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Traps

Shaun235

Banned
Who's got the killer routine to blast my traps? They've always lagged, non existent. I'm trying to make it a point to get them to explode.

Any tips fellas
 
I don't necessarily think you need a specific routine for building "lagging" traps. If you are doing heavy vertical and horizontal pulling especially, your upper back will progress.
If you are concerned about them lagging behind, just add in a trap exercise (there are quite a few) 2x per wk, that you feel right in the traps and upper back.
I think shrugging is kinda good (especially if one does not do heavy deads or high pulls etc carries etc. etc.) because it is a very short ROM and does not take much out of you at the end of a W/O say, or sticking sets in, in between sets of curls or other small muscle iso work. If a body part is lagging, generally it is more from not enough attention IMO.
 
For bb/db shrugs, try holding/flexing your traps at the top of the movement for 3 seconds. Due to the limited range of motion, any contraction would be fairly short otherwise. Holding at peak contraction may allow the necessary time under tension to stimulate growth of the muscle. You don't need to go super heavy, just really focus on the contraction during each rep. Using this approach has been a big help with my trap development.
 
Thank for the tips. I'll have to check out that BETTER TRAPS thread.

I'm gunna try some of everybody's ideas, different moves, higher volume and more time holding reps.

Usually hold for 1-2 seconds but will aim for 3.
Upright rows have been good for me but the joint pain the next day is rough. I usually stick to shrugs, bb & DB, deads, just added in face pulls, gunna try some rows to isolate the traps and some cleans as we'll.
I'll have to keep adding & changing as I go.

I usually only get 4-8 sets 1-2x a week based on my split, normally with back or shoulders. Probably shoot for 3x a week with 10+ sets.
 
Overhand grip rows change the focus from lats to traps. Suitcase rows super set with reverese flys are a great trap combo. Face pulls have become a staple in my trap workouts as well.
 
mountainman33 said:
Overhand grip rows change the focus from lats to traps. Suitcase rows super set with reverese flys are a great trap combo. Face pulls have become a staple in my trap workouts as well.
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I have been switching my grip on rows lately but not for that reason, I'll try to squeeze em out now.
I did do a little combo work this week on them, side lateral / bb shrugs & then reverse flys & cable pulls.
First time they've been sore in quite awhile.
Thanks,
 
No mention of snatch-grip deads? It's one of the few things that works the entire upper-back.
 
Rodja said:
No mention of snatch-grip deads? It's one of the few things that works the entire upper-back.
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best lift ever! lots of other great ones listed above too.

i have been doing that lift and been watching my traditional deadlift start to climb up to.
 
I'll give the snatch lift dead a go, I'll have a nice variation for awhile, thanks fellas.
Let's see if I can't get these boys to grow!
 
I think you work your traps a ton with any overhead exercise; standing military press works them well. As far as direct work, do front barbell and dumbbell shrugs, as heavy as possible; I do them rarely because my traps don't need much work, but I'll do barbell front shrugs with 5-6 plates and behind the back smith shrugs with 3 plates (key)
 
Mystere3 said:
I think you work your traps a ton with any overhead exercise; standing military press works them well. As far as direct work, do front barbell and dumbbell shrugs, as heavy as possible; I do them rarely because my traps don't need much work, but I'll do barbell front shrugs with 5-6 plates and behind the back smith shrugs with 3 plates (key)
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That's how I always felt, but since I put on this weight, good & bad over the last 2 yrs they look really under developed now.

I just started doing standing military presses again, BB & DB shrugs heavy have always been in my routine, but I'm not one for accessory work, I so primarily do compound sets which have been great for the size, now I need to get some shaping moves in and drop some bf.

I'm gunna take bits and pieces from everyone and see what works best.

Thanks bro, 5-6 plate shrugs are pretty beasty
 
totally forgot, farmers and even frame carries. I see lots of other exercises but to be honest most would be like saying to use leg extensions to build huge thighs.

so, snatch grip deads, farmers, and frame carries.
 
I'm gunna blast Traps tommorow so I'm gunna probably do a couple sets of everyone's ideas.
Think I'll go with,
BB Shrugs
DB Shrugs
Farmers Walk
Upright Rows DB ( might help shoulders w/DB )

Then on back day do some snatch deads, BB rows with some emphasis on traps, throw some cleans in there randomly.
Shoulder day continue standing military presses, might throw face pulls in with rear delts just to squeeze in an extra few sets a week.

Switch it up sporadically.

Thanks fellas, I'll have to get some before and after pics up, give it a month or so and see how it goes.
 
