells to the side rather than to the front of his thighs to get an optimal contraction.
Starting Position: Stand in an upright position holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your body using an overhand grip. Position your hands just outside of your thighs. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders back and do not let your elbows bend. Exhale at the top and then lower your shoulders back down. Keep the movement under control and look straight ahead.
Behind-the-Back Barbell Shrugs: Difficulty Rating: 2
This exercise has been made popular by several former Mr. Olympias including eight-time winner Lee Haney. Place the barbell in a power or a squat rack just below glute level for a safe and easy set-up.
Starting Position: Stand in an upright position holding a barbell behind your body using an underhand grip. Position your hands just outside of your thighs. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders back and do not let your elbows bend. Exhale at the top and then lower your shoulders back down. Keep the movement under control and look straight ahead.
Machine Shrugs – Standing; Difficulty Rating: 1
This version incorporates Smith machines, Hammer Strength machines, or standing calf machines. You position the bar or handles around mid-thigh so that you can grasp them and stand up to shrug.
Starting Position: Stand in an upright position holding the handles/barbell in front of your body using an overhand grip. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders back and do not let your elbows bend. Exhale at the top and then lower your shoulders back down. Keep the movement under control and look straight ahead.
Machine Shrugs – Sitting: Difficulty Rating: 1
Using Nautilus or Keiser machines for this shrug can be especially useful if you have a lower body injury and don’t want to aggravate the condition.
Starting Position: Adjust the seat so that when you are sitting, your traps are stretched. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely. Your forearms will go under or in between the pads so you can apply force to lift up on the load.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders back. Exhale at the top and then lower your shoulders back down. Keep the movement under control and look straight ahead.
Barbell Power Shrugs (Clean Grip Shrugs) - Difficulty Rating: 2
This is similar to the top part of a clean pull. The movement is done explosively and should only be done once you understand the basic mechanics of the shrug movement. It is popular with many athletes because you can really pile on the weight.
Starting Position: Stand erect with a barbell and bend forward at the hips. The back is arched, the knees are slightly bent, and the arms are relaxed. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely. Your hands will be positioned between hip and shoulder width apart.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you extend the hips, knee, and ankle joints using the momentum from the large hip and leg muscles to lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders moving straight up and exhale at the top. At the top of the movement you will be standing on the balls of your feet and your shoulders will be as high as possible. Lower the weight back down in a controlled fashion.
Dumbbell Power Shrugs: Difficulty Rating: 2
This is the same exercise as above, except you use dumbbells. Most power athletes will use the barbell version, but dumbbells can be useful for adding variety to your training.
Starting Position: Stand in an upright position holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your body using an overhand grip. Bend the knees slightly and bend forward at the hips making sure to keep the back arched. The arms are relaxed. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you extend the hip, knee, and ankle joints using the momentum from the large hip and leg muscles to lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders moving straight up and exhale at the top. At the top of the movement you will be standing on the balls of your feet and your shoulders will be as high as possible. Lower the weight back down in a controlled fashion.
Wide Grip Lockout Shrugs (Snatch Grip Shrugs): Difficulty Rating: 2
This is similar to the top part of a snatch pull. The movement is done explosively just like barbell power shrugs.
Starting Position: Stand erect with a barbell and bend forward at the hips. The back is arched, the knees are slightly bent, and the arms are relaxed. Your shoulders should be hanging straight down along your sides in order to pre-stretch your traps safely. Your hands will be positioned about 4-6 inches wider than your shoulders.
Execution: Inhale and hold your breath as you extend the hip, knee, and ankle joints using the momentum from the large hip and leg muscles to lift your shoulders up towards your ears. Keep your shoulders moving straight up and exhale at the top. At the top of the movement you will be standing on the balls of your feet and your shoulders will be as high as possible. Lower the weight back down in a controlled fashion.
Basic Shrug Motion
Here are some quick tips to apply to all of the shrug exercises:
Keep the load (ie weight, handles, barbell, DB, etc) close to you to reduce the risk of injury.
