@@devtinez3220 Amazon has the first but since they take ~90% of the physical copy and 65% of ebook sales I've taken a "hard pass" on working with them in the future. I do all the work so I just can't accept that.
If you are serious, do you mean keeping them shrugged throughout or really leaning into the trap activation that comes in when you raise the dumbbells “too high”?
@@ricardoluna6744 It's actually ver simple. Use heavier dumbbells. I'm assuming you do strict lateral raises so your weight is low. Just try doing it heavier and forget about strictness (ofcourse within reason) and there's no way on earth that your traps won't be activated.
I do shrugs, but mostly bc the cost in fatigue and time is tiny. While walking by the dumbbells just grab a pair and crank out a quick set. Literally takes about 30 seconds.
Squats for traps reminds me of the HISE shrug. Definitely recommend That my traps blew up as a natural in a way never seen before- that too in my 11th year of training.
I've been fascinated by the idea of the Hise shrug for a while since I heard about it on Golden Era Bookworm's channel. Need to add it back into the program for sure.
I never felt my traps doing any shrugs until I started doing them how everyone told me not to. I thought I had the worst upper trap genetics. The rounded motion of back and up never worked for me. Shoulders touching ears never worked for me. I had to let weight hang in front of me, basically the opposite of shoulders back and chest out. Then just rotate my shoulder forward like I was trying to make them the farthest protruding body part. Now they are bigger than I ever thought I was genetically capable of and it literally only took 6 months, no roids.
That's great and yes prioritizing the stretch over the contraction is often an excellent approach. I think "shoulders to ears, then squeeze and hold" usually limits the weight to the point it's not that useful. Feels good though.
@@GVS Yes. As further possible feedback for atypical responding clients you may have, I can now feel my traps on shrugs but it feels like they are not maximally contracted. It's as if my actual neck meat wasnt in the way then my upper traps could shorten even more. I can load it until my grip gives out before I feel my traps maximally shortened or worked. But if I attempt to contract my traps while they are in a fully lengthened position, but try not to let the contraction shorten the muscle, then I feel that I am exerting maximal force with my upper traps. Thoroughly appreciate the honesty in all of your work - #1 most important trait in all human beings.
I think shrugs can be very beneficial to the average joe who sits on a computer all day long. I'd imagine that bodybuilders can get the same benefits easily from other exercises though. I'm a woman and I'm not aiming to have the biggest traps ever, but I do have shrugs in my back day. They are the only thing that get my traps really sore. Plus I like doing them🤷♀
The traps are the most developed bodypart I have and the power shrug is the reason why. Thanks Alphadestiny for this years ago, the only movement i consistently do focused on weighted stretch for a long time. Strict shrugs can't compare to this. Although I agree with your points, not for begginers and the programming must be strategic. I program them as my main back/leg/axial load movement treating them as a low pull (oly lifting background), putting them in the same category as squats and Rdls in my program (full body split alternating the three). i'd rather have more traps then too much leg development so this approach works for me.
Farmers walk has been real nice for my upper traps. Especially since I have rotator cuff tendinitis right now. Also surprisingly my mid delts get mega pumped on my first set.
Not really Steve Reeves never had big Traps. I don't have big Traps. But like Reeves I have wide shoulders. That creates the illusion of being big better that anything.
I actually learned how to program in the traps and save time from Natural Hypertrophy. It’s so genius, he basically does them in a super set after his RDL. You can super set them with rows to save time as well and or program them in your lower body days. I just sprinkle them in wherever I can, some days heavy weighted and other days lighter more volume.
Imo, the best gains i ever had were when I complemented shrugs with barbell rows. Doing one or the other doesn't do much, but combining the two gives me great gains
Personally, my favorite trap exercise is mostly passive - taking 1-2h walks with my weighted vest (mine's 29.2 kg / 64 lbs). It works the traps really well, along with most of the back and the intercostal muscles, so much so you'll need a few pauses on a bench during that time. I sometimes also do shrugs (or shrugs during farmer's walks) for variety and because they're a fun movement, but it's not a priority.
If you're wide (good delts, especially side delts) and you're not that yoked in neck area, you should do shrugs. Otherwise, if you're more narrow (traps dominant, like GVS) you should focus more on hitting them delts
@@fedoraboy8804 he hardly has any muscle at all for someone that's been training 7 years, and also his strength is poor for the time he has been training also
Shrugs are different from rows. They both work on different muscles. Shrugs for upper trap, neck muscles. Rows for upper back muscles and depending on your angulation. Then you can also talk of the upright rows instead of the bent over row. Dead lifts also, work the upper trap. But, in total you can increase your rep with Shrugs for the upper trap than you can with a deadlift. So, all differing workouts does different job on different muscles and gives varying combination of workout.
