This exercise is a barbell shrug, done with optimized form that works the traps MUCH better than normal technique.
The standard form of simply shrugging up the shoulders falls well short of being the BEST way to attack the traps for several reasons.
1. There's not enough time under tension.
The traps thrive on loading and tension. That's what they're built for. The short stroke of the standard shrug simply doesn't provide enough time under that load for meaningful tension. This is compounded by the way many people do shrugs, which is to use leg and back power to cheat and bounce the weight up to the top position in an effort to use as much weight as possible as fast as possible.
2. It doesn't involve as much of the overall trapezius muscle mass as it could.
Standard form involves shrugging the shoulders up. This hits primarily the very uppermost fibers of the trapezius muscle. It does work those well enough...it's just missing the bulk of the trapezius muscle fibers that aren't involved in direct upwards movement of the shoulders.
I'm not saying standard shrugging form doesn't work...it does...to a certain level.
You just have to ask yourself...am I doing the exercise to lift the most weight and because I think I should be doing it...or am I am doing it to seriously work the muscle and make it bigger?
This improved method of performing shrugs is going to address both of these above points and help you really dig in and build your traps where normal shrugs don't.
When performing this one, instead of simply shrugging the shoulders, I want you to envision locking down your entire shoulder girdle into a solid block then raising your ENTIRE shoulder girdle as high as you can, almost like you were trying to separate the upper half of your body from the lower half.
The example I like to use is on The Walking Dead when a zombie breaks in half with the lower half falling away while the upper half stays where it is (stuck on something).
This "lockdown" activates the middle section of the traps isometrically.
At the same time, you're going to also keep the bar a little bit away from your body, so you don't leverage it up your legs and the traps do all the work.
You're going to perform the movement strictly, with no assistance from your legs or lower back.
How to Do Shoulder Girdle Raise Shrugs For Upper and Lower Traps
First, set up a barbell in the rack (or you can just deadlift off the floor, too).
Check your ego at the door here and use a MUCH lighter weight than you normally would as you're learning the technique for this one. Literally just one plate on either side is fine to start with. This exercise is not about putting a ton of weight on the bar and cheating it up and down. This is about technique, tension and contraction.
If you really want to get the best idea of how to perform it, I HIGHLY recommend watching the video for this one. It's about 7 minutes long. You need to see it in action...it'll be the best trap workout you've ever done.
At the start, let the weight pull your shoulders a bit forward, stretching the traps. You will be leaning slightly forward with the bar held a little away from your legs. Try to keep it from sliding up your legs as you lift.
Lock your shoulder blades (and entire upper back) in position. Then, with a smooth movement, raise your entire shoulder girdle upwards. This part you can do either relatively slow and controlled, or you can utilize a more powerful contraction (especially as you move up to heavier loads).
At this stage, there is another form point to address...your arms will NOT stay straight.
This is very different from standard shrug form where it is taught to let your arms hang down and keep the elbows straight. We're going to change that and it's going to work better.
Imagine as though you're starting to perform an Upright Row with the barbell (you won't though...we're just looking for the intention of starting the row). The Upright Row, as tough as that exercise can be on the shoulder joints, is actually a very good trapezius exercise. We're going to get some of that trap work without compromising the shoulders.
This small action/intention targets the extreme upper fibers of other the traps that attach high up on your neck. Since you're using a lighter weight, this is not going to cause any problems with the biceps...it'll give them some good, heavy work, in fact, so no downside.
Continue the pull, up and slightly back, visualizing a strong contraction in your entire upper back.
Imagine as though you're trying to "grab" something behind you with your upper back muscles (like pinching a vertical bar between your shoulder blades). This helps further activate more muscle mass of the trapezius.
At this point, you should feel a VERY strong cramping sensation in your upper back. It should be painful...(as you'll hear in the video).
Keep pulling, contracting and squeezing the traps as hard as you can for several seconds.
Each full rep should take 5-7 seconds, from start to finish. There is no "2 reps per second" bouncing happening here.
Lower slowly and under control, all the way down to the start position. Do your best to keep tension on the traps the ENTIRE time. As you come to the bottom, let the weight pull your shoulders down and forward again to get the stretch on the traps.
Then start again with the next rep.
As far as reps go, my BEST recommendation is to completely forget about counting reps. With this exercise, don't even bother.
This exercise requires a DEEP mind-muscle connection to get the most out of it. Trying to count reps takes your focus away from that. We want your mind in the muscle from the start of the set to the end of the set.
You're going to perform "deep contraction" reps until your traps basically give out and you can't move the weight anymore.
In terms of weight selection, start light, as I mentioned above. Once you develop the feel for the movement and the contraction pattern, then start adding weight. You can add weight as long as you don't lose that contraction and can keep the traps under tension for at least 30 seconds or so without losing it.
Take 60-90 seconds rest then go again. I'd suggest 3-4 sets of this exercise.
I'm going to finish by telling you right now that after doing this variation, I literally NEVER feel the need to do a "standard form" shrug ever again. I don't get much out of them. This...however...I get a LOT out of.
You'll feel it working from the very first rep.
Another great way to involve more of the trapezius muscle in the shrug is the Cable-Dumbbell Shrug.
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