The muscles that require the hardest amount of work are the most impressive. They tell your audience how much effort you’ve spent on your fitness.
Trap muscles are the same; the workouts are not that hard to do, but the muscles take some time to build, which requires considerable effort.
Moreover, trap workouts are only effective when you follow a strict diet, a smart recovery routine, and lift exceedingly heavier weights with time.
But which trap exercises are the best for bigger and stronger muscles? Can you ignore these muscles without compromising your fitness? We’ll give you the answers and the essential details about the best trap workouts.
13 Best Trap Exercises for Stronger Traps
Trap or trapezius muscles are a big portion of your upper and middle back muscles. Trap workouts target these muscles through strength training exercises. These exercises aim to build traps, increase strength for weightlifting, and improve your posture.
Traps not only look aesthetic, but these muscles are also actually beneficial for your posture, strength, and endurance. They also prevent injury and neck pain.
These muscles also play a large part in your pulling strength, shoulder stability, and weightlifting ability.
Some athletes ignore trap muscles and think they can build them as a byproduct of other exercises. While this is true to some extent, completely ignoring traps leaves your back weak and your posture unbalanced. It’s best not to ignore trap muscles.
Thus, let’s get started with the most effective trap exercises, their benefits, and how you can do them safely as a beginner.
1. Rack Pull
The rack pull workout is your best option when you want a steady start to your trap muscles workout.
Athletes use rack pulls for routine fitness and to maintain body posture. It also gives more balance to back muscles during endurance training.
The exercise targets middle and lower traps and is one of the best trap exercises. It works by isometrically challenging the traps where this exercise is the most effective.
How to Do the Exercise
- Stand in a power rack with your back straight and shoulders straight.
- Set the safety on the power rack at knee height.
- Grab the bar at shoulder width apart and close your wrists towards your body.
- Pull the bar till it reaches the lockout.
- On the way down, slowly lower the bar without rushing. Keep the movement steady, and don’t give in to the pressure of the weight. Also, and most importantly, keep your spine relaxed and core engaged.
Benefits
The rack pull is best for putting isometric pressure on the traps, especially lower and middle traps. It is also confined to a fixed motion that’s safe and easy, even for beginners.
Additionally, the exercise is very specific in shaping the proper form of your back muscles. It also has a fixed starting position which allows you to load more weights on the bar, putting more tension on the muscles.
Precautions
Keep your back straight and don’t allow it to curve while you’re lifting the bar. When you’re lowering the bar, don’t rush it, and keep the motion smooth and steady.
2. Farmer’s Carry
When you want to work your upper body muscles, shoulder blades, and lower body all at once, farmer’s carry is your exercise.
It’s a loaded carry variation that helps maintain a steady posture and develops core strength.
Since traps are the main muscles in the upper body, their role in any form of carry is essential. That’s why farmer’s carry workout is transferable to daily activities as your trap muscles gain strength.
How to Do the Exercise
The exercise is simple enough and only needs a set of dumbbells. Just carry a dumbbell in each hand and walk steadily and in a controlled manner.
You can use straps if your grip seems loose. The trick here is to keep in a straight line and not allow your body to list to one side.
Let your shoulders hang from your ears, and do not move or swing your arms.
Benefits
With this exercise, you don’t need expensive equipment, as a few dumbbells and a little space will do the trick.
Plus, there’s continuous tension on the upper back muscles without the risk of pulling them. It also helps you have a better posture as your shoulders gain strength.
The exercise is an excellent cardiovascular and strength training workout and targets many core muscles all at once. It also works your grip by strengthening your wrists, forearms, and shoulders
Precautions
You must maintain a straight body with an upright posture. You also need to control the motion without allowing any jerks to your spine.
Also, remember to carry only as much weight as you can handle with grace.
3. Overhead Barbell Carry
The overhead barbell carry is an exercise that stabilizes your core and allows you to lift the maximum load.
It is highly effective in developing your shoulders, upper back, and trap muscles.
The workout is best in challenging your traps and helps you gain maximum muscle mass in the least time.