I started doing dumbell shrugs with my chest resting on a incline bench to avoid cheating and saving my lower back, because I was roasting the shit out of it trying to do barbell shrugs with a slight forward tilt. Im currently doing 30 reps following Mike Isrataels advice on shrugs. I have done all the movements you mentioned for years and I still think my traps are trash, dont know If I somehow excel in not using them. BUT mark my words, 2023 Is the year I achieve the Bugenhagen HORSENECK!
Shrugs are great, I know they help with growth and they're fun as hell I can do them all day long. That alone makes it worth it to me. Same with Rows, they're fun.
For me. I never did shrugs and did all other movements. Started doing shrugs and they definitely made a difference. My back and traps are naturally strong so unless I really isolate something it won’t grow that much so while i agree that side delt, rows,rear delt hit traps. They barely hit my traps so no response
It's like forearms and calves. If you don't hit them directly, they will not grow, at least not optimally. Deadlifts are great for the weighted stretch, but I prefer shrugs for direct work and less overall fatigue.
I just put on as heavy weights as possible on the trap bar, lift it, and hold as long as possible without straps. If it doesn't build straps it helps the grip. My grip strength is way beyond my deadlift now
The power clean/press is the only exercise you need for huge traps. Olympic weightlifters never do shrugs,and have monstrous traps. Farmer walks are useful also.
I hate shrugs. But, only because I think they're boring to do and I've found that even if I don't train them directly, they grow. Rear delt rows and Flys seem like they're enough. Before this program I've been running didn't do them for about a year.
Video suggestion: if this is feasible, it would be useful to see examples of lifters who have persisted long enough with an effective hypertrophy regimen and achieved a spectrum of results--with an indication of where they sit on the bell curve. We hear that genetics matter and that it's impossible to know whether you've neared your natty limit. I find that this leaves me hoping that there is still an inner Steve Reeves waiting to emerge after literally decades of dedicated lifting. 🙏 😀 It might be helpful to get a sense of what the spectrum of potentiality looks like. Again, I don't know whether that is feasible in practice--how you would find the examples, verify competent training and natty status, etc.. I think that a good place to start might well be athletes in various disciplines that benefit from strength but don't primarily select for strength & size potential. Athletes are much less likely to be natty, but they are a well-documented and categorised population who presumably have good strength programmes wherever it's a priority in their sport. It could be useful to say: "Bearing in mind that these folk are unlikely to be natty, here's the diversity of strength-trained individuals. Now imagine they weren't on gear--you've now got a bell curve that only includes athletes--still not representative of the general population".
First, that audio clip of The Critical Drinker saying "Dount know" was brilliant and 2) I like doing the John Meadows dumbbell shrugs followed by dumbbell RDLs. Burns your traps harder than hellfire
To avoid axial loading on shrugs, I do chest supported dumbbell shrugs. I lie on an incline bench, like a chest supported db row, and just shrug up. It tends to be quite a bit of neck as well as traps, but I love them
@@ezravall1677 Hm. OK. Just be careful your not completely omitting all kinds of axial loading. I don’t know where you are in your recovery - if it’s early then understandable - but hopefully you’ll start working back into it.
From personal experience, Ive never done shrungs before(maybe once or twice) and my traps r one of my strong points. This is because I've been doing cleans for the past 5 years
Totally excellent video! Highly appreciate the effort you put into making these for us. These videos are immensely helpful and highly valuable. Fantastic work. 🙏
I have somewhat recently (about 6 weeks ago) added them right after my deadlifts, rather as a "pump" type of excercise. I have to say they feel excelent. I felt traps doms for the first time in my life, and i think i can already see a little bit of difference in the mirror as well. So guess it depends of the person. It is also worth noting that i have done bunch of row/overhead press variations in the past but i think i couldn't cause that much of a stimulus this way.
It all works. It just depends on how your body responds to certain lifts. In terms of traps my current setup is rack pulls 3 sets heavy shit, cheat shrugs super set w/upright rows 2 sets as a finisher, 2 sets strict light dbell laterall raises. On a crazier day I would add farmers walk 2sets of whatever is left in the tank at the end. Eat and recover.
I feel the more your traps grow the more they take away from your shoulder width. I would rather have really wide shoulders and little underdeveloped traps (if that underdevelopment is contributing towards shoulder width). Anyway I never train traps for the same reason as overdeveloping them for your size takes away from your aesthetics but even after never training them my traps always remained balanced. Never I felt that they are underdeveloped.
