Tag: Traps
Shrug It Out: Try These 6 Exercises To Give You Massive Traps Now!
Get killer traps now!
It’s those mountains of muscle that every bodybuilder needs in their repertoire. The trapezius muscles. This area is ultimately very important to round out the other upper body muscle groups. If you want championship level trap muscles to wow the judges or if you just simply want to turn heads in the street, follow these exercises and you’ll be on your way to bigger and better traps in no time.
Importance of Building Traps
When you’re looking to build traps, most bodybuilders are simply aiming for the aesthetics, hoping to completely change your upper body by making it appear more pumped up. While aesthetics are usually going do be a major deciding factor in whether or not you dive in and start a new exercise regimen, truth be told you need to be training with multiple different outlooks in mind. You should be aiming to not only put muscle onto your traps, but strengthen the muscles as well.
The traps are a major area in the upper back that do more than just make a lifter appear massive. Another major benefit to building up your traps is shoulder stability. By strengthening the traps it means having a stronger overall back and upper body. It means that your shoulders will be able to handle even heavier loads than ever before.
Barbell Shrugs
The barbell shrug is a favorite among bodybuilders and is perfect for engaging the trapezius muscles. Grab the barbell overhand and shrug the shoulders up in controlled motions, making sure to squeeze the traps at the top of the movement.
The idea behind this is to not use too much weight while performing the action. If you use too much weight you can unconsciously force the rest of your body, your legs for instance, into the motion. Too light and your muscles won’t get the proper stimulus for growth. Like any other movement, the barbell shrug is a balancing act that requires precise and controlled movements, not only for maximum growth, but to remain injury free as well.
Branch Warren and Johnnie O. Jackson are both big fans of the barbell shrug. Jackson has some of the most impressive traps in the the bodybuilding game, period. Branch Warren explains how he trains traps in both his younger years as well as in his prime in this video.
Calf Machine Shoulder Shrug
The calf machine shoulder shrug is another killer exercise for the traps. Another great addition to your workout arsenal to really punish those muscles and start your path towards bigger and better traps. Position your shoulders under the shoulder pads so that the pads rest directly atop the traps. Proceed to shrug shoulders up towards the ears, rinse and repeat.
Kelso Shrug
This exercise targets the middle and lower traps. The idea behind having great trap muscles is to not only work the upper traps, but the entire muscle group in order to get the desired results. This also benefits for overall stability and health of the muscle group. While lying face down on an incline bench, grab hold of a barbell overhand and shrug the shoulders back, far enough to pinch the shoulder blades together.
Overhead Barbell Shrug
The last and probably most advanced shrug on the list is the overhead barbell shrug. The shoulders should be in a neutral position, for example holding the barbell overhead in a relaxed position. You then shrug the traps up and release slowly with control. It can’t be stressed enough that controlled shrugs are the key to avoid injury while performing these exercises.
But what if you don’t have a barbell or dumbbell in reach? What if you can’t get to the gym to train your traps? Are you going to sit it out on the sidelines or find another approach to get the job done?
We already know the answer to that, so save yourself the trouble and check out these bodyweight movements that will help with your back and trap development.
Why Do Bodyweight Trap Exercises?
While resistance training utilizing barbells and dumbbells can get your traps in some seriously impressive condition, the reality is that bodyweight exercises can be more beneficial to your overall trap development. That’s not to say weight training should be taken off of the table, but that bodyweight movements in general provide an athlete with a better understanding of the mechanics of their body.
Really understanding how to move the body to effect muscle growth and control is a great reason to learn body weight movements and the traps are no exception. In order to really strengthen the small muscles and understand the mechanics of the traps, performing a few body weight movements should also be apart of your game plan.
Power Push
Coming across the highly educated and talented personal trainer, physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach Jeff Cavaliere of Athlean-X, this movement is a truly awesome body weight trap exercise that will provide a great deal of muscle control and development. Starting a push up position, elbows tucked at your sides, you push up from the floor at a forty five degree angle rather than the traditional vertical motion of a push up.
The idea is to load the traps at the bottom portion of the movement and pushing up at an angle until your elbows are locked out, the muscle group once again loaded at the top portion of the movement. After a few reps of these there’s no doubt that your traps are going to be on fire.
Angel and Devil
Despite the unusual name for the exercise, this a movement that will really bring everything together to complete your trap training. Essentially the movement is very reminiscent of making snow angels, except you’ll be laying on your stomach to perform this one. Keeping your arms locked out through the entirety of the movement, the idea is raise your arms from your sides up to your head, the whole time keeping the back and traps engaged. It may seem like an easy exercise to pull off, but you’ll be feeling the burn after just a few reps.
