Thread: traps

the best exercise I ran into for traps, for me over the years I used to bodybuild alot and started using now are behind the back shrugs BUT with a caveat:

consider shoulder width grip upright rows, those are usually shoulders, right?

now do the shoulder width upright rows but grab the smith machine bar from behind your back and shrug up ANd pull weight up and hold at top.... it hits the whole trap, not just below the ears and across the top

Originally Posted by carmineb

the best exercise I ran into for traps, for me over the years I used to bodybuild alot and started using now are behind the back shrugs BUT with a caveat:

consider shoulder width grip upright rows, those are usually shoulders, right?

now do the shoulder width upright rows but grab the smith machine bar from behind your back and shrug up ANd pull weight up and hold at top.... it hits the whole trap, not just below the ears and across the top

that sounds like an awesome movement. i'm gonna try that sucker out. sounds like it could be hard on the rotator cuff but I'll be giving it a shot next shoulder workout. thanks.

If your gym has a shrug machine, (the one where you can do it sitting or standing and load free weights onto it) do a weight you can do 5-8 times while sitting. Then do another 5 to 8 standing. After that grab a 45 in each hand and do 10 shrugs with your hands at your sides, then 10 shrugs in front, then 10 shrugs with the weight behind you, then another 10 at your side.
Do that with no rest. That routine counts as 1 set. Rest a bit and do 2 or 3 more sets. Thats my routine. First time you do it, your traps will hurt for days.

O-lifts, like the Olympic Snatch and Olympic Cleans has done wonders for my traps. As an MMA fighter you'd benefit a lot from power movements, apart from the aesthetic appeal of developed traps. TD and TDD speed have a very direct translation from O-lifts.

Originally Posted by xp123

If your gym has a shrug machine, (the one where you can do it sitting or standing and load free weights onto it) do a weight you can do 5-8 times while sitting. Then do another 5 to 8 standing. After that grab a 45 in each hand and do 10 shrugs with your hands at your sides, then 10 shrugs in front, then 10 shrugs with the weight behind you, then another 10 at your side.
Do that with no rest. That routine counts as 1 set. Rest a bit and do 2 or 3 more sets. Thats my routine. First time you do it, your traps will hurt for days.

Sounds pretty intense, ill def check that out next shoulder routine.

power cleans and hang cleans, alot of heavy rack pulls. Fuck shrugs

Originally Posted by vader

power cleans and hang cleans, alot of heavy rack pulls. Fuck shrugs

Standing barbell and dumbbell military press. Upright rows with both also

Originally Posted by Diesel618

that sounds like an awesome movement. i'm gonna try that sucker out. sounds like it could be hard on the rotator cuff but I'll be giving it a shot next shoulder workout. thanks.

dont overkill the weight, (palms face back of course)... for me, its about finishing off the routine after the regular stuff so you can get your burns whatever it is for u,find a groove and work with it.

why would you do anything that is gonna be bad on the RC muscles when you don't have to, to get the results you want?

cheers for the advice guys,il try out hang cleans as ive never done them before ,alot of the mma strenth training is for explosivness and endurance,i regulary spar with guys up to 50% heavier than me and do excercises like 20 squats with a similar weight guy on my back so my training is different to regular body building stuff,im just sick of having nicley developed shoulders and back with small weak traps purly because they look crap and strong traps are ment to be pretty important according to my coach

NOTHING and I mean NOTHING will build your traps more than deadlifts and cleans.