Quite funny: in all your Videos i never saw You doing any Kind of Isolation movement. All your exercises Change to a Kind of compound because everything is moving. No question that traps are get worked in Most cases. Anyway, seems to Work for You. But watching especialy your "laterals" or rear-delt Work keeps me smiling everytime.(but also Wonder how your Delts still got enough Stimulation from that. Seems to Work with Just overload). You already mentioned that You See yourself AS a Wirkung horse. Absolute agree with that.
The Charles Glass dumbbell shrug where you supinate the moment upward is a great trapezius workout. Also, behind back bar prorated grip light weight high rep is another in my sets. Last, a great heavy dumbbell is just slightly bent forward and row from the side as if performing a row shrug. Great for heavy lift hitting traps, posterior delta, back and biceps.
My main movement for traps is conventional deadlifts. Secondary some row variation, but I get the most insane trap DOMS from high rep deadlifts and my traps are by far my most developed muscle. Isometrics do work.
Heavy farmers walks will smoke the traps, but they hit so many other things effectively, that it is worth the fatigue cost. You know how fat guys get fat from walking? Well you can get the same fat guy effect from heavy farmers walks. It develops the forearms, and hands faster than you would expect. It hammers the Obliques, and it really hits the glute medius, and hip flexors. It hits the rest of the body too, but those are the main areas that it just cooks. They are actually really good for conditioning as well. I actually develop a very pronounced hemerhoid on my forhead when I do them.
I find that the overhead press as in barbell OHP can replace the shrugs for the purpose of trap gains. Because when I do them, I try to raise the barbell as high as possible, this is essentially a shrug with your hands above your head
for me, reverse flies and dumbbell pullovers destroy my traps. If you look at the muscle fiber alignment, a reverse fly is going to target them specifically since they attach to the spine of the scapula, especially if you pinch your scapulae together in the movement. In a pullover, the traps are basically working for the entire movement to stabilize your scapulae, so in a way a pullover is an isometric trap exercise, along with all the other muscles it works out.
They provide greater ROM, which allows you to feel the contraction more. That doesn’t mean it was responsible for the growth. Olympic lifts and their variations are great for traps because they’re some of the only movements in the gym that train the traps dynamically. This could be achieved through power shrugs too.
I do once in 3 days total body. Do face pulls allways and once in 6 days I do shrugs with cables. Next day I feel them like I hit them very well. So not planning to stop that. Thanks for the upload!
I don’t think you have to do shrugs specifically but some direct trap work is a must. Either rack pulls or farmer’s carries or upright rows or something beyond deadlift and rows. Most ppl who lift have underdeveloped traps, even when the rest of their back is great
Traps are so easy to train that easily overgrown other parts like shoulders and begin to look ugly. I needed to stop to train them specifically to focus more on shoulders and isolate the more. now I train once at week with shrugs.
just make sure your traps aren't disporportionate to the rest of your physique. to me one of the least aesthetic things is for someone to have massive traps but small delts and chest
I personally don’t think it’s possible to have traps that overpower your physique. As long as you don’t have terribly rounded forward posture I think the bigger the traps the better. Plus if you’re working out enough to get huge traps your other muscles are probably decent as well
@@jlol933 Massive traps only really become offensive when the person is obviously juiced out of their mind, and they get proportionately massive. Even then it only looks really weird in some poses
@@jooot_6850 Yeah I was going to say this. As a natural lifter you can have gigantic traps, but they will never overpower the rest of your physique like some claim. Alphadestiny at the height of his yoke phase is a perfect example of this.
Behind the back shrugs on the smith machine works well. Also upright rows with a narrow grip is good for the upper traps. And the behind the neck press.
“According to the latest EMG research, doing 6.48 sets of shrugs at a frequency of 3.82 times per week at an RPE of 7.46 will maximize the clavicular head of the upper traps, this optimizing the sarcoplasmic hypertrophy of the trapezius satellite cells” -Jeremy Ethier, probably
I do deadlifts with a trap bar (easier on my lower back), then move onto power shrugs. It's really convenient since I can get both done without having to unload/reload weights or move to a different station.
I've done many of these exercises over the years, but have never felt a thing in my traps the next day. One day, I did a set of outside-the-legs double kettlebell swings with just 16K bells. The next day my traps were FRIED. (BTW, you look much better when you don't trim the upper part of your beard.)
Interesting, i do shrugs heavy twice every week and it has given good results and i really like doing it with various exercises. However sometimes when having done heavy back exercises and then doing shrugs i feel way weaker on shrugs since Traps must be pretty fried.
