Thread: Bringing up the traps

deadlifts, hanglceans

Originally Posted by T_man

deadlifts, hangcleans

Really? I never feel these in my traps. How are they performed to feel them in traps? Heavy, low rep or light, high rep?
The only thing that gets me DOMS in the traps are heavy shrugs with a loaded barbell.

I'll second shrugs. However, to really put the beat down on my traps, I like DB Shrugs. I like them because you can keep your hangs to the side instead of in front as you would with regular shrugs.

Originally Posted by DOMS

I'll second shrugs. However, to really put the beat down on my traps, I like DB Shrugs. I like them because you can keep your hangs to the side instead of in front as you would with regular shrugs.

Agreed. I definitly have restrictions doing them in the front. If you're at a gym with high poundage db's go with those. I really have to get more db's.

I don't have time/energy for much iso like that anymore. The compounds wear me out. If you have a wide grip on deads and just shrug a little on the lock on the top.

Hang cleans, make sure your traps do the shrugging of the bar coming up rather than your arms.

Would go heavy and not go past about 6/7 reps. Built my traps like a bastard.

Any type of cleans and heavy rack pulls

Originally Posted by FMJ

Agreed. I definitly have restrictions doing them in the front. If you're at a gym with high poundage db's go with those. I really have to get more db's.

How do you increase your grip for doing high poundage DB shrugs?? (and for the comedy relief the answer is no, whacking off isn't a way). I did shrugs today with 70lb DB's and could barely hang on to them. Trap focus is better but DB's but can't use them if I can't hold em.

Originally Posted by twarrior

How do you increase your grip for doing high poundage DB shrugs?? (and for the comedy relief the answer is no, whacking off isn't a way). I did shrugs today with 70lb DB's and could barely hang on to them. Trap focus is better but DB's but can't use them if I can't hold em.

Gazhole is the grip master around here, so hopefully he'll see this. Personally, I would work with farmer's walks and dead hangs to increase the type of strength that you're looking for.

Wrist straps? I wish my gym had heavier DB's. 120's are the heaviest and just aren't heavy enough.

Originally Posted by FMJ

Really? I never feel these in my traps. How are they performed to feel them in traps? Heavy, low rep or light, high rep?
The only thing that gets me DOMS in the traps are heavy shrugs with a loaded barbell.

You don't feel deads and cleans in your traps? Think about it...with deads you're gripping the BB as if at the bottom of a "shrug"..though you're lifting with your legs your back and traps are in constant isometric tension with a large amount of weight.

As for cleans, you're essentially performing a power shrug, sort of. I'm block training for lower pull and upper horizontal pull right now. I did 2 kinds of deads 2 days in a row (in addition to 3 kinds of rows) and my traps are absolutely shot!

Also, shrugs isolate only the upper traps (mostly seen from the front). You're missing the mid- and lower-fibers. The traps are large muscles and shrugs hit only the top smaller part. I'd reserve these for accessory work (like, if you want a little extra oomph on your deads and cleans). Otherwise, it's a whole lot of energy expended for not much gain.

If you're going to do shrugs, however, please....PLEASE....step the hell out of the power cage. I need to squat.

Originally Posted by Phineas

If you're going to do shrugs, however, please....PLEASE....step the hell out of the power cage. I need to squat.

Sorry buddy, I'm supersetting shrugs with curls. I need that cage.

When I do shrugs with the oly bar I have to use straps. I simply can't hold the bar long enough without them. And no, when I do rdl's or hang cleans, I never feel sore in my traps. Delts, forearms, yes. But not my traps.
That's not to say they don't work my traps, I'm sure they do.. but I never feel them being fatigued by those moves. I usually do my traps on back day which is the last day of my training week and they're never sore prior to doing the shrugs.

Originally Posted by FMJ

When I do shrugs with the oly bar I have to use straps.

This is the one exercise where I use straps. Your traps are hella bigger than the forearms muscles. It makes no sense to beat down the traps by accommodating the, comparatively, weaker forearms.

While I'm thinking about it though, might be that my cleans aren't heavy enought yet. DOMS brings up a good point and since the delts are also smaller than the traps they burn out fast, especially on me. My delts and biceps are my weakest body parts. Perhaps when I start moving serious poundage, I'll feel them in my traps but certainly not yet.
As for the deadlifts, well, same thing. My last rdl's were only 210lbs. Not much when talking about deads.

Originally Posted by FMJ

My last rdl's were only 210lbs. Not much when talking about deads.

I think 210 is a very impressive deadlift. Just because a small percentage of lifters can do 300+ doesn't mean a 200+ dead is unimpressive. I just got my 5-rep dead up 5lbs to 245 with gas left in the tank and I was very happy about it! Not many people can perform deads period. So, don't consider your weight to be "not much". I think too many people do that (or, at least pretend to make it seem they normally lift more ). And a romanian..even more impressive.

There's a guy at my gym training for MMA (Brazilian Ju-Jitzu..however the hell you spell it). He's a very fit looking guy. Small..like 5'6 but pretty muscular. I've seen him bench 225 for 3-5 reps with proper form. But, then he loads up the squat bar with 4 plates a side and goes down literally about 1.5 inches. He'll also put 2 plates on the deadlift bar for 8 reps, but his back looks like a camel's hump. What is more impressive? The guy deadlifting with his spine and squatting an inch...or the guy deadlifting a clean 210?

