Building the Trapezius??

[Namelessone]

Hey guys,

Hoping for some tips here on this muscle that is a pain in my assssss....

I pretty much only do dumbbell and sometimes barbell shrugs using 75lb dumbbells they do hurt the next day a little but I'll be damned if I can get them to grow.

Would any of you guys that have had success in building your Trapz mind tossing me a few tips such as how you train them etc?

I'd really appreciate it.

[Josh]

I'm a tiny noob, so take this for what it's worth, but it sounds like you're not using enough weight. If that's you in your pic, you are way bigger than I am, and I use 80 lb DBs. Once I shrug them up, I hold them for about a full second, then take another full second to gradually let them back down. I do 3 sets of 15-20 like this twice per week. I have only been doing them for a couple months, so I've seen lots of initial growth so far. I'm sure it will slow down soon unless I change it up somehow.

[Seth]

I had to stop doing mine because they dwarfed my shoulders. I normally do 4 sets of front barbell shrugs per week. Go heavy, like 3-4 plates with wrist straps cheating a bit(giving a little momentum with the knees). That being said, it made my neck grow a little too much for my liking. Keep in mind this worked for me, might not work as well for you

[O-Train]

You're talking upper trapezius I'm guessing. It's a big muscle, origin goes from C7-T12. That portion of the traps elevates the shoulders but is also an internal/medial rotator. Which is why you see a lot of guys with big traps and bad posture (sometimes shoulder problems).

In the past I didn't do a lot of dumbell shrugs because my grip strength would give out first and/or I would have to concentrate too much on holding the dumbells once they got really heavy.

I don't do direct upper trap work anymore but they still grow. Remember the upper traps elevate your arms so anytime you're holding a weight against gravity your upper trapezius is working.

[nisser]

Yeah that's the biggest problem. I'm shrugging 95s now and I'd be damned to get out 6 reps on my last set. Next time I switch up my routine ill do shoulders + traps instead of on the back day. I think the deads slightly pre-exhaust my grip.

[L3]

Next time I switch up my routine ill do shoulders + traps instead of on the back day. I think the deads slightly pre-exhaust my grip.

yes shoulders + traps is a good idea imo, but when working the shoulders you will inevitably have put stress on the traps.

if you have trouble with your grip pick up some cotton wrist wraps $10

remember: try to drive your chin into the ground and try to touch your ears with your shoulders, at the same time

[xxSCHiSMxx]

heavy deadlifts made big difference in my traps.

[ezturbo]

I use the fix bicep curl machine, pin an extra 45 onto the stack, and shrug and roll my shoulders around, works beauty for trophy and size. Or good ol facepulls with the tricep rope on the row. I used dbells shrugs and didn't see any gains but those other methods have made traps one of my fastest growing muscles.

[Kronis]

remember: try to drive your chin into the ground and try to touch your ears with your shoulders, at the same time

This is what I've found has made the biggest difference.

Obviously be careful with your neck in this compromised state; don't turn your head.