I think what you said at the end is really important. Really any lift (that isn’t obviously stupid) will have some benefit for an advanced lifter. Power shrugs might help someone 6+ years into lifting squeeze out a little extra muscle in their upper traps during a massing phase, but they have absolutely no place in a beginners program. I see a lot of beginners doing super weird bicep curl variations, weird chest supported dumbbell back excersizes, among various other hilarious things, when they should really be focusing on compound lifts with really the only isolation work they do being for side delts, calves, and maybe hamstrings and rear delts.
chest supported dumbbell rows are excellent even for beginners, I don"t know what you are talking about ? They can absolutely replace the BB Row or regular DB row as a variation or even a main lift as they deload the lower back and provide insane stimulus to fatigue It's also a coumpound movement
Whenever the weights are in your hands, for almost any pulling or pressing exercise, traps are involved. Even legs exercises count if weight is in hands or stabilized on clavicle/upper back. So I personally don't use shrugs. Also, if you have normal to narrow clavicle, regular sized delts, and not a narrow waist line, then overdeveloped traps don't look aesthetically pleasing. You would look blocky type.
I do barbell shrugs with a snatch grip to target the traps, and they get hit on my rowing and facepull work too. Feel them every time. Guess time will tell, if they grow 🙃
1:05 "Shrugs don't work the traps" is intuitively quite silly. If you feel a mad stretch and contraction in a particular muscle, odds are its usually the prime mover (although this may arguably not apply to certain compounds)
I personally wouldn't bother with normal shugs but things like power shrugs and rack pulls are generally the only way your traps are going to see the amounts of weights that challenge them. Since you can rack pull a lot more than your deadlift and powershrugs offer a lot of stretch at the bottom.
I've been doing shrugs since I started training traps and my traps are a strong point and responded insanely to newbie gains, but at this point I have gotten a huge pallet cleanse from lu raises I have gotten me the biggest feel, connection and soreness (slightly, haven't had sore traps in forever) in a long time.
I do shrugs only because I had almost non existent traps now they're one one my biggest body parts. Doesn't mean I barbell shrug super heavy all the time but I always have some shrug variation. But I understand everybody's body responds different.
Today's sponsor...ME!
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Already got them in ebook form do you sell them in paper back would buy all three again for that price its that good
@@devtinez3220 Amazon has the first but since they take ~90% of the physical copy and 65% of ebook sales I've taken a "hard pass" on working with them in the future. I do all the work so I just can't accept that.
I got very well-developed upper traps very quickly by doing lateral raises with 'shruggy' form
I regret nothing
Based!
If you are serious, do you mean keeping them shrugged throughout or really leaning into the trap activation that comes in when you raise the dumbbells “too high”?
Interesting tell me more i use a hex bar and just hold for dear life
🎯
@@ricardoluna6744 It's actually ver simple. Use heavier dumbbells. I'm assuming you do strict lateral raises so your weight is low. Just try doing it heavier and forget about strictness (ofcourse within reason) and there's no way on earth that your traps won't be activated.
My response: shrug 🤷♂️
Please pin this 📌
Cute.
🤷♂️ ion even know bruh
shrek shrug
@powerlius2730 masterful comment! So simple, yet so elegant. Just subbed to you for this! Haha
1:05 “Shrugs don’t work traps” will be my new meme for Instagram
Be carefull, liftrunbang might block you.
I do shrugs, but mostly bc the cost in fatigue and time is tiny. While walking by the dumbbells just grab a pair and crank out a quick set. Literally takes about 30 seconds.
Dumbells get too light really fast though. I can shrug over 300 pounds with a barbell and the biggest dumbells at my gym are 120.
If you have the DBs. With the bb you'd have to load up all that weight and clean up for what? An inch of movement?
Squats for traps reminds me of the HISE shrug. Definitely recommend That my traps blew up as a natural in a way never seen before- that too in my 11th year of training.
I've been fascinated by the idea of the Hise shrug for a while since I heard about it on Golden Era Bookworm's channel. Need to add it back into the program for sure.
@@Wayf4rer W to the both of y’all for knowing of the Hise Shrug and Golden Era Bookworm
I better see some power shrugs on here…
New setup looking clean brotha!
Thanks! Yea you feature later in the vid, your take on the movement was solid IMO. Best way to shrug.
I naturally get big or decent sized traps without any direct trap work. Just training the back correctly get's them working in my experience.
I never felt my traps doing any shrugs until I started doing them how everyone told me not to.
I thought I had the worst upper trap genetics.
The rounded motion of back and up never worked for me. Shoulders touching ears never worked for me.
I had to let weight hang in front of me, basically the opposite of shoulders back and chest out. Then just rotate my shoulder forward like I was trying to make them the farthest protruding body part.
Now they are bigger than I ever thought I was genetically capable of and it literally only took 6 months, no roids.
Some people say it’s better to Lean forward to shrug
That's great and yes prioritizing the stretch over the contraction is often an excellent approach.