ChefJoey said:
Just started doing farmers walks this year. They are amazingly painfully awesome.
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Yea man, I did some today.

BB shrugs x 4 in front holding for 3-4
BB shrugs x 2 in rear holding for 3-4
DB shrugs x 3 holding for 3-4
Face Pull x Rear Fly superset x 3
Farmers Walk x 4
Standing Military Press x 2
Seated Smith Miltary x 4
DB press x 3
Arnold Press x 3
Side delt raise x 3 drop sets

My traps and shoulders were defiantly on fire and pumped up. Lots of volume today, pretty limited rest to really get my pump.
 
Shaun235 said:
Yea man, I did some today.

BB shrugs x 4 in front holding for 3-4
BB shrugs x 2 in rear holding for 3-4
DB shrugs x 3 holding for 3-4
Face Pull x Rear Fly superset x 3
Farmers Walk x 4
Standing Military Press x 2
Seated Smith Miltary x 4
DB press x 3
Arnold Press x 3
Side delt raise x 3 drop sets

My traps and shoulders were defiantly on fire and pumped up. Lots of volume today, pretty limited rest to really get my pump.
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Wow. So 30+ sets. And to most were near useless when compared to better choices.

Drop all shrugs. Especially those worthless ones you hold behind your back. The traps and surrounding muscles pull back the shoulders, some portions down, other portions up. At No time do they pull anything forward. So anything done behind you is a waste of your time for traps. It would be like doing leg curls to get bigger quads.

Most of what's left was all kinds of out of order and more for delts and triceps or low quality movements.

If you want to work shoulders and traps together that's fine but do it better. Start with hang power muscle snatch. Mostly medium weight for few reps and lots of sets with short rest.

Move on to standing barbell overhead presses. Work up a daily max of a double. Drop to half that and do amrap for 3 sets.

Now do farmer's or frame carry if you have it for several runs of the heaviest you can do for 40 to 80 feet each run. Finish it up with at least 50 reps each of Face pull and band pullaparts.

If you feel you could have done more than you went too light.
 
Actually behind the back shrugs are good for middle traps, not so much for upper traps.

I agree there are a lot of exercises that work traps but shrugs are among the best, especially bb with very heavy weight.
 
Gonna chime in here and cast my vote for the Snatch Grip Deadlift. I just added this one to my back routine and it really moves the focus to the upper back hitting the traps nicely. Pair this up with some heavy high-pulls and you're sure to see some trap growth. - my 2 cents :cool2:
 
Mystere3 said:
Actually behind the back shrugs are good for middle traps, not so much for upper traps.

I agree there are a lot of exercises that work traps but shrugs are among the best, especially bb with very heavy weight.
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here is a great example of opinion vs fact. and everyone is entitled to an opinion with the opportunity to share it with us in this forum.

my opinion, please pick up an anatomy book and a physics book so you can learn why your statement is about as accurate as saying everything on the internet is true.
 
Debates, Debates, I am not ruling out any movements because if I knew what worked best for traps, I'd have huge traps, an I don't.

30 plus sets, yes. But as you can see they were all far from just isolating my traps.

Snatches are definitely going to be in the picture along with Frame Carries and A few more.

This is just what I did that session.

I never do a total of 30 sets, if I did I wouldn't be putting in enough effort. IMO I went into the gym with the goal of doing extra work, and I did.

Personally i don't give a **** if it takes 3 sets or 15 to get them to grow. Everyone has a lagging part and takes a little extra work.

Never seen a massive set of traps either that didn't get there from doing some form of shrugs.
 
So physiologically as long as your arms are outside your shoulders (slightly abducted) you'll activate your upper and middle traps with scapular elevation.

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Shaun235 said:
Never seen a massive set of traps either that didn't get there from doing some form of shrugs.
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Haven't seen many high-level Olympic weightlifters, I take it.
 
Mystere3 said:
So physiologically as long as your arms are outside your shoulders (slightly abducted) you'll activate your upper and middle traps with scapular elevation. Invalid Link Removed
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Mid-traps are primarily used for scapular retraction and not elevation.
 
Right which is why a behind the back shrug where you're going to elevate with some retraction will hit it more (especially with a smith machine)
 
2 cents...

90% of the time, I agree with ozzie and his basic approach to getting larger and stronger is IMO, the right stuff.
I do disagree that shrugs will not really build traps, (especially if you are pretty much exclusively after trap size, since I know a few guys and one in particular who pretty much only benches, deadlifts, shrugs and rows and he has retarded big traps for the rest of his body under #200 BW. He shrugs heavy and high reps and sets 3x week.

