Trapezius Workouts. 9 Ways To Get Your Traps To Grow

If you’re unsatisfied with the size of your traps, give me just 3 minutes here and I’ll give you some advice that will have them GROWING again in no time!

If I had to name the one exercise that attracts the most negative feedback from trainees, it would be trap shrugs. People complain that they just can’t feel this movement.

This is understandable since the percentage of people in the gym that do this exercise correctly would be rather low.

Now this is a real pity since shrugs are the best traps exercise there is in my opinion. But they have to be done correctly!

So how are people getting this movement wrong?

My observations have lead me to conclude that the vast majority of people:

 Involve the biceps far too much by NOT having their arms dead straight. This transfers much of the load away from the traps to the arms.

 Use too much momentum/the cadence is too fast

 Don’t use anywhere close to a full range of motion

Before I recommend how you should correct this and stimulate some growth, let me give you a quick warning…

Drop your ego a little and be prepared to lift a lighter load

Ok? Good.

Remember, you’re in this game to actually change your body. Not to boast about the loads you can lift. “Absolute” loads aren’t anywhere near as important as “relative” loads i.e. as long as your PERSONAL strength is increasing over time, that’s all that matters. Remember that small, incremental increases in load work best in the long term.

Here’s my recommendations. Take them and USE them ASAP!

If you do, the first thing you’ll notice is that you’ll experience soreness (DOMS) in your traps within 48 hrs. When was the last time your traps were sore? The second thing you’ll notice is that your traps will actually start to grow for a change! (I’m being facetious here  )

THT should ALWAYS produce strength and growth. You can have 100% certainty about success on this program.

So here’s what you should do during your next traps workout…

(1) Try giving up the dumbbells and barbells and pick up a trap bar, use the smith machine, or even a low pulley. Trap shrugs are one of the exercises where taking stabilization OUT of the equation is a good thing.

The above methods will allow you to do this, enabling you to produce MORE force and concentrate SOLELY on the issue of producing maximal trap contractions.

(2) Reduce the cadence/go slower. You simply can’t do shrugs quickly; they won’t work to stimulate growth in the natural lifter if done rapidly. Try a 2-1-3 cadence. Lift for 2 seconds, hold at the Peak Contraction Point (PCP) for 1 second, and lower under full muscular control for 3 seconds.

(3) On the issue of the PCP, make sure you actually hit it! There’s a visualization exercise I give to people who are having trouble with this exercise. When performing the positive/lifting part of the rep, try to visualize attempting to make your shoulders touch your ears. It’s physically impossible to do so, but that’s not the point. It will FORCE you to fully contract your traps and get into that all important PCP for a maximal muscular contraction.

(4) Do the negative! You’ll often see this critical mistake being made in the gym. Guys just skip the negative and focus only on the positive. Lowering the weight under muscular control is as important as the lifting/positive part of the rep. You do NOT drop the weight. A rep is not just a lift. A rep is a lift AND a lowering. For this exercise allow the traps (and the traps only) to lower the weight back into the starting position.

(5) Let it hang! I just said to lower the load under control into the starting position. The starting position is ALL the way down. Basically, it’s the point where your shoulder blades can’t physically get any lower.

You’ll know you’re in it when there is no tension on your arms; they are straight and hanging like chains. The weight is simply hanging there and producing a real STRETCH across the traps; trust me, you’ll feel it. Mentally tell yourself to let the weight “hang” at the bottom of each rep.

(6) Straight arms. Like I mentioned above, your arms should not be assisting in the lift. In order to take them out of the equation, keep them straight (fully extended) throughout the lifting and lowering. This transfers 100% of the load to the traps themselves.

(7) Try higher reps. To begin getting this movement right, try using higher reps until you get the hang of it. Instead of aiming to reach failure on the tenth rep, try 12-15 reps for a week or 2 until you really master correct form. Then you can increase the load a little and reach failure in a lower rep range.

(8) Reduce the load. In order to accommodate all of the above recommendations, you’ll almost certainly have to reduce the load a little. This is not a big deal. If it’s bruising your ego, just get over it. The fact is that if you keep doing what you’re currently doing, you’ll produce the same result. If you’re not happy with your results, then you HAVE to change your method to produce a different outcome. Simple.

(9) On a related note, make sure you are doing deadlifts for full trap development. Heavy deadlifts are great for stimulating growth in the traps and will help you continually get stronger in your shrugs too. So don’t neglect to do this important compound movement on back day!