I think "shoulders to ears, then squeeze and hold" usually limits the weight to the point it's not that useful. Feels good though.
Yep.
@@OMAR-vk9pi absolutely, if you don't lean forward there's a high risk that the bar will touch your pen... nevermind
@@GVS Yes. As further possible feedback for atypical responding clients you may have, I can now feel my traps on shrugs but it feels like they are not maximally contracted. It's as if my actual neck meat wasnt in the way then my upper traps could shorten even more.
I can load it until my grip gives out before I feel my traps maximally shortened or worked. But if I attempt to contract my traps while they are in a fully lengthened position, but try not to let the contraction shorten the muscle, then I feel that I am exerting maximal force with my upper traps.
Thoroughly appreciate the honesty in all of your work - #1 most important trait in all human beings.
I think shrugs can be very beneficial to the average joe who sits on a computer all day long. I'd imagine that bodybuilders can get the same benefits easily from other exercises though.
I'm a woman and I'm not aiming to have the biggest traps ever, but I do have shrugs in my back day. They are the only thing that get my traps really sore. Plus I like doing them🤷♀
The traps are the most developed bodypart I have and the power shrug is the reason why. Thanks Alphadestiny for this years ago, the only movement i consistently do focused on weighted stretch for a long time. Strict shrugs can't compare to this.
Although I agree with your points, not for begginers and the programming must be strategic. I program them as my main back/leg/axial load movement treating them as a low pull (oly lifting background), putting them in the same category as squats and Rdls in my program (full body split alternating the three). i'd rather have more traps then too much leg development so this approach works for me.
Farmers walk has been real nice for my upper traps. Especially since I have rotator cuff tendinitis right now.
Also surprisingly my mid delts get mega pumped on my first set.
Just bought your book, I know it's going to be excellent :)
Appreciate the support, enjoy it! :)
My initial reaction to the question in the title was "Yes, especially if the shrug is at the top part of an overhead press."
Yes most definitely.
Big traps are the key to looking jacked 🦍
Not really Steve Reeves never had big Traps. I don't have big Traps. But like Reeves I have wide shoulders. That creates the illusion of being big better that anything.
Shrugs aggravate my neck issues. I just do heavy KB holds with straps, like 5 sets of 1 minute. It’s all weighted stretch!
I actually learned how to program in the traps and save time from Natural Hypertrophy. It’s so genius, he basically does them in a super set after his RDL. You can super set them with rows to save time as well and or program them in your lower body days. I just sprinkle them in wherever I can, some days heavy weighted and other days lighter more volume.
This video is what i needed to put BTN Press back in my rotation, thank you Geoff
I did BTN exclusively for 30 years.
Imo, the best gains i ever had were when I complemented shrugs with barbell rows. Doing one or the other doesn't do much, but combining the two gives me great gains
Personally, my favorite trap exercise is mostly passive - taking 1-2h walks with my weighted vest (mine's 29.2 kg / 64 lbs). It works the traps really well, along with most of the back and the intercostal muscles, so much so you'll need a few pauses on a bench during that time.
I sometimes also do shrugs (or shrugs during farmer's walks) for variety and because they're a fun movement, but it's not a priority.
Not mentioned but also really good imo are farmers walks
If you're wide (good delts, especially side delts) and you're not that yoked in neck area, you should do shrugs. Otherwise, if you're more narrow (traps dominant, like GVS) you should focus more on hitting them delts
Agree, yes. Most people will find either one or the other takes over (as well as lats or traps for pulls)
Mate if you think he's dominant in anything shit I'd like to see your physique
@@ryanross595 post physique then?
@@ryanross595 let's not kid ourselves he doesn't have perfect muscle proportions he even said so himself
@@fedoraboy8804 he hardly has any muscle at all for someone that's been training 7 years, and also his strength is poor for the time he has been training also
Shrugs are different from rows.
They both work on different muscles.
Shrugs for upper trap, neck muscles.
Rows for upper back muscles and depending on your angulation.
Then you can also talk of the upright rows instead of the bent over row.
Dead lifts also, work the upper trap.
But, in total you can increase your rep with Shrugs for the upper trap than you can with a deadlift.
So, all differing workouts does different job on different muscles and gives varying combination of workout.
I started doing dumbell shrugs with my chest resting on a incline bench to avoid cheating and saving my lower back, because I was roasting the shit out of it trying to do barbell shrugs with a slight forward tilt. Im currently doing 30 reps following Mike Isrataels advice on shrugs. I have done all the movements you mentioned for years and I still think my traps are trash, dont know If I somehow excel in not using them. BUT mark my words, 2023 Is the year I achieve the Bugenhagen HORSENECK!
good luck!
