A trapezius muscle workout is important for a complete trapezius workout. This muscle traps your shoulder and rotator cuff, and stabilizes the back. It also helps to strengthen the muscles of the shoulder blade and triceps. A strong trapezius helps to protect the spine and traps the arms and hands in a neutral position. Thus, it is essential for back strength and protection.
A smart trapezius workout should include exercises that stress the outer and middle traps. The trapezius muscles are worked with both straight and bent-over barbells. For the straight version of the workout, start with five dumbbells. Hold them at shoulder level and bend your elbows. Let the dumbbells hang at your sides and pull your shoulder blades back until your shoulders are fully extended. Be sure to keep your elbows close to your body throughout the movement.
Another great exercise for the trapezius is to perform overhead shrugs. This exercise works out the front, and side deltoid heads as well as the forearms and triceps. To perform this exercise, raise a dumbbell in each hand, and perform six upright rows down to the deltoid head. Raise the dumbbells high enough that you can see your palms. Upright rows work the front deltoids, the side deltoids and the forearms, while wide-grip pull-ups work the triceps.
To complete this workout, curl the barbell straight up until it is at shoulder height. Bring it down to your chest before standing and completing twelve reps of twelve. For each side, perform two faces pulls and two shrugs. A trapezius workout should not only include exercises intended for the traps, but also other small stabilizing muscles.
Trapezius workouts also require you to do some simple face pulls. Face pulls are simply extensions of the regular dumbbell face pull exercise. This movement targets the front side deltoids and helps build the trap muscles. It also helps develop the lateral and medial deltoids. Face pulls are a valuable addition to any comprehensive workout because they can help isolate specific muscle groups.
One more great workout for the trapezius muscles is shrugging. You may think that shrugs are a triceps exercise, but they actually target the trapezius muscles in an excellent way. The trapezius muscles are set on top of the shoulders and resemble small biceps. To perform shrugs, raise a dumbbell over your head, and let it rest on the back for four seconds before lowering it back down.
Both cable chops and wide-grip bench presses are excellent trap exercises. Cable chops are performed by folding a cable pulley over a horizontal bar. This creates a very intense stimulation of the trapezius muscles. You can add a bit of weight by allowing the cable to hang off of a chin up bar. Make sure you do not allow the cable to move during this exercise.
The best workout for the trapezius muscles will be one which utilizes many different exercises massaging the muscle. This is why so many bodybuilders use a wide variety of weight-lifting exercises. They have a plan for each muscle group and they know when to make these muscle groups work. If you want to get the strongest, biggest arms, and biggest back, this is the best workout for you.
When I was younger, I used to perform my trapezius muscle workouts in a rather unusual fashion. I would perform one set of six to eight reps of each of my trap exercises massaging in three different directions with the weight I was using. For example, if I was working out with fifty pounds, I would curl fifty pounds out to the front of my body and then lower it slowly to the side and bring it back in again. This forced me to use a lot more muscle in each movement and really work the muscles I was targeting.
Other ways to build a good strength base for your trapezius muscles are pull-ups, reverse rows, and cable rack pulls. Some may find these exercises tedious but if you are working out with a limited amount of weight and can squeeze in an extra set or two of each of these exercises massaging these muscles will be much easier. Cable rack pulls are done by laying on a flat surface with your palms facing inward and lifting the cable across your chest until it is at your shoulders level.
The last of my three best trap workout approaches is shrugging. It is best to add weights for your shrugs to make them more effective. To do shrugs, raise your dumbbells above your head, and shrug them forward until your arms are fully extended. Make sure that your elbows are slightly bent when raising your dumbbells. Lower the dumbbells back to your sides and repeat this exercise. Your trapezius muscle will grow in size and will look stronger in no time at all.
