Weight Lifting Exercises - TRAPEZIUS
The muscles that are referred to as the traps are actually the trapezius muscles. Simply put they are the muscles that connect your back to your neck. When you exercise your shoulders, you will be working these muscles as well. There are some exercises that you can do that will work these muscles very well. Don’t be discouraged by the small amount of exercises for this area they work very well. There is some great growth that can be gained by working the muscles in this area. There are many bodybuilders who add shrugs to their workout and get a great gain in mass in this area.
The main exercises that will work these muscles are the upright row and the shrug.
The Shrug
This exercise should be done with dumbbells or a barbell. It is possible to do these exercises in the front or in the back.
All you will have to do is hold the weight and shrug your shoulders. That is all you have to do. Some bodybuilders will use a variation of this exercise by rolling the shoulders instead of simply lifting them up and down. All you do to do this is roll your shoulders when you are performing the shrug.
How it’s done:
1. Grab the weight and hold it at arms length in front of your body using an overhand grip
2. Lift your shoulders and try and touch them to your ears.
3. Hold the movement for a bit, then lower slowly and repeat
When you are performing this exercise you must use control and lower and lift your shoulders slowly. Keep from straining your neck when you are doing the exercises to avoid injury. It is possible to use a heavier weight because of the smaller range of motion. The other exercises that you can use are the upright row. This type of exercise is typically used as a shoulder exercise and will work the traps while you are working your shoulder muscles.
Here is how the upright row is done:
1. If you want to perform the exercise in the most intense manner, use a wider grip.
2. Hold the bar in front of you near to your thighs at arms length.
3. Lift the bar straight up along the line of your body until you get to about the hight of your chin
4. Hold the movement, lower the bar, repeat.
You should be sure that your elbows are higher than the bar when you are doing these exercises. You can use these exercises to get strong shoulder muscles and stronger traps. The results are worth the effort.