Thanks for the vid!
You're very welcome!
Shrugs are great, I know they help with growth and they're fun as hell I can do them all day long. That alone makes it worth it to me. Same with Rows, they're fun.
Thanks my dude, just bought your most recent book and looking forward to learn more.
I’d say your going to get more trap work from front squats going heavy and specifically if you can using clean grip or the strap version of clean grip
loving the critical drinker cut in ! good stuff as per mate
For me. I never did shrugs and did all other movements. Started doing shrugs and they definitely made a difference. My back and traps are naturally strong so unless I really isolate something it won’t grow that much so while i agree that side delt, rows,rear delt hit traps. They barely hit my traps so no response
It's like forearms and calves. If you don't hit them directly, they will not grow, at least not optimally.
Deadlifts are great for the weighted stretch, but I prefer shrugs for direct work and less overall fatigue.
I just put on as heavy weights as possible on the trap bar, lift it, and hold as long as possible without straps. If it doesn't build straps it helps the grip. My grip strength is way beyond my deadlift now
The power clean/press is the only exercise you need for huge traps.
Olympic weightlifters never do shrugs,and have monstrous traps.
Farmer walks are useful also.
Dude, I recently discovered that _gains_ are killing my gains!
😱😱
I hate shrugs. But, only because I think they're boring to do and I've found that even if I don't train them directly, they grow. Rear delt rows and Flys seem like they're enough. Before this program I've been running didn't do them for about a year.
Video suggestion: if this is feasible, it would be useful to see examples of lifters who have persisted long enough with an effective hypertrophy regimen and achieved a spectrum of results--with an indication of where they sit on the bell curve.
We hear that genetics matter and that it's impossible to know whether you've neared your natty limit. I find that this leaves me hoping that there is still an inner Steve Reeves waiting to emerge after literally decades of dedicated lifting. 🙏 😀
It might be helpful to get a sense of what the spectrum of potentiality looks like. Again, I don't know whether that is feasible in practice--how you would find the examples, verify competent training and natty status, etc..
I think that a good place to start might well be athletes in various disciplines that benefit from strength but don't primarily select for strength & size potential. Athletes are much less likely to be natty, but they are a well-documented and categorised population who presumably have good strength programmes wherever it's a priority in their sport. It could be useful to say: "Bearing in mind that these folk are unlikely to be natty, here's the diversity of strength-trained individuals. Now imagine they weren't on gear--you've now got a bell curve that only includes athletes--still not representative of the general population".
Great message. I've never done a shrug in my life, and my traps are at least as developed as my other muscles.
First, that audio clip of The Critical Drinker saying "Dount know" was brilliant and 2) I like doing the John Meadows dumbbell shrugs followed by dumbbell RDLs. Burns your traps harder than hellfire
To avoid axial loading on shrugs, I do chest supported dumbbell shrugs. I lie on an incline bench, like a chest supported db row, and just shrug up. It tends to be quite a bit of neck as well as traps, but I love them
Why do you avoid axial loading?
@@robmarsh918 probably just saving it for squats/deadlifts
I have a back injury. Can’t handle too much volume
@@ezravall1677 Hm. OK. Just be careful your not completely omitting all kinds of axial loading. I don’t know where you are in your recovery - if it’s early then understandable - but hopefully you’ll start working back into it.
@@robmarsh918 Because it sucks
From personal experience, Ive never done shrungs before(maybe once or twice) and my traps r one of my strong points. This is because I've been doing cleans for the past 5 years
This might be the reason, why I always wake up with a stiff neck when I did shrugs on Back/Pull day.. Thx!
Totally excellent video! Highly appreciate the effort you put into making these for us. These videos are immensely helpful and highly valuable. Fantastic work. 🙏
Nice, congrats on the new place
I have somewhat recently (about 6 weeks ago) added them right after my deadlifts, rather as a "pump" type of excercise. I have to say they feel excelent. I felt traps doms for the first time in my life, and i think i can already see a little bit of difference in the mirror as well. So guess it depends of the person. It is also worth noting that i have done bunch of row/overhead press variations in the past but i think i couldn't cause that much of a stimulus this way.
I've never trained them because traps have always been a strong point in my physique even before working out
0:08 Lol that Critical Drinker reference was based 🗿
Lol. Love the Critical Drinker reference not even 10 seconds in 👍🏼
Very interesting, I never thought of it like this. I do enjoy shrugs though.