Whether you’re looking to use this as a finisher or a superset, this exercise is sure to give your back and traps a thrashing. This one can be really torturous on the back so it’s suggested to try this one as a finisher first before putting it into the rest of your program on back day.
To see both of these movements in action, as well as some other great movements you can pull off with or without equipment, check out the video below featuring the genius Jeff Cavaliere himself.
Ultimately the idea behind these workouts is to both isolate the trap muscles in order to stimulate growth and as well as treat the upper back as whole to make the entire package stronger. Add these exercises to your workout plan and in no time you will have some strong, well built traps.
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Best Ways To Get Huge Traps And Why You Need Them
Increase power and strength for your body with huge traps. Oh, and look good too.
When we exercise for that toned physique, we focus on so many muscle groups and various exercises to boost our confidence and athletic performance. Maintaining a well-defined body requires diligence and hard work and while we tend to focus on our back, chest, abs, and arms for full muscle development, our traps are often neglected. But your trapezius muscle can do so much more than just add to a well-built appearance. With huge traps, your power and strength will improve for an overall full body experience.
The right exercises can really develop those traps to ultimately lead to a stellar physique, but proper training is required to avoid injury to not only these muscles, but those surrounding them like your neck and shoulders. Injury prevention is key in keeping us in the gym and working hard and strong traps will increase the load on your neck keeping you stable. For bodybuilders and powerlifters, huge traps will give you the leg up on the competition and improve your overall performance.
There are a host of different exercises to work your upper, middle, and lower traps and dedicating time to each section can add to that sculpted upper torso for attention and strength. For your physical development, trapezius exercises can recruit other muscles to generate overall growth and support (1), but the confidence you get from looking in the mirror will make you glad you focused on these often over-looked muscles.
These five exercises are great for working your traps, but the added benefit is the other muscles recruited to do these as well. Looking for challenging ways to improve your overall performance is the best way to see muscle growth and increase strength so your big gains and endurance become the forefront of your workouts.
Shrugs
Shrugs are a classic trap exercise to really work your upper trap muscles. You can use a barbell or dumbbells and either way they are a great exercise for muscle growth and muscular endurance. As a way to isolate the traps, these are a solid choice to do as a final exercise for your upper body (2).
How to: With your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the weight at thigh level. Your hand should be facing you and your body is straight with a tight core. Raise your shoulders as high as you can while keeping good form and pause slightly at the top. Gently lower down to the starting position and complete with your desired number of reps.
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Deadlift
This staple powerlifting exercise is one most notably recognized as a great workout for your back and legs, but your traps work hard to keep your back straight allowing for them to get a good burn. While your traps aren’t your main focus with a deadlift, all three sections of the trapezius are worked to give you a great pump.
How to: With your feet hip-width apart, place your hands on the grip just outside your legs. Make sure to keep a flat back and an engaged core. As you hinge at the hips to raise the weight, keep the bar in contact or as close to your legs as you can. Lift to your thighs and gently lower back to the starting position.
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Bent-Over Lateral Raise
The bent-over lateral raise is a great exercise for your back, shoulders, and traps and require you to move the weight outward. With benefits for strength, power, and overall fitness, this is a solid choice to increase shoulder strength and support (3).
How to: Bend over from the waist with your chest parallel to the floor. Holding the weights in front of you, raise both arms to shoulder height, or close to parallel to the floor. Flex the rear delts as you pause at the top and lower to the starting position.
Face Pulls
This exercise is often neglected but is great for your upper body and traps. Not only do face pulls work to promote muscle growth, but also support overall shoulder health and improve posture. They can be a great additional workout to work on the internal rotation of the shoulder joint while also providing a good burn for your traps.
How to: Using a cable machine with a rope attached, grab the rope and pull towards your face. Your arms should be parallel to the ground with your elbows higher than your wrists. Get a good squeeze and slowly return to the starting position.
Upright Rows
Upright rows are something to consider adding to your workouts because they add a challenge for your delts while also providing for mass gains in your traps (4). As an important movement for powerlifters who do a clean and press, it is important to start light to get proper form and gradually increase in weight for bigger, more effective lifts.
How to: With your feet shoulder-width apart, your grip should be slightly closer than shoulder-width apart on the bar. With a slight bend in your legs and a tight core, raise the bar up towards your head keeping it close to your body. After a slight pause, reverse the movement back to the starting position.