It also works your triceps and develops your overhead weight carrying capacity for presses.
How to Do the Exercise
- Load a standard bar with the safe load you can carry and lift the bar first to your shoulders height and then above your head.
- Stretch your arms fully at a comfortable width. You can also use a power rack, but that’s not necessary if you’re good at lifting weights above your head for other exercises.
- Keep the bar fixed above your head with your arms extended, and take small steps forward. Make sure the bar stays in its place while you move forward.
Benefits
The obvious benefit of barbell overhead carry is upper body and shoulder strength, but it also develops your core muscles. It works on your trapezius muscles while maintaining your overall balance.
Lastly, it increases weightlifting capacity and induces mental and physical strength, preventing injury while exercising.
Precautions
If you’re lifting overhead weight for the first time, start with minimum weights and see how much you can endure. Lifting a heavy load without a warmup can also be dangerous if you’re inexperienced. It’s better to have a trainer or a friend around in that case.
4. Dumbbell Shrug
Dumbbells are perhaps the most used gym equipment that you can use even in your room.
The dumbbell shrug is the exercise for you if you’re looking for a unilateral trap workout. It puts enormous proactive tension on your back and upper body muscles.
Even with the smallest weights, you’ll feel your muscles sore like no other exercise. If you’re feeling too much tension in your trap muscles, you can add pauses or do drop sets.
How to Do the Exercise
There are two basic ways of doing the dumbbell shrug: standing and sitting.
- While standing, get a set of dumbbells in each hand with your chest out and shoulders depressed. You can select weights according to your exercise routine.
- Next, raise your traps upwards and hold them at the highest position you can reach for one to two seconds. Then release them slowly to reach the hang position.
Doing the exercise in a sitting position is also similar, but it requires a bit more effort to keep your back straight.
Benefits
The dumbbell shrug is one of the easiest trap workouts, even for first-timers. It trains not only your traps but your grip too.
It’s a unilateral training of traps to create a more balanced posture and strengthen upper trap muscles.
Precautions
The exercise is fairly simple, but you should always test yourself by using the smallest weights if you’re a first-timer. Also, when in the sitting position, protect your back and keep it straight if you’re carrying heavy loads.
5. Dumbbell Y-Raise
Research suggests that lower trapezius strength training exercise is an effective program for postural alignment and neck functions. Weak lower trapezius results in rounded shoulders or shoulder blade winging, or both.
The dumbbell Y-raise workout is thus of vital importance for your posture and body shape.
These lower muscles play an important part in your posture and help stabilize the scapula. Still, lower and middle traps are sometimes ignored by athletes as most exercises work your upper trap muscles.
How to Do the Exercise
The movement is not easy to control, so new athletes must take care of the angles. It’s recommended to use no weights or a minimum weight when you start.
- To start, set a press at 45 degrees and lie on it with a pair of dumbbells in each hand.
- Slowly raise the dumbbells such that your arms make a Y-shape while stretching out. Don’t jerk up if you’re feeling difficulty lifting the weights. Instead, use a smaller weight or drop the weights completely.
Benefits
This workout helps in muscle thickness and posture alignment without putting pressure on your neck. Thus, it prevents neck pain for athletes who are in weightlifting sports.
It also protects shoulder blades from injury during resistance training.
Precautions
The exercise itself requires little weights, so don’t try to use more. The important thing in this exercise is the angle at which you extend your arms. If you cannot achieve that, weights will be counterproductive.
If you feel any pain around your neck area, do not continue the exercise and consult with a trainer.
6. Bar Shrug
The trap bar shrug is another wonderful exercise that acts fast on your trap muscles. It’s beneficial for experienced athletes as they can lift heavy loads without any safety concerns, but it’s also great for newcomers.
You can work your traps without putting too much pressure on your anterior shoulders and elbows. You can also use it for strength training, but the primary purpose of bar shrugs is developing your upper body traps.
How to Do the Exercise?
- Stand straight without slouching forward or backward.
