Trapezius Exercises – Build Massive Traps

I usually don’t write about other aspects of bodybuilding other than supplements, but I thought I’d switch it up a little and talk about building some bad ass traps.

When I first started training and received all my information from the popular bodybuilding magazines, I thought the best and only trapezius exercises included and were limited to shrugs. So I followed the routines in the mags and performed lots of both barbell and dumbbell shrugs.

As my knowledge grew and my results plateaued, I learned that shrugs were actually not the best trap exercise. It all started when I read an interview from the creator of Doggcrapp Training which can be found here. Here is a quote from the interview:

Question: One odd thing is that you don’t believe in doing any direct work for the traps. What’s your reasoning for that?
Answer:Name the 2 bodybuilders out of the 400 pros that have the most gigantic traps. Ronnie Coleman and Johnnie Jackson. Everyone and their brother is doing shrugs but why did those two former powerlifters join the bodybuilding ranks and have traps that stand up to their ears? Deadlifts. In my opinion there isn’t a 225-275lb shrug on this planet that could ever equal the trap size you can accomplish by doing 300-650lb floor deadlifts and rack deadlifts.

After reading the interview, I immediately began adding deadlifts to my training every week and stopped performing as many shrugs. I have not completely ditched the shrugs, but instead of shrugging every week, I now only shrug every few weeks concentrating on the contraction and not so much heavy ass weights.

Since I have made the switch, my traps have improved quite nicely. I can vouch that deadlifting really does build some badass traps.

How to Deadlift The Right Way

Most people absoultely suck at deadlifting. If your looking to improve your technique, here are some youtube videos you can get some tips from:

The guy in the video is Mark Rippetoe and the author of Starting Strength. I cannot recommend this book enough. Definitely a must if you are trying to perfect your lifting form for all the major compound lifts. Not only will perfecting your form reduce the incidence of injuries, but will increase the amount of weight you can lift by making the movements more efficient.

Other Trapezius Exercises

If you can’t deadlift for some reason, there are other trapezius exercises you can perform. Such as the front or rear barbell shrug. Shrugs can also be performed with doumbbells. Here’s a video with several trapezius exercises (click link to watch at youtube or just watch the video below).

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