Number mean nothing. As long as your proud of your performance and are giving your honest-all and doing it properly then all the power to you buddy.

Franco Columbo was a whole foot shorter than Lou Ferrigno. But, the little bastard could deadlift 730!

Originally Posted by danzik17

Sorry buddy, I'm supersetting shrugs with curls. I need that cage.

Damn you!! What's next?! Are you gonna get under the safety bars on the floor, unrack the BB, hold it in place, and perform those hip flexor twists? No...NOOO!!!! I've been waiting 15 mins to squat!! Oh wait..are you done now? Oh good I was getting frustra....wait..what?..no..NOO!! now you're 4 friends in under armour are going to do it too! NO!!!

I guess if you can't beat em', join em'. Can somebody hand me a pink dumbbell? I need to do 100 sets of various curls.

Originally Posted by Phineas

Damn you!! What's next?! Are you gonna get under the safety bars on the floor, unrack the BB, hold it in place, and perform those hip flexor twists? No...NOOO!!!! I've been waiting 15 mins to squat!! Oh wait..are you done now? Oh good I was getting frustra....wait..what?..no..NOO!! now you're 4 friends in under armour are going to do it too! NO!!!

I guess if you can't beat em', join em'. Can somebody hand me a pink dumbbell? I need to do 100 sets of various curls.

Sorry. I'm using the pink ones for my wrist curls. How about you use the Aqua ones. They're rubber coated!

Originally Posted by twarrior

How do you increase your grip for doing high poundage DB shrugs?? (and for the comedy relief the answer is no, whacking off isn't a way). I did shrugs today with 70lb DB's and could barely hang on to them. Trap focus is better but DB's but can't use them if I can't hold em.

If you just want to grip the dumbells for traps, use some straps.

You can bring up your static grip with simple static holds with dumbells or barbell, farmers walks with dumbells or kettlebells, you can make both of these exercises harder by using a thick bar (or wrapping the handles/bar with something like a towel or leather strips or something).

Other stuff for static grip could be dead hangs from a pullup bar for time, rack pulls...i also find any pinch grip lifts or block lifts improves my grip overall.

I also like heavy high rep rack lift offs which are basically rack pulls with a 1 inch range of motion. Lift it off, pause, put it back, lift off, pause, back etc etc. Do this for a lot of reps. You'll be using heavy weights but the ROM is so damned small its not as hard on the lower back as rack pulls. Still uses a shitload of core stability though so you may want to go easy on them to build up.

As for the original traps issue:

DB Shrugs
Kelso Shrugs
Hang Cleans
Rack Pulls
Hise Shrugs

Do it for me. Not saying you should have all of those in for "trap day" but pick a few and scatter them throughout your training.

Heavy-ass rack pulls did it for me. Keep the shoulders up, don't let the weight just pull your shoulders down to their lowes point.

Other then what you guys have mentioned I noticed pullovers giving me some DOMS in my traps for a couple days.

Excellent fellas, thanks for the tips. I was already cleaning and doing deads, but no shrugging. I will add these in immediately.

Deadlifts and overhead press.

Actually to really increase your grip use a cable machine and do cable curls with your hands turned over so your palms are facing down this really hits your forearms to improve your grip. I did these to help my grip in the dead lift and it worked great. Also for traps I use behind the head military press and do shrugs using the smith machine. Im not a big fan of the smith machine but it keeps the bar stable and lets you do the shrugs one armed so you really target the traps individually. Don't go too heavy but do them until failure.

I don't do these every time I hit my traps, but I do throw them in here and there. i like using the smith machine to do behind the back shrugs. I did these last night and my traps are still sore right now. I didn't see these mentioned any where in this thread so I figured I'd chime in.

"Feel"
Well, do you want to burn there or grow there? I know there is evidence to support that eccentric movements promote growth and with eccentric movement comes DOMS, but are you talking about Acute Onset Muscle Soreness? Theres a difference.

Ill tell ya what, I herniated my disk a couple years ago when deadlifting 400lbs+ poorly. Since then, I had to perfect my deadlifting form if I was ever going to do them again. Once that fucking task was in the works, my traps did get DOMS but they never burned DURING the movement. With that, they also grew. Before that, I did DB/BB shrugs on pull days and Hise Shrugs on push days. I never noticed much of a difference, but I 'felt' the burn during the exercise.

Reminds me of shitty ass DB raises. They burn like all hell, but they dont make shit grow like presses do.

unilateral db shrugs = greater ROM + greater recruitment (Poliquin)

Originally Posted by AKIRA

"Feel"
Well, do you want to burn there or grow there? I know there is evidence to support that eccentric movements promote growth and with eccentric movement comes DOMS, but are you talking about Acute Onset Muscle Soreness? Theres a difference.

Ill tell ya what, I herniated my disk a couple years ago when deadlifting 400lbs+ poorly. Since then, I had to perfect my deadlifting form if I was ever going to do them again. Once that fucking task was in the works, my traps did get DOMS but they never burned DURING the movement. With that, they also grew. Before that, I did DB/BB shrugs on pull days and Hise Shrugs on push days. I never noticed much of a difference, but I 'felt' the burn during the exercise.

Reminds me of shitty ass DB raises. They burn like all hell, but they dont make shit grow like presses do.

Yeah definately looking for growth, and was talking about DOMs. The shrugging seemed to do it. I feel like Chuck Norris karate chopped me on both sides today.