- Lift the bar with a grip just wider than your thighs. Keep the bar motionless while moving your shoulders towards your ears.
Make sure to do a round motion of your shoulders without moving them forward. Simply moving the shoulders upwards is not as beneficial as a rounding movement of your traps.
That’s why the movement towards the ears is an important aspect of this workout.
Benefits
Bar shrugs allow you to lift heavy loads safely. Also, the neutral grip results in less pressure on wrists, shoulders, and elbows while putting stress on trap muscles.
It also requires less space to perform the exercise, so you can do it in your room or basement. Lastly, it does not disturb the shape and form of the biceps and triceps during lifting.
Precautions
Protect your back while lifting heavy loads, and use a belt if necessary. New weightlifters should only use loads they can safely carry and exercise under a trainer’s supervision.
The exercise seems simple but needs care as it may put pressure on your spine when done incorrectly.
7. Dumbbell Row
The dumbbell row is probably the most effective workout if you’re focusing exclusively on your back with an emphasis on traps. It’s not easy to perfect and is a difficult exercise requiring careful supervision in the beginning.
Since the exercise works one side of your body, it allows you to focus more on specific muscles. The workout challenges your traps in scapular retraction motion, thereby developing them symmetrically.
How to Do the Exercise
- Place the knee opposite the rowing arm on a press or a raised surface so it’s the same height as your other knee.
- Place your free arm on the press to support your weight and stabilize your body. Your other leg should be in a natural position without any stress on it.
- Pick up the dumbbell with your rowing arm with your grip towards your body.
- Pick up the dumbbell and start rowing without any jerks or sudden movements. While lifting, the dumbbell should move toward your hips.
- Repeat the motion ten to twelve times and switch to the other arm.
Benefits
The workout stimulates only your back muscles, thus preserving energy for a longer workout rep. Focusing on a single side of the body helps develop strong muscles through a targeted approach.
The motion and weight develop your core more than a barbell row.
Precautions
New athletes find it hard to coordinate the dumbbell motion while keeping their body stable on the press. The exercise is only beneficial when done properly, so you should always get help from someone experienced.
8. Kirk Shrug
The kirk shrug is a variation of bar shrugs invented by Kirk Karwoski, USPF national powerlifting champion, to increase his grip strength for deadlifts. The exercise helped him pull a heavier weight, along with building a stronger and bigger yoke.
The shrug improves the upper back and trap muscles and helps strengthen the grip.
Even if you’re not a heavy lifter and are just looking for a regular fitness routine, kirk shrugs will benefit your back muscles greatly. These workouts will also give you a more balanced posture.
How to Do the Exercise
- Hold the barbell in both hands. You can use a thumbless grip to enhance pressure on your upper traps.
- Instead of doing the regular bar shrugs, you raise your elbows in a bending motion when you raise the bar.
- Hold the bar at your naval area for a second if you can, then lower the bar in a steady motion.
Benefits
The kirk shrug improves shoulder stability and builds strength and muscle mass in the upper trap area. It also improves your shoulder strength, preventing injury during workouts or weight lifting.
Likewise, it removes the poor posture associated with weak upper body muscles and brings symmetry to the posture.
You can also improve your deadlift weight carrying capacity through kirk shrugs in case you’re finding it difficult to break your weight ceiling.
Precautions
It’s a fairly safe exercise that even an amateur will find easy to do. If you do not lift a load that exceeds your capacity, you should be fine doing this workout.
9. Cable Shrug
Isolating the trap muscles and working them specifically is much more effective than building them with other muscle groups. That’s why the cable shrug is an excellent workout.
The machine allows precise loading, helping you do higher reps and drop sets more efficiently.
The workout engages the upper traps and rear delts but also impacts the middle traps to some extent. You can do cable shrug in various ways, so we’ll only describe the easiest method.
How to Do the Exercise
You’ll need a cable machine and an EZ bar, a rope attachment, or a straight bar to do the exercise.
- If you’re using a rope, grip it where you find it natural, but it’s best to hold it your shoulder width apart for a bar.
- Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground and your neck straight, with your head looking ahead.
- Holding the rope or bar firmly, shrug your shoulders in the direction of the pull and upwards.
- When at the highest point, hold for a second for muscle contraction. Then, allow the pull of weight to bring your shoulders back to starting position. Repeat and reset for reps.
Benefits
This simple exercise for beginners allows a targeted approach for trap muscles. The constant pull of the cable helps build stronger muscles for a more intense workout. It’s an effective exercise for trap muscle hypertrophy.
Precautions
The exercise is simple, so there are no dangers except doing it wrong, resulting in unbalanced trap muscles development.
You can avoid that by keeping your feet firm and the pull equally distributed on both arms. Also, keep your back, neck, and head straight.
10. Lateral Dumbbell Raise
Dumbbell lateral raise is a well-known workout for building shoulders but has a side benefit: building trap muscles. That’s because the workout puts tension on your yoke and upper traps.
When you’re doing the workout for shoulders, there should be minimum tension in your yoke and trap muscles. However, allowing that tension can help you get a bigger yoke and muscular traps.
How to Do the Exercise
- Stand straight with a pair of dumbbells in each hand. Keep the grip towards your body and dumbbells a little off from it to maintain the tension in your delts.
- Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height without a jerk.
- Stop at the top for a second and slowly lower the dumbbells, feeling their weight on your shoulders and upper body. The upward and downward motion should be controlled and only put pressure on your delts.
Benefits
It’s great for general upper body strength and endurance. It increases muscular size without putting too much pressure on joints.
It can also be done with a set of dumbbells, cables, or resistance bands.
Precautions
Do not use momentum to lift weights, as this will offset the benefits of the exercise. Also, heavy weights will not get you faster results, so focus on your technique instead.
Some people make the mistake of raising their wrists higher than their elbows at the top position. This shifts the tension from back to front, so it does not result in trap buildup.
11. Hex Bar Deadlift
The trap bar deadlift is one of the most effective isometric exercises for trap muscles. It builds strength and allows a greater stimulus by maintaining a symmetrical load.
The exercise also allows heavy load and a neutral grip. You can use a simple or a hex bar for this exercise, but a hex bar is better as it allows you to adjust the grip to your lifting range.
How to Do the Exercise
- The exercise starts in a standing position as you grip the bar at a comfortable distance from the sides.
- Bend your knees to support the weight, and your spine should be straight.
- Keep your head, neck, and back in a single plane, and do not allow any roundness in the back.
- Keep lifting the weight up and down for a single rep, and do not put it down while you take a break. You can also elevate your heels to put more pressure on your thighs and lower back.
Benefits
The exercise allows the lifting of heavy loads without needing to learn to coordinate different body parts. The simple motion is easier for beginners to grasp and only needs a bar to perform.
Precautions
The exercise is simple but can seriously hurt your spine if you don’t do it correctly. That’s why you must keep your knees bent while lifting and lowering the weight.
Also, your spine should be in line with your shoulders and head, as the roundness in your back can be dangerous.
12. Rope Pull Apart
This workout helps you build more muscle strength in your mid back, which gives you a better posture. The exercise is also good for your shoulders.
Using a rope is better than a rod for this exercise since a rope allows for a customized motion. This motion easily adjusts to the athlete’s arm lengths and is much more effective.
How to Do the Exercise
- Grasp the ropes in each hand and stand at a slightly backward angle.
- Pull the ropes towards yourself in a steady motion. Your elbows should bend completely when the rope is the closest to your body.
- The movement should be from fully extended arms in your front to completely bent elbows just over your chest.
- Do not let go of the weight while moving toward the resting position and keep your motion controlled.
Benefits
This workout imparts pulling strength and prevents injuries during workouts and daily life activities. It’s a simple exercise to build mid and upper back muscles fast, so it’s easy to master for beginners.
With this exercise, you can start with a minimum load with an option to increase weights with time.
