Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Build traps?

MANdrew

MANdrew

Member
Hey all you out there. Anyone have any tips on how to build my traps better? And before you ask, I do a lot of barbell rowing and deadlifting. My deadlift is 455, I weigh 135. But for some reason it seems as if I've been blessed with the world's smallest traps, and it's almost embarrassing. Any tips?

Also, I don't have all the time in the world. I'm in the military, so most of my time is filled and I Only get about 30 minutes in the gym every day.

Thanks for all the help, guys.
 
135lb, pack on some weight. It's gonna be tough to really grow at that weight, but for the sake o conversation... Keep deadlifting. But work sets!! Not just 1 rep max but 8-12 rep ranges. Shrugs are always a staple of trap development (dumb bell and barbell shrugs, hand positioning can change the angle of the movement). And I like face pulls with a tricep rope.
 
MANdrew said:
Hey all you out there. Anyone have any tips on how to build my traps better? And before you ask, I do a lot of barbell rowing and deadlifting. My deadlift is 455, I weigh 135. But for some reason it seems as if I've been blessed with the world's smallest traps, and it's almost embarrassing. Any tips?

Also, I don't have all the time in the world. I'm in the military, so most of my time is filled and I Only get about 30 minutes in the gym every day.

Thanks for all the help, guys.
Click to expand...

At 135 and your avi picture im guessing you're short. Under 5'6.

That being said....rows and deads are fine for beginers but if you want your traps to grow you have to add some isolation so pick up some heavy dumbells and shrug. Do NOT shrug in a circle or some ridiculous crap like that. Go straight up and down. Explode up,bring your shoulders as close to your ears as possible then put emphasis on the stretch down. Drop your shoulders as far as you can. Pause. Go back up.

Super set with rows if time is an issue.
 
pyrobatt said:
At 135 and your avi picture im guessing you're short. Under 5'6.

That being said....rows and deads are fine for beginers but if you want your traps to grow you have to add some isolation so pick up some heavy dumbells and shrug. Do NOT shrug in a circle or some ridiculous crap like that. Go straight up and down. Explode up,bring your shoulders as close to your ears as possible then put emphasis on the stretch down. Drop your shoulders as far as you can. Pause. Go back up.

Super set with rows if time is an issue.
Click to expand...

Super setting with rows and shrugs definitely killed.... More of a pump in my upper back than I've ever felt.
 
Rodja said:
Show me a dude that's 135# that actually has a good amount of size. OP wants to gain size in his traps and the answer is simple: get bigger.
Click to expand...

Size will come. The shrug advice was given thinking that his diet is on point.
 
Roidzzzzzz




Lol.


How do we get muscle to look bigger? Grow those muscles. How do muscles grow? Lift eat and sleep/recover more.
 
Thanks a lot for all the help guys, I'm pretty much just going to slay my poor little traps with deadlifts/rows/shrugs like I have been and I'll be focusing more on the contraction at the top of the movement. Thanks again for the help.
 
snyderd1972 said:
Upright rows with a wider than normal grip and keep your elbows higher than your hands.
Click to expand...

Aaaand destroy your shoulders in the process. Please do not ever do this exercise. Far superior and safer choices are snatch grip... well anything, farmers or frame carries, and cleans (preferably hang cleans).
 
asooneyeonig said:
Aaaand destroy your shoulders in the process. Please do not ever do this exercise. Far superior and safer choices are snatch grip... well anything, farmers or frame carries, and cleans (preferably hang cleans).
Click to expand...

Agreed. Had a lot of shoulder issues in my noob lifting days doing P90x, after educating myself and removing the upright rows my shoulders haven't been an issue
 
Driven2lift said:
Agreed. Had a lot of shoulder issues in my noob lifting days doing P90x, after educating myself and removing the upright rows my shoulders haven't been an issue
Click to expand...
If you do them with cables or a smith machine they a lot more forgiving on the rotator cuff. But Rows in general are great shoulder building lifts
 
McCrew530 said:
If you do them with cables or a smith machine they a lot more forgiving on the rotator cuff. But Rows in general are great shoulder building lifts
Click to expand...

Why bother with them when the injury potential is so high? The most effective lift I've ever done for the upper back is the snatch-grip deadlift. The leverage is awful and hits the traps so much more effectively than traditional deads.
 
Rodja said:
Why bother with them when the injury potential is so high? The most effective lift I've ever done for the upper back is the snatch-grip deadlift. The leverage is awful and hits the traps so much more effectively than traditional deads.
Click to expand...
Idk stubbornness I guess lol. I am a stickler for form and making sure that I am not just tossing weight around. If done properly upright rows can be a great way to skin the shoulder cat. I am not a fan of the ultra wide grip rows though they do def. put your shoulders in an un-natural range of motion.
 
Well, on the 135, you would need to be pretty damn low BF% in order to look big at 135lb.

Urijah Faber - which IMHO is one of the best "physiques" in MMA - competes at 135lb with 5'6'' height. Yes, he most likely walks at 150ish, but then someone who is 5'5'' or below could perhaps look jacket being at about that weight.

