Building mass and strength in your traps not only produces the classic bodybuilder look, but it also plays an important role in supporting your posture and upper body training. Traps exercises are a vital component of any upper body training regimen, and we’ve collected the finest traps exercises for you to try.
Dumbbell Shrugs
Shrugs are probably one of the first exercises that spring to mind when you think about exercising your traps. They are a great exercise for all levels of fitness since they can be performed with anything from dumbbells and barbells to cables or a trap bar.
- With your palms facing inward, hold a dumbbell in each hand by your side.
- Raise your shoulders as high as you can.
- After a brief pause, slowly lower the dumbbells back to their starting position.
- Repeat until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.
Dumbbell Upright Rows
The dumbbell upright row is a compound exercise that targets deltoids, trapezius, and triceps. They are performed by taking an overhand grip on a pair of dumbbells and lifting them vertically in front of you until they reach shoulder height.
You can improve your deadlifts, bench presses, and pull-ups by performing dumbbell upright rows regularly.
- Grasp the dumbbells at arm’s length down by your thighs, palms facing you.
- Lift the dumbbells slowly, maintaining them close to your body and pushing the motion with your elbows.
- Pause for a second at the peak of the action once the dumbbells are level with your collarbone.
- Lower the dumbbells slowly back down to your thighs.
- Repeat until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.
Seated Dumbbell Shrug
Seated Dumbbell shrugs are an easy and essential weightlifting exercise to incorporate into your strength training routine because it fully activates the upper back muscle fibers. Developing your traps will not only help you look bigger, but it will also help you with compound exercises such as the squat and deadlift.
- Sit on a bench hand down at your sides, and grasp the dumbbells with a neutral grip,
- Allow your shoulders to “sag” as far as they can. This is the exercise’s starting position.
- Slowly raise your shoulders as far as possible.
- After a brief pause, slowly lower the dumbbells back to their starting position.
- Repeat until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.
Reverse Dumbbell Fly
The reverse dumbbell fly is an exercise that targets the muscles in the shoulder and upper back. Having strong upper back muscles helps you maintain a healthy posture and prevents injuries to your shoulder.
- Grasp a pair of dumbbells and bend your hips forward until your body is nearly parallel to the floor, with your feet are shoulder-width apart.
- Allow the dumbbells to hang straight from your shoulders, palms facing each other and arms slightly bent.
- Raise your arms straight out to your sides until they are in line with your body, keeping your back flat and your torso sill.
- Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.
Try out these shoulder exercises or create your own traps muscle workout. We’ve compiled a list of the top traps exercises for developing larger, more developed traps muscles. It’s now time to put them to the test.