I also believe in heavy deads, rack pulls, high pulls, cleans, etc. etc., but my trap size from those is a by product and I never really do those to exclusively build traps, but I digress.
Anyway, I think oly lifters have good trap size, since a good 80%-90% of their work involves pulling from knees or below with an emphasis on getting the weight up near the shoulders, then o/h. So they enlist some kind of vertical shoulder extension/contraction.
I have never seemed to get much trap work from OHP's without the clean and I have done quite a bit of out of rack pressing over the years.
Personally, I feel you do benefit from some kind of extension and contraction of the upper trapezius, instead of "just" heavy (static) tension, which comes more from carrying and or pulling without some kind of vertical shoulder contraction. Obviously YMMV.
I just think shrugs are pretty easy to add in at the end or as a superset of a W/O especially , have a very short ROM to get the work done, and do not tax the lifter like a long pull, after they have done the major bigger body work.
See also Paul Kelso's book/work on shrugging. Although I may agree with some, that shrugs, might not have the greatest carryover for other strength stuff.
 
Mystere3 said:
Right which is why a behind the back shrug where you're going to elevate with some retraction will hit it more (especially with a smith machine)
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The behind the back bar placement will most likely lead to protraction due to poor leverage.
 
PaulBlack said:
2 cents...

90% of the time, I agree with ozzie and his basic approach to getting larger and stronger is IMO, the right stuff.
I do disagree that shrugs will not really build traps, (especially if you are pretty much exclusively after trap size, since I know a few guys and one in particular who pretty much only benches, deadlifts, shrugs and rows and he has retarded big traps for the rest of his body under #200 BW. He shrugs heavy and high reps and sets 3x week.

I also believe in heavy deads, rack pulls, high pulls, cleans, etc. etc., but my trap size from those is a by product and I never really do those to exclusively build traps, but I digress.
Anyway, I think oly lifters have good trap size, since a good 80%-90% of their work involves pulling from knees or below with an emphasis on getting the weight up near the shoulders, then o/h. So they enlist some kind of vertical shoulder extension/contraction.
I have never seemed to get much trap work from OHP's without the clean and I have done quite a bit of out of rack pressing over the years.
Personally, I feel you do benefit from some kind of extension and contraction of the upper trapezius, instead of "just" heavy (static) tension, which comes more from carrying and or pulling without some kind of vertical shoulder contraction. Obviously YMMV.
I just think shrugs are pretty easy to add in at the end or as a superset of a W/O especially , have a very short ROM to get the work done, and do not tax the lifter like a long pull, after they have done the major bigger body work.
See also Paul Kelso's book/work on shrugging. Although I may agree with some, that shrugs, might not have the greatest carryover for other strength stuff.
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I am finding that I like your posts more and more.

I happen to be genetically pretty lucky with large traps so it doesn't take much to pop them, but I have found over the years several things that really work.

Snatch grip high pulls.
Farmer walks
Any variation of DL
Rows
 
kisaj said:
I am finding that I like your posts more and more.
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Years from now there will be a meathead religion, Swoleism, and PaulBlack will have a book in it.

PaulBlack 2:3
Thou shall lift thy heavy weights.

Everyone else can get a book too.
 
Haha. I just love coming into a thread with the intention of posting something and then seeing that Paul has already said everything I was about to post.
 
kisaj said:
Haha. I just love coming into a thread with the intention of posting something and then seeing that Paul has already said everything I was about to post.
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You are not alone in that sentiment.

EDIT: Sean, I want a book in there!
 
I loves me some heavy deadlifts and deadlift walks (70-90%), but cleans, high pulls, klokovs, db rows, and stupid-heavy violent shrugs work for me.

On the matter of traps, I find little wrong with deferring to Jamie Lewis:
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I'll be giving snatch grip deads a go thanks to this thread, haha.
 
Sean1332 said:
You get one! You were born in a weight lifting shed, afterall.
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Indeed. I really wish I knew back then, what some of you guys know at your present age.
Thanks for the kudos guys, but really it is just kinda common sense and some trial and error really.
 
Man, that's a lot of shrugging and delt work!
 
jball63 said:
Man, that's a lot of shrugging and delt work!
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If your referring to my 1 session, yea it was.

I've spaced it out quite a bit better now.

Split it up over shoulders and back days.
Dropped the workload for more concentration.

Been using everyone's recommendations and I think it's going to work nicely.

Got some snatch lift deads and cleans in this weekend.
 
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