Precautions
Do not try to pull too hard on the ropes and keep the motion smooth and steady. The back should be straight with your torso at a slight backward angle.
You must also keep the pressure on the ropes while returning to the resting position.
13. EZ-Bar Upright Row
This weightless workout effectively builds traps, rear delts, and rhomboids. It builds strength and stability in the shoulders and arm power for exercise and weightlifting.
You can do it with a straight bar, but using an EZ bar is much more useful for improved grip. You can add weights once you get the exercise right, but the workout itself does not necessarily need loading.
How to Do the Exercise
- Stand up straight and grip the bar at your shoulders’ width apart.
- Pull the bar up, bending your elbows in a V-shape during the process. You can raise it up to your neck height and bring it back in a controlled motion.
- If you’re using a straight bar, grip just a little wider than your shoulder width and lift up to your chest height. Instead of moving your elbows up in a V-shape, you only raise them up to shoulder height. Using an EZ bar variation is much more effective, though.
Benefits
The exercise works your biceps, which will result in stronger shoulders. The tension on trap muscles is also symmetrical and distributed, which is great for uniform muscle development.
Precautions
The exercise does not require weight, so you can start it with just a bar. If you’re adding weights, make sure you don’t have to use momentum, or the exercise will become useless.
Also, do not raise the bar higher than your shoulders. You also shouldn’t use a too narrow grip.
A Sample One-Day Traps Workout Routine for Beginners
As a beginner, it’s understandable that you’re still struggling to mix and match the exercises above. As such, here’s a routine made especially for you:
| Exercises (In Order) | Reps | Sets |
| Dumbbell Shrugs | 15 | 3 |
| Hex Bar Deadlift | 10 | 3 |
| Rack Pull | 15 | 3 |
| EZ-Bar Upright Row | 10 | 3 |
| Rope Pull Apart | 15 | 3 |
As you become stronger and learn the correct form and posture, start mixing and matching the 13 exercises discussed above. Just make sure you alternate “push” and “pull” exercises for better results.
The Top 2 Benefits of Trap Exercises
It’s important to understand the general benefits of trap exercises to get enough motivation. Hence, let’s see why you should focus on trap muscles.
Posture Improvement
The biggest benefit of trap exercises is an improved posture. Since most of our time is now spent in front of a screen, either a cell phone or a laptop, our posture takes a big hit.
Not only does a weak and rounded-shoulder posture look bad. It’s also unhealthy and impacts our spine.
Lower trap exercises help reduce the chances of neck pain and make better posture alignment. Neck musculature strength is also connected to a lower concussion rate in athletes.
Strength Improvement
Trap exercises are not just good for posture, but they also increase your pulling strength. They also play a part in protecting your shoulder stability. These strengths are essential for weightlifting, powerlifting, and pulling sports.
Trap workouts are also famous for helping you lift more weight.
Start Building Those Traps!
Trap workouts are only effective when you give your body proper rest and follow a strict diet plan. Just pulling more weights will not get you desired results.
However, once you get those beautiful muscles, people will notice not just your abs and biceps but your traps too. These muscles are not just good for aesthetics. They play a part in almost all the major exercises, strengthening your back, shoulders, and neck.
Plus, you can lift heavier loads without risking an injury or pain in the back and neck. In short, working out traps is highly beneficial, and no athlete should ignore these exercises.
Trap Workouts FAQs
1. How to warm up your traps before training
You can start with your regular warm-up session, which may include push-ups, running, cycling, or jumping jacks. The aim is to start pumping blood into your muscles. After that, you can foam roll your back to engage trap muscles.
2. How to workout safely and avoid injury
You can work out safely by following general guidelines. These may include consulting a trainer before starting a new workout.
Warming up before your workout is also a big part of this. Proper diet is another factor. Strengthening your whole body instead of just focusing on particular muscles is also necessary.
3. Can I workout traps every day?
You should not exceed three to four days of trap workouts per week. Working out for two to three days is also good as it allows for enough rest days.
Rest days are essential for muscles to restore their glycogen levels and prevent fatigue buildup.