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Why You Need Strong Traps
Strong traps provide for stability and increased strength in the areas surrounding your upper body including your neck and shoulders (5). Providing for great ways to prevent injury, strong traps allow for better absorption for those in contact sports, but also strengthen smaller muscles around the area for increase balance and support. Your shoulders are fairly weak joints and it is important to keep them stable for they are important for almost every exercise. Increasing flexibility and range of motion can give your athletic performance that much needed boost and traps provide a solid foundation for the shoulder girdle. On top of the physical benefits, traps will really make your physique pop which is something we all want. That toned aesthetic requires all parts of our body to be strong and balanced and huge traps can really make a statement.
Wrap Up
Although they are often times overlooked, your traps should have as much attention as any other muscle group. Strong, stable traps provide for solid benefits in injury prevention and shoulder support, but the look will give you confidence and keep you standing tall. These exercises are great ways to build muscle and muscular endurance to improve your overall performance and outlook on fitness. Push yourself with these trapezius exercises to look and feel great about your progress in the gym.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Petersen, Shannon M.; Wyatt, Sarah N. (2011). “Lower Trapezius Muscle Strength in Individuals With Unilateral Neck Pain”. (source)
Armitage-Johnson, Stephanie (1990). “The Power Shrug”. (source)
Pierce, Kyle C. (1998). “Bent-Over Lateral Raise and Jerk From Rack”. (source)
McAllister, Matthew J.; Schilling, Brian K.; Hammond, Kelley G.; Weiss, Lawrence W.; Farney, Tyler M. (2013). “Effect of Grip Width on Electromyographic Activity During the Upright Row”. (source)
Petersen, Shannon M.; Wyatt, Sarah N. (2011). “Lower Trapezius Muscle Strength in Individuals With Unilateral Neck Pain”. (source)
Build Yoked Traps With This Workout
Workout For Building Mountain-Like Traps
Although the traps or trapezius muscles are the top-most muscles on the body, they are also one of the most overlooked muscle groups. Yoked traps can add to the overall aesthetics of your physique and can make you look stronger.
Most people train their trapezius muscles by doing a couple of exercises at the end of their shoulder workouts. In this workout, we’ll focus primarily on the traps so that they look like a couple of mountains rising out the top of your shoulders.
Dumbbell Upright Rows – 3 Sets 12-10-8 Reps
Dumbbell upright shrugs are an incredible exercise to build the size in the traps. Most people make the mistake of using momentum by swinging back and forth to lift the dumbbells. Doing so takes the tension off the traps.
Make sure you stretch out your traps at the bottom of the movement to recruit all the muscle fibers. Prefer dumbbells over a barbell in the upright rows as you can get a better range of motion.
Dumbbell Shrugs – 3 Sets 12 Reps
Shrugs are a staple in a trap workout. While shrugs are one of the easiest exercises to perform, most people screw up their form by lifting heavier weights than they can handle. Grab a dumbbell in each hand extended at arm’s length with a slight bend in your elbows.
Lift up your shoulders explosively with an aim to touch your ears with your shoulders. Return to the starting position with a slow and controlled movement. Keep your neck and back straight throughout the exercise and don’t use momentum by jerking at your knees.
Superset
Farmer’s Carry – 3 Sets 12 Steps on Each Side
Farmer’s carry is a compound movement and can also help in building overall strength and muscle mass. Grab a heavy dumbbell in each hand and walk around in the gym. Focus on building the tension on your traps.
Rack Deadlift – 3 Sets 12 Reps
Deadlifts are yet again a compound exercise which can add a lot of volume to your back. We limit the range of motion of the deadlifts in this workout to focus primarily on the trapezius muscle.
Machine Shrugs – 3 Sets 15 Reps
You need the right balance between the compound and isolation exercises to build monstrous traps. Machine shrugs are an isolation exercise which can help in improving the conditioning of the traps.
If you don’t have access to a machine shrug machine at your gym, you can use a shoulder press machine by standing on the seat and grabbing on to the handles. Being creative inside the gym can take you a long way.
Behind-The-Back Barbell Shrugs – 3 Sets 12-10-8 Reps
Behind-the-back barbell shrugs are different as compared to the orthodox barbell shrugs. You should consider lifting comparatively lighter weights as it’ll be harder to maintain balance while performing the exercise with a barbell behind your hamstrings.
Performing the behind-the-back barbell shrugs will target the front side of your traps. With the barbell shrugs, you’ll have trained your traps from all the possible angles in this workout.
Header image courtesy of Envato Elements
Which is your favorite muscle group? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.