Shrugs are like forearm work, or calves for some people. You want to do it, but always skip it
Drinker’s “don’t knooo” is a big part of my wife’s and my daily vocabulary. Happy to see it here. lol
It all works. It just depends on how your body responds to certain lifts. In terms of traps my current setup is rack pulls 3 sets heavy shit, cheat shrugs super set w/upright rows 2 sets as a finisher, 2 sets strict light dbell laterall raises. On a crazier day I would add farmers walk 2sets of whatever is left in the tank at the end. Eat and recover.
I feel the more your traps grow the more they take away from your shoulder width. I would rather have really wide shoulders and little underdeveloped traps (if that underdevelopment is contributing towards shoulder width). Anyway I never train traps for the same reason as overdeveloping them for your size takes away from your aesthetics but even after never training them my traps always remained balanced. Never I felt that they are underdeveloped.
That's why silver age guys like Steve Reeves avoided training them, they felt like a thick neck was unaesthetic and took away from the delts.
Nice to see your monetizing more. You deserve some cash
I never did direct trap work and yet i think its my best body part, but i am very strong at pulling due to my huge wingspan.
Quite funny: in all your Videos i never saw You doing any Kind of Isolation movement. All your exercises Change to a Kind of compound because everything is moving. No question that traps are get worked in Most cases. Anyway, seems to Work for You. But watching especialy your "laterals" or rear-delt Work keeps me smiling everytime.(but also Wonder how your Delts still got enough Stimulation from that. Seems to Work with Just overload). You already mentioned that You See yourself AS a Wirkung horse. Absolute agree with that.
Lol good to know Paul blocks many people - you sir are gentleman and a scholar
Regarding 0:17 you already do have a small panel and some wood behind your left shoulder... good start.
My traps got so big I rarely train them anymore . Snatch grip high pulls are next level god mode
The Charles Glass dumbbell shrug where you supinate the moment upward is a great trapezius workout.
Also, behind back bar prorated grip light weight high rep is another in my sets.
Last, a great heavy dumbbell is just slightly bent forward and row from the side as if performing a row shrug.
Great for heavy lift hitting traps, posterior delta, back and biceps.
My main movement for traps is conventional deadlifts. Secondary some row variation, but I get the most insane trap DOMS from high rep deadlifts and my traps are by far my most developed muscle. Isometrics do work.
Heavy farmers walks will smoke the traps, but they hit so many other things effectively, that it is worth the fatigue cost. You know how fat guys get fat from walking? Well you can get the same fat guy effect from heavy farmers walks. It develops the forearms, and hands faster than you would expect. It hammers the Obliques, and it really hits the glute medius, and hip flexors. It hits the rest of the body too, but those are the main areas that it just cooks. They are actually really good for conditioning as well. I actually develop a very pronounced hemerhoid on my forhead when I do them.
My traps blew up in school classes.I shrugged of the teachers questions.😎😎💪💪🔥🔥
I find that the overhead press as in barbell OHP can replace the shrugs for the purpose of trap gains. Because when I do them, I try to raise the barbell as high as possible, this is essentially a shrug with your hands above your head
I like how Yates is rowing with a completely shattered and broken plate in the thumbnail
for me, reverse flies and dumbbell pullovers destroy my traps. If you look at the muscle fiber alignment, a reverse fly is going to target them specifically since they attach to the spine of the scapula, especially if you pinch your scapulae together in the movement. In a pullover, the traps are basically working for the entire movement to stabilize your scapulae, so in a way a pullover is an isometric trap exercise, along with all the other muscles it works out.
Snatch Grip High Pulls are what REALLY made my traps grow noticeably!
Yeah those are the best for traps tbh
They provide greater ROM, which allows you to feel the contraction more. That doesn’t mean it was responsible for the growth. Olympic lifts and their variations are great for traps because they’re some of the only movements in the gym that train the traps dynamically. This could be achieved through power shrugs too.
I do once in 3 days total body. Do face pulls allways and once in 6 days I do shrugs with cables. Next day I feel them like I hit them very well. So not planning to stop that.
Thanks for the upload!
I don’t think you have to do shrugs specifically but some direct trap work is a must. Either rack pulls or farmer’s carries or upright rows or something beyond deadlift and rows. Most ppl who lift have underdeveloped traps, even when the rest of their back is great
Traps are so easy to train that easily overgrown other parts like shoulders and begin to look ugly. I needed to stop to train them specifically to focus more on shoulders and isolate the more. now I train once at week with shrugs.
Imo farmers walks probably more time efficient and less axial loading than a shrug. Added benefit of grip work and also gets people moving
I have done very heavy lateral raises with sub-optimal form for years and inadvertently developed my traps.