Keep the arms straight
Keep your back and neck straight. Sticking the head forward can alter the movement in the shoulder joint and lead to injury.
Keep the legs straight.
Contract the glutes so that you stabilize your hips. This will give you a stronger base when doing any type of standing shrugs.
Contract the shoulder blades together throughout the entire movement.
To Roll or Not To Roll The Shoulders
We combed the research literature to find the definitive answer to exactly how one should shrug. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any peer-reviewed publications that examined the pros and cons of either technique. We decided to contact Michael Clark, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Mike is a physical therapist with more credentials than letters in the alphabet. Here is what he had to say:
“Performing shrugs with rounded shoulders (shoulder protraction) creates increased stress at the sternoclavicular joint, acromioclavicular (AC) joint, and cervical spine. With the shoulders in a rounded position, the rhomboids and lower trapezius are in a lengthened position (altered length-tension relationship). This decreases scapulothoracic stability and increases stress into the cervical spine and shoulder complex. The upper trapezius, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior work as a force couple. If the scapula is protracted, then the serratus anterior is in a shortened position (altered length-tension relationship). This requires the upper trapezius to become over-dominant and increases stress in the cervical spine and AC joint. In addition, performing shrugs in a rounded posture decreases stabilization of the glenohumeral joint because the rotator cuff cannot maintain stability of the humeral head in the glenoid fossa with the shoulder blade muscles in a poor-length tension position. For the reasons above I would recommend that shrugs be performed in a straight up and down fashion and avoid rolling the shoulders.”
Shrugging and Neck Problems
Based on reviews of medical and sports databases, injuries to the neck such as cervical dislocation or cervical disc herniations do not appear to be very common when doing shrugs. However, this doesn’t mean they can’t happen. It’s important to understand what causes these types of injuries and how to avoid them. The type of technique used when performing shrugs can place rather large forces on the small muscles of the neck. Movement patterns that allow the shoulders to come forward during a shrug movement create excessive forces that can lead to a neck injury. For this reason, be sure to follow our advice and perform shrugs with perfect technique.
Non-Shrug Exercises
Sometimes the best exercises for the traps are indirect like upright rows, deadlifts, snatches, overhead presses and the farmer’s walk. The farmer’s walk? Most lifters know how to perform the all of these exercises, but the farmer’s walk is treading on unfamiliar territory. For this movement, just walk 100-200 feet fast for time (try for under 20 seconds) with a heavy dumbbell in each hand. Your traps must work very hard to hold the dumbbells while you are walking. If your traps don’t grow from this exercise, than you don’t have any muscle fibers left!
Building Traps the Professional’s Way
We asked IFBB pro bodybuilder Darrem Charles (www.pmgathletes.com) for his advice on trap training and he provided us with a fantastic trap routine, as well as some trap words of wisdom. Darrem always tries to visualize his traps contracting and his shoulders moving up into his ears whenever he trains traps. He emphasizes that, “Trap movement should always involve the shoulder blades meeting and the muscles contracting.” And his number one training tip is to “look forward, but keep your chin down. If your head is too upright, your trap muscles can’t fully contract.” Darrem does a combination of 4 exercises, but only 1-2 per shoulder workout. He pyramids up in weight and down in reps for 3-4 sets. On his moderate day he performs from 15-8 reps and on his heavy day he’ll go as low as 4.
1. Shrug behind the back on the Smith Machine
Stand in front of bar even with your behind
Grab bar with a pronated grip
Bend elbows, bring bar up to lower back
Very important to use trap muscles and not just bend the elbows and use the biceps
Training tip: Darrem lightly sits on the bar to determine its proper height
2. Upright Barbell Rows
Keep bar close to body
Pull bar all the way under the chin
Concentrate on the traps, not just the forearms
3. Dumbbell Shrugs
Keep dbs to side of thighs rather than in front
Squeeze the shoulder blades in the top position
4. Upright Rows with Dumbbells
Very advanced movement
Important to concentrate on shoulder blade movement
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