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Before I get into this blog, just wanted to say Happy Belated Father’s Day to all hardworking dad’s out there!
Welcome back for the next edition in the GETBIG series. This blog is dedicated to a muscle which doesn’t really receive enough attention as they should, this week we focus on the TRAPEZIUS or “TRAPS”.
Built properly, chiseled and defined traps can help give the appearance of a bulky and well built upper body. However, there is a point where too much is simply not feasible. Traps too big don’t look all that appealing in my opinion, and limit your mobility when trying to turn your neck. This doesn’t mean you neglect your traps, it just means exercise in moderation (unless you like big traps then that’s totally your choice).
Anatomy
The traps are comprised of three main regions. The upper, the middle and the lower trapezius.
Upper – Shrugging shoulders upwards
Middle – Retract shoulder blades back
Lower – Lower shoulder blades down
The upper region starts from the lower portion on the back of the skull and is connected to the spine and various ligaments in the neck. The middle and lower regions start mid spine and formulates along the outer to inner portions of the shoulder blades. Since there are 3 regions, there are various exercises to targets the 3 individual regions.
Below are my favourite exercises per region which you can try out:
Upper Region
Shrugs: This is probably the most effective exercise in terms of hitting your upper traps. This is the natural movement of the upper trap and its main purpose in lifting the shoulders and shoulder blades.
You can do shrugs with a barbell or dumbbells. I prefer dumbbells; I had a bad experience with a barbell *which would happen to really only me*…… (use your 12 year old imagination to figure out what happened…). With dumbbells, I find a greater range of motion and better control. You simply place the dumbbells to your sides (retract your shoulder blades) and then proceed to lift the dumbbells. You should not be using any other muscle other than your traps to lift the weight; if you are, then the weight is too heavy. Another important thing to keep in mind is to make sure you look straight the whole time. It’s natural to try and look down during the movement but try to make sure you look straight.
Middle Region
Bent over Row: The bent over row is a great exercise for your mid/lower back. The retracting of your arms and the position of your back in a bent over state helps stretch and flexes your mid traps. Remember, your traps are not just located near the top of your neck, but they extend all the way down to the middle area of your back, which is an area that needs to be trained as well.
A key thing to note with this exercise is tempo. I see a few people at the gym rushing this exercise and trying to just pump out as many reps as possible. This is incorrect as 99.9% your form is going to be off because you are lifting erratically. This can lead to injuries or just little to no stress placed on the intended muscle. Go slow and focus on the retraction and contraction of the muscles.
5 proper reps are better than 50 awkward reps.
Lower Region
Chin up: A regular chin up if done correctly is a great exercise which hits your lower traps. This is compound exercise but does effectively hit the traps if you position yourself in the right way.
Before you even lift off, make sure your shoulder blades are retracted as far back as you can make them. Then lift off. Whilst lifting up make sure you look up and your chest is pointing upwards. By doing this, you gain a natural curvature in your back which flexes your lower traps and targets them directly. This takes practice so I suggest doing it on an assisted pull up machine till you get the feel for the movement.
In summary...
The traps are made of many fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibres which means you need to make sure you lift heavy and light. Heavy training will come mostly from your compound lifts such as deadlifts and chin ups. For light weight training I suggest mainly shrugs but you can also mix in cable face pulls which directly targets all 3 regions.
I’ve said this many times before and I will continue to say this. This means nothing without a good………DIET. So make sure your hard work in the gym is paid off by complimenting it with the right food.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you have a great rest of the week!
Continue to send me your feedback and comments on instagram @huuusss_p and follow theELORE on instagram @_theELORE.
Peace!
Hussain
Thank you Hussain for taking your personal time to share and teach us everything we need to know to be healthy and successful at the gym! Much appreciated! Awesome! :)