Use a smith machine with the bar behind you. Lean forward a bit and you can get a real good stretch. Letting the muscle stretch at the bottom position is a really important aspect of building traps, I think. Hold for a count at the top every now and then if you want. Same thing with building lats using pulldowns.
BB shurgs
Clean Pulls from the block, clean pulls from the floor.
Snatch pulls from the block
Snatch pulls from the floor
Snatch, Clean
DB Shrugs
Machine Shrugs.
Question…do behing the back BB shrugs target anything special? I have good traps but I’ve never tried that exercise and I’m curious if it’s worth my time
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Question…do behing the back BB shrugs target anything special? I have good traps but I’ve never tried that exercise and I’m curious if it’s worth my time[/quote]
I have no idea but I like them better than in the front, with regards to the smith machine. If I use a barbell I do them in front of my body. When doing smith shrugs I lean forward about 15-20 degrees and stay up on my toes with my heels off the ground. I can really get a good stretch that way without putting too much stress on my lower back.
Depending on my mood I’ll do smith shrugs first than bb shrugs after but if I only do one I do smith shrugs. Try em out if you experience DOMS in a different area it probably hit somewhere different than bb shrugs.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Question…do behing the back BB shrugs target anything special? I have good traps but I’ve never tried that exercise and I’m curious if it’s worth my time[/quote]
Whoa waylander! You blew up overnight! It must be the creatine.
Roll your shoulders forward. Your traps should then pop out and “flex”. If they don’t get some more muscle!
[quote]That One Guy wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
Question…do behing the back BB shrugs target anything special? I have good traps but I’ve never tried that exercise and I’m curious if it’s worth my time
Whoa waylander! You blew up overnight! It must be the creatine.[/quote]
I wonder if he’ll maintain the size post cycle.
hang clean and press’s are working for me.
If you can’t flex them you just need to work on the mind muscle connection. Takes time and practice for some muscles.
[quote]LilDaDDyDreW wrote:
SSC wrote:
LilDaDDyDreW wrote:
Quick Hijack i’ve noticed that some people have the ability to make their traps pop and flare out like nerf balls on both sides of their heads while other people (ME) seem to have no control in popping/flaring them out i can’t felx them yet i life 2x as much as these kids that can flex their traps…
Any special technique to flare out traps??? OR can some people simply not do it.
I’m not sure if I’m getting your question correctly, but I learned to ‘pop’ and ‘flare’ my traps through years of rounded-shoulder syndrome. If your posture is good and clean, your traps shouldn’t be doing either of these - I reckon.
Again, not sure if I’m understanding correctly. Pics?
Flaring/Popping/Flexing Traps aka making them puff up when you want. IT is not a bad thing I want to be able to do this but I seem to not be able too,
rannnnnndom ass picture just searched it on yahoo. but that is a trap flex I am unable to flare them up like the kid in the pic.
Any tips for getting the trap flex down?!?! fuck I hate being misunderstood.
[/quote]
you cant do a most muscular?
[quote]hardgnr wrote:
hang clean and press’s are working for me.
If you can’t flex them you just need to work on the mind muscle connection. Takes time and practice for some muscles.[/quote]
That is another issue of why I want to focus on direct trap work. I can clean about 285, but my traps are NEVER sore from all the pulling work I do. It seems like I have a heard time getting them to fire and rely on an extreme amount of hip drive.
Try holding the squeeze at the top of any shrug be it BB or DB for a count of three on each rep. They take longer this way, but they work the shit out of your traps, and you will be sore the next day.
Seated DB powercleans.
Shrugs are the best. What else hits the traps most directly and effectively?
When I try BB shrugs, my junk gets in the way…
Instead, I do HEAVY db shrugs. I read the rec. for behind the back smith shrugs, which I’ll try, and I’ve also had success with trap bar shrugs.
Any tips for the BB shrugs though? I can’t seem to both go heavy AND try to keep the bar from scraping up my body on the way up…
dan
[quote]elih8er wrote:
hardgnr wrote:
hang clean and press’s are working for me.
If you can’t flex them you just need to work on the mind muscle connection. Takes time and practice for some muscles.
That is another issue of why I want to focus on direct trap work. I can clean about 285, but my traps are NEVER sore from all the pulling work I do. It seems like I have a heard time getting them to fire and rely on an extreme amount of hip drive. [/quote]
Actually I remembered something I saw in one of CT’s articles. Posted a few months ago, build traps of steel or something.
Anyway, one of the movements was like a overhead press with a snatch grip and with your arms locked out shrug the weight 10 or so times. Since your traps act like stabilizers in this position, it might help you activate them some more.
I’ll try find the article.
Edit: Found it Leap Tall Buildings (and Build Traps of Steel)
Didn’t have the exercise I mentioned but has some other interesting looking ones.
The first two responses in this thread were the best and should have just ended it…
Deadlifts/rack pulls and barbell shrugs are the best trap builders period.
None of this hang clean, snatch, overhead shrug BS.
I like to do Barbell shrugs in front/back using the smith machine, just easier to move heavier weight without having the risk of dropping it do to failing grip.
[quote]mr popular wrote:
The first two responses in this thread were the best and should have just ended it…
Deadlifts/rack pulls and barbell shrugs are the best trap builders period.
None of this hang clean, snatch, overhead shrug BS.[/quote] <-especially as the op has already stated that he does OL…
Once again, the same situation as someone asking “yo, I can squat bench and dead 3/4/5 (and his back day consists of deads and 3 row variants) but my arms are tiny… What can I do?” And every moron says “rows”…
[quote]mr popular wrote:
The first two responses in this thread were the best and should have just ended it…
Deadlifts/rack pulls and barbell shrugs are the best trap builders period.
None of this hang clean, snatch, overhead shrug BS.[/quote]
I agree, but theres nothing wrong with having options.
OP: Which part of the traps do you want to develop? All the answers here seem to assume you want to increase the upper traps, is that true?