But to a normal person, at their 15% of BF, 135 will be too damn small to have anything apparent. So, in short, put on weight and focus on deadlifts, compoounds, the rows and shrugs that were mentioned. One thing I enjoy and I think works pretty well is to do a deadlift, and on the apex of the movement shrug with that weight and then refresh. Has done wonders for me.
 
McCrew530 said:
Idk stubbornness I guess lol. I am a stickler for form and making sure that I am not just tossing weight around. If done properly upright rows can be a great way to skin the shoulder cat. I am not a fan of the ultra wide grip rows though they do def. put your shoulders in an un-natural range of motion.
Click to expand...

Upright rows just plain suck. The risk/reward isn't there for me to even consider the movement.

Face pulls have done wonders for my traps.

Snatch grip deadlifts will destroy your traps as well

And fcking eat for christs sake...
 
napalm said:
Upright rows just plain suck. The risk/reward isn't there for me to even consider the movement.

Face pulls have done wonders for my traps.

Snatch grip deadlifts will destroy your traps as well

And fcking eat for christs sake...
Click to expand...

I will second the Face pulls for sure!
 
Overhead dumbbell flys.......give em a shot but don't rip your shoulders apart.
 
Deadlifts and food by the boat load has worked wonders for my traps...and every other muscle group personally. Did shrugs at one point but all I got out of them was a jacked up back and neck. If your doing deads now, stick to em...they will pay off.
 
napalm said:
Upright rows just plain suck. The risk/reward isn't there for me to even consider the movement.

Face pulls have done wonders for my traps.

Snatch grip deadlifts will destroy your traps as well

And fcking eat for christs sake...
Click to expand...


Hands 12-16 inches apart elbows way up. I'm 41 been lifting since I was 15( not solid but pretty damn close). I regularly work up to 225 and do these about every other workout and have never felt pain in my shoulders or any kind of torque on my shoulders for that matter.
 
I second face pulls also. You can also do a variation of them by lying face down on an incline bench with dumbbells. Absolutly fry my mid back!
 
Farmer's walk every other day added the most mass to my traps, one of the most underrated exercises IMO. Great deadlift numbers....but you need to bulk to get more mass.
 
deads and a light sprinkling of rows, chin/pull-ups and shrugs.

So how tall are you?
 
Good deadlift leverage at least lol.
 
McCrew530 said:
Idk stubbornness I guess lol. I am a stickler for form and making sure that I am not just tossing weight around. If done properly upright rows can be a great way to skin the shoulder cat. I am not a fan of the ultra wide grip rows though they do def. put your shoulders in an un-natural range of motion.
Click to expand...

Its not the rotator cuff that becomes the issue, it is that the position of the shoulders at the height of the movement causes a narrowing of the subacromial space
 
iparatroop said:
Wait, what branch of the military is only affording you 30min a day to workout?
Click to expand...
i second this question, actually...I call bs. Sorry man, not trying to sound like a dick, but if all you get is 30 mins, either your time management sucks, or your direct supervisor is a douche!!
 
Rodja said:
Why bother with them when the injury potential is so high? The most effective lift I've ever done for the upper back is the snatch-grip deadlift. The leverage is awful and hits the traps so much more effectively than traditional deads.
Click to expand...

This

Or try snatch pulls OP.
 
Wrivest said:
i second this question, actually...I call bs. Sorry man, not trying to sound like a dick, but if all you get is 30 mins, either your time management sucks, or your direct supervisor is a douche!!
Click to expand...

Marine corps. I'm in student status at the moment, we don't get much free time. I've had bad luck, I was in the infantry for about a year then tried for Recon, and I perforated my left eardrum and got dropped from the program and didn't qualify for the infantry anymore, so now I'm stuck in beautiful North Carolina with a bunch of boots who **** our liberty all the time, so I only get to work out either on lunch break or right after the work day because we have accountability issues here. It's retarded.
 
Ok....student status is a whole different ball game. Dealing with boots and trainees sucks ass, so yeah the leash is pretty tight. What's your rank? If you have a stripe or 2 over the other students you should be able to play that card to draw some free time, again, unless your Sgt is a douche.
 
Wrivest said:
Ok....student status is a whole different ball game. Dealing with boots and trainees sucks ass, so yeah the leash is pretty tight. What's your rank? If you have a stripe or 2 over the other students you should be able to play that card to draw some free time, again, unless your Sgt is a douche.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they all act like second grade kids on recess when we finally get released for the night. You'd think there'd be a level of maturity that comes with the title they earn, but hey... I guess not. And I'm just a lance corporal, an E3, it's almost impossible to pick up NCO in the infantry unless you reenlist or you somehow get like the MOH haha. But I'm in charge of them all, they're all my Marines, which is why I have like no time. You have to make personal sacrifices for the welfare of those you're in charge of, and unfortunately my gym time is one of the sacrifices.
 
Look up videos on Bartendaz, Highlandaz, Harlem Sealz, G.I.A.N.T., D3Hundred, Calisthenics Kingz, Barstarzz, Adam Raw, on you tube. This will help you utilize your time around the bArracks and use your body weight to develop an elite physique without the gym. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top