My personal favorite way to hit my traps is by shrugging with a low pulley. The movement is so smooth and I can really concentrate on fully contracting the intended muscle. The only issue here is if your gym has enough weight on the stack for you.

I’m sure many of you will require loads over 100kg and I know some gyms can’t accommodate this on their pulley stacks. If this is the case at your gym, use a trap bar and/or the smith machine.

Read over the above recommendations a few times and memorize them. Apply them in the gym and I can GUARANTEE that you’ll see positive changes in your traps over the next few weeks .

Stay Motivated!

Mark

P.S. Here’s a short vid I shot over a year ago of me doing a low pulley cable shrug. While it isn’t a great vid, note the controlled cadence and the full range of motion.

Related posts:

(Video) The Best Trapezius Exercise For GrowthThe THT 2.0 Training Cycle. Shoulders & Traps Day (part 12)How To Overload Muscle And Grow!5 Ways to Get Fit in 2008

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Tips on How to Choose the Best Muscle Building Workouts

How exactly would you know if the muscle building workouts you have chosen are the best for you?

The most crucial element here is how to actually find the muscle building workouts that you can subscribe to. Many people had to undergo several workouts first before finally settling on one exercise regimen. This process is necessary since people have varying physical needs, abilities and capabilities. But there are ways on how to make this process a little less painful.

Here are some tips on how you can find the best muscle building workouts that are guaranteed to work.

1. Know your limitations. Many people never even consider getting a clean bill of health before subscribing to any exercise regimen, but this step is the most important step of all. Muscle building workouts can be extremely stressful on bones, joints and muscles. Any underlying medical condition can hamper the proper exercise routine; and in some cases, can even trigger complications. Additionally, not all people are built the same way, and no one could have the same capacity to increase muscle mass at the same time. So knowing your actual physical limitations can help you land on the correct exercise regime that can get you to your target physique faster.

2. Know precisely what your target goal is. You want to increase muscle mass, right? However, did you consider as to how much of the muscle mass you actually want to increase, and just how long you intend to keep with the program? If you answer no to the last two questions, then you belong to the 99% of the population who are trying to increase their physique without any target goals or any plans at all. These are the people who eventually end up jumping over the most number of workout puddles - and many of them still can't find a suitable one to subscribe to. Set a target goal that should correspond with your height, weight and current state of physical fitness. It is also important to set realistic goals. Never expect to jump from a 90 pound teen to a 185 pound Mr. Universe wannabe in 2 weeks. Give yourself about 6 months to gradually increase muscle mass.

3. Ask for professional help. You can only ever do so much on your own. You can, of course, do your own research. But with all the fad diets and new exercising trends and breakthrough workout gadgets, it can be a bit overwhelming to choose which ones to subscribe to. Why not make it easier on yourself and have your diet and exercise regimen tailor fitted to your own personal needs? Ask a dietician to supervise your meals. Ask a physical trainer to set up a workout plan with your target goal in mind. Or better yet, ask a body building coach to help you get that physique you have always wanted. The experts can lead you in all the right directions.

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Building Muscle Tips - How Do I Add That Oomph To Your Workouts?

Building muscle is possible on the simple premise that when you lift weights your muscles increase in size to accommodate for the extra amount of work needed to lift them.

There are three basic principles involved in building muscle in your body. These are smart weight lifting, good nutrition and rest.

This may sound simple, but many people are not able to stick to this routine for building the muscle mass their body needs.

Just because you are not interested in body building or athletic competitions, does not mean you do not have to keep your muscles built up. All the activities you do in your daily life require muscle strength.

Fitness programs help you to build muscle. While building muscle mass, you are also losing weight and toning up your body.

In order to be completely fit, you do need to have muscle strength.

The difference is that while you are training to build muscle, your body does need calories, so you will either need to take supplements to give you the nutrients you are missing from your diet or eat high calorie foods.

Dieting and weight training work hand in hand for muscle building. The weight training helps to overload the muscles and help them to gain strength, while the foods you eat provide the building blocks necessary for building and repairing muscles.

It is best if you lose fat before you start to build muscle. Building muscle mass means that you will probably weigh more, not in fat but in lean muscle.

Check out http://www.1-stop-fitness.com/ for articles on adjustable dumbbells and cardio workout routines.