*Sees title*
Me: *Shrugging* "I don't know"
I am doing shrugs EVERY F DAY, multiple times a day, and the results are amazing.
just make sure your traps aren't disporportionate to the rest of your physique. to me one of the least aesthetic things is for someone to have massive traps but small delts and chest
@@xKmanify I am making sure I am consistent 💪
I personally don’t think it’s possible to have traps that overpower your physique. As long as you don’t have terribly rounded forward posture I think the bigger the traps the better. Plus if you’re working out enough to get huge traps your other muscles are probably decent as well
@@jlol933 Massive traps only really become offensive when the person is obviously juiced out of their mind, and they get proportionately massive. Even then it only looks really weird in some poses
@@jooot_6850 Yeah I was going to say this. As a natural lifter you can have gigantic traps, but they will never overpower the rest of your physique like some claim. Alphadestiny at the height of his yoke phase is a perfect example of this.
Behind the back shrugs on the smith machine works well. Also upright rows with a narrow grip is good for the upper traps. And the behind the neck press.
Really liked the "Critical Drinker" sound byte
“According to the latest EMG research, doing 6.48 sets of shrugs at a frequency of 3.82 times per week at an RPE of 7.46 will maximize the clavicular head of the upper traps, this optimizing the sarcoplasmic hypertrophy of the trapezius satellite cells”
-Jeremy Ethier, probably
Every time you pass up a set of shrugs, Ronnie cries...
I do deadlifts with a trap bar (easier on my lower back), then move onto power shrugs. It's really convenient since I can get both done without having to unload/reload weights or move to a different station.
I've done many of these exercises over the years, but have never felt a thing in my traps the next day. One day, I did a set of outside-the-legs double kettlebell swings with just 16K bells. The next day my traps were FRIED. (BTW, you look much better when you don't trim the upper part of your beard.)
Interesting, i do shrugs heavy twice every week and it has given good results and i really like doing it with various exercises. However sometimes when having done heavy back exercises and then doing shrugs i feel way weaker on shrugs since Traps must be pretty fried.
I think what you said at the end is really important. Really any lift (that isn’t obviously stupid) will have some benefit for an advanced lifter. Power shrugs might help someone 6+ years into lifting squeeze out a little extra muscle in their upper traps during a massing phase, but they have absolutely no place in a beginners program. I see a lot of beginners doing super weird bicep curl variations, weird chest supported dumbbell back excersizes, among various other hilarious things, when they should really be focusing on compound lifts with really the only isolation work they do being for side delts, calves, and maybe hamstrings and rear delts.
chest supported dumbbell rows are excellent even for beginners, I don"t know what you are talking about ? They can absolutely replace the BB Row or regular DB row as a variation or even a main lift as they deload the lower back and provide insane stimulus to fatigue
It's also a coumpound movement
The fly machine is also pretty good for traps.
Laughed at the Drinker’s voice tossed in.
Nice Critical Drinker reference in the beginning
I don't know but i do like doing them
congrats on the new place!
have doin shrugs every training... i love it
I know a guy who has the biggest traps ...He works a wheelbarrow all day everyday. Crazy Traps!
Loved the critical drinker reference at the start there.
Bro rowed so hard that the barbell started to vanish from the thumbnail
I SEE GEOF VIDEO I CLICK
Whenever the weights are in your hands, for almost any pulling or pressing exercise, traps are involved. Even legs exercises count if weight is in hands or stabilized on clavicle/upper back.
So I personally don't use shrugs.
Also, if you have normal to narrow clavicle, regular sized delts, and not a narrow waist line, then overdeveloped traps don't look aesthetically pleasing. You would look blocky type.
I do barbell shrugs with a snatch grip to target the traps, and they get hit on my rowing and facepull work too.
Feel them every time.
Guess time will tell, if they grow 🙃
Keep on pushin my g. I just bought your bundle deal👌
Appreciate the support, enjoy it!
0:08 Oh my, was that Critical Drinker's "Don't know!" 😂
1:05 "Shrugs don't work the traps" is intuitively quite silly. If you feel a mad stretch and contraction in a particular muscle, odds are its usually the prime mover (although this may arguably not apply to certain compounds)
I personally wouldn't bother with normal shugs but things like power shrugs and rack pulls are generally the only way your traps are going to see the amounts of weights that challenge them. Since you can rack pull a lot more than your deadlift and powershrugs offer a lot of stretch at the bottom.
Love the clip from Critical Dirnker!
I've been doing shrugs since I started training traps and my traps are a strong point and responded insanely to newbie gains, but at this point I have gotten a huge pallet cleanse from lu raises I have gotten me the biggest feel, connection and soreness (slightly, haven't had sore traps in forever) in a long time.
I do shrugs only because I had almost non existent traps now they're one one my biggest body parts. Doesn't mean I barbell shrug super heavy all the time but I always have some shrug variation. But I understand everybody's body responds different.