Build a Look of Dominance
Build the muscles with the greatest visual impact to create a look of dominance. This method of trap training will get you there fast.
Trap Training For a Faster Transformation
Trap training is underrated. Why? Because while training your larger muscles is obviously effective, it takes a lot of time to create a significant visual difference. Luckily, there are a few smaller muscle groups that can change your physique faster. The traps are one of those groups.
Bonus: You can hit your traps frequently. Train them three times a week and you'll see improvements almost immediately.
The best part? Developed traps create a look of power. When you build them, people will think you look jacked, even if they can't really pinpoint why! What other muscles have this effect aside from the traps? The neck and forearms. We'll get to those another day. Today is all about the traps.
What They Do: Physically and Visually
Traps have a protective impact on the head and neck. They can help prevent concussions and neck or spinal injuries. They also play a role in pulling and carrying strength.
When it comes to appearance, they work alongside the neck to create the primary sign of strength and dominance. Humans have evolved to quickly recognize the physical potential of an opponent by looking at the traps/neck/head area. That's the first-pass evaluation of how dangerous someone might be.
Bigger traps are subconsciously associated with being a better protector (1). You just have to look at ancient warriors across cultures. When going to battle, they pop up their traps (depressing the shoulders, almost like doing a most-muscular pose) and scream, which makes the neck stand out. Bruce Lee was also famous for displaying his traps before a fight.
High-Frequency Trap Training
The more you train a muscle while it still recovers, the faster you progress. This is the basis of high-frequency training.
However, you still need to impose a sufficient stimulus at each session for it to work. You might be able to train a muscle every day if you do one set, but that one set might not be sufficient to stimulate growth. So, if all your workouts are insufficient, there will be no growth.
Plus, not all muscle can be trained at the same frequency. The larger a muscle, and the more the exercises stretch it under load, the less frequently you can train it.
That's something that Dr. Fred Hatfield figured out. He found that muscles like abs, calves, forearms, and traps could be trained more often than pecs, quads, hamstrings, and upper-back muscles (for example).
While exceptions exist, the smaller the muscle, the more often it can be trained. That's because you'll create less overall damage and central fatigue. Also, the best exercises for muscles like the forearms and neck cause very little muscle trauma (traps a bit more).
The traps can be trained 2-3 times a week. These are, of course, the higher frequency ranges. You can still progress with a lower frequency, but going up to these higher ranges will allow for faster progress.
The Best Exercises For Traps
The upper traps are pretty simple to train. The main function of the upper fibers is to elevate the shoulder blades. So basic shrugging motions are essentially all you need to hit the upper fibers of the traps.
Note: There's a theory that, because of the orientation of the fibers, the elevation of the shoulder blades would actually be done by the levator scapulae and not by the upper fibers of the traps. This theory suggests that the true main function of the upper fibers (and middle fibers) of the traps is scapular retraction (2) – pulling your shoulder blades together.
But our experience in the gym and our eyes tell us that bodybuilders have built big traps by using various forms of shrugs, and you get a massive local pump in the traps when you do shrugs.
I mean, if you can get a muscle pumped and feel it working when you're performing an exercise – and then get sore the day after – it's a good sign that you worked the target muscle. Theoretical biomechanics are useful, but they're not the only way to evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise.
Shrugs and high pulls are the fastest ways to build the traps, but you'll see more exercises here to cover all our bases.
In the video, you'll notice shrugs with a slight forward torso lean, which includes both the scapular elevation and retraction functions to some extent. Whether it's the Wendler row or simply leaning forward 15-20 degrees on barbell, dumbbell, or trap-bar shrugs, this small modification makes shrugging a lot more effective.
1. Wendler Row
- Functions Trained: Scapular elevation and retraction
- Recommendations: Do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps. Hold the peak contraction for a second on each rep.
2. Trap Bar Shrug (Slight Forward Lean)
- Functions Trained: Scapular elevation (some retraction)
- Recommendations: Do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps. Hold the peak contraction for a second on each rep.
3. Cable Upright Row with Forward Lean
- Functions Trained: Scapular elevation and retraction
- Recommendations: Do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps, holding the peak contraction for a second on each rep.
4. High Pull From The Hang (Snatch or Clean Grip)
- Functions Trained: This is not a pure trap exercise; it's more of an overall power movement. But it's very effective to stimulate the traps mostly because of the forceful stretch when you lower the bar down.
- Recommendations: Do 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps.
Remember, you can train your traps two to three times per week. These are low-stress movements (except the high pulls) that won't negatively impact the rest of your workout or your recovery.
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