# Favourite Shrug method?



## expletive

*Whats your favourite shrug technique?*​
Dumbell 6338.89%Barbell Front 4427.16%Barbell behind 106.17%Smith Machine infront 159.26%Smith Machine behind 84.94%Shrug machine 106.17%Other (please state)127.41%


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## expletive

Whats your favourite method of shrugs to really hit your traps?


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## Guest

I do bb front and rear most times but i like the feel of it behind atm


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## Thunderstruck

i feel it much more with very heavy dumbells, i use straps so grip doesnt go before traps do. I find dumbells get a great stratch at the bottom and much more free for a huge squeeze up the top.

With barbell i used to just smash my nuts to pieces so had to stop although does look more impressive to people watching :thumb:


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## flinty90

you forgot to add heavy a$$ deadlifts !!!


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## Guest

Our gym has got a welded box type thing that you add the weights to, works perfect keeps the weights away from you side slightly but not too much.

Just add the plates onto each side. Ill get a pic of it when I go in tommorrow.


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## C.Hill

Deadlifts

Db shrugs

Trap bar shrugs


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## flinty90

C.Hill said:


> Deadlifts
> 
> Db shrugs
> 
> Trap bar shrugs


yes mate I use deads and the shrug bar we have . works perfectly and i think my traps are testamant to that !!!


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## expletive

Didnt include deads as its not a shrug


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## expletive

Dave. Ive been using the box thing these last 2 weeks for a change.


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## LunaticSamurai

Dumbells, bent knees hanging my head, arms locked.


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## flinty90

expletive said:


> Didnt include deads as its not a shrug


it is at top of movement mate X


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## C.Hill

expletive said:


> Didnt include deads as its not a shrug


Deads are king for building traps!


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## expletive

flinty90 said:


> it is at top of movement mate X


Fair enough. Just wanted a shrug only poll


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## MRSTRONG

flinty90 said:


> yes mate I use deads and the shrug bar we have . works perfectly and i think my traps are testamant to that !!!
> 
> View attachment 65770


 :lol:


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## MRSTRONG

the traps are what help you to deadlift more weight so a heavy deadlift will work traps better than other trap work .


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## flinty90

ewen said:


> :lol:


as per usual mate i dont understand what your problem is ???


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## Milky

Smith machine front and rear and reverse fliys for me.


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## LunaticSamurai

Milky said:


> reverse fliys for me.


Oh yeah reverse flys, have a machine for that.


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## MRSTRONG

flinty90 said:


> as per usual mate i dont understand what your problem is ???


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## deeconfrost

upright row works well for me


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## Cythraul

never realised there where so many diffrent types of shrugs...


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## Suprakill4

I think Ewen means your traps are not that big?


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## Hayesy

D Bells, Wrist straps and shrug 25 reps at 32kg then 34kg then if i can try for as many at 36kg


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## Fatstuff

flinty90 said:


> yes mate I use deads and the shrug bar we have . works perfectly and i think my traps are testamant to that !!!
> 
> View attachment 65770


He said shrug not smug


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## retro-mental

I prefer dumbell shrugs to barbell, Wouldnt mind a go on a trap bar too

Had a go at some hise shrugs few weeks back and they were quite good, reverse flys are good and also done some seated shrugs leaning back slightly and leaning forward slightly which were good

Try some hise shrugs


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## flinty90

Suprakill4 said:


> I think Ewen means your traps are not that big?


no mate there not big at all i will shut up



BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM


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## flinty90

Fatstuff said:


> He said shrug not smug


Jelly BRO


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## Barker

Barbell infront, dont know why people do it behind them, i imagine its very awkward to do, and your traps are actually on yout back so it just makes sense to hold the bar infront of you


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## flinty90

Barker said:


> Barbell infront, dont know why people do it behind them, i imagine its very awkward to do, and your traps are actually on yout back so it just makes sense to hold the bar infront of you


yes mate your right. having the weight at the front of you would actually lift and stretch the traps out more than from behind, however i think people just like to hit them from different angles .. its like the lat pull variances either pulling down to front or behind neck ..


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## Fatstuff

flinty90 said:


> Jelly BRO


Lol, not of that daft mush


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## flinty90

Fatstuff said:


> Lol, not of that daft mush


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## Trapps84

I find super sets of barbell front with dumbell gives me the worked on feeling when leaving the gym


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## Replicator

Barker said:


> Barbell infront, dont know why people do it behind them, i imagine its very awkward to do, and your traps are actually on yout back so it just makes sense to hold the bar infront of you


Not at all.

when you do them behind your back you have to have the slightest of lean back to avoid scuffing your buttocks with the bar.

here how that can be done

Its hard to balance with the barbell behind your back with heavy weights so here is the secret to keeping solid

See the leg extension /pulley machine , load the bar and put it on the seat balanced carefully of course and put the pin of the extension/ pulley machine in the bottom plate, you are going to need as much weight here as possible to hold the extension part still while you execute this.

Now put your legs in as if you are going to do extensions ,sit down and grab the bar then stand up, the pads at the bottom on the front of your legs and the pads at the back of your legs at the top hold you solid, lean back a little .NOW JUST SHRUG .

When done like this if done properly your traps is the only thing that takes all the weight , you can feel the drag from the outset and I bet you wont shrug as much at your back as you do from the front .

your traps are actually on your back so it just makes sense to hold the bar at the back of you .............................or you can always use a trapbar then your hands are at your side , this is good too.....................hell they are all good its just whatever suits YOU


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## jamiedilk

i do 42.5kg dumbells seated shrugs best way for me doing it like this as im quite one sided for strengh so it isolates it better and works both sides equal!!


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## Diegouru

Barbell front and behind..


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## mark44

I like to vary it but generally smith machine behind and in front works pretty good for me. That way I can keep my ass out the way of the bar. I also like dumbell and barbel. It's just a case of variety works best.

But like others have said, deadlifts work best. These are my fav lifts to do in the gym. Can't get enough of them!


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## wee-chris

shake it up.

one week dumbbells, up, hold release, next week barbell robot shrugs, following week high rep dumbbell shrugs. keep your body guessing

oh and dead lift like fook


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## Impulse2903

Usually do shrugs on the shrug machine as i find it really hits my traps opposed to bb & db


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## C.Hill

On Friday I trained my traps, tried a different routine.

Barbell shrugs supersetted with seated db shrugs, 4x10-12.

Oh dear the pump was immense and the doms the following days were super painful, will be using this method everytime now on! Loved it.


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## retro-mental

C.Hill said:


> On Friday I trained my traps, tried a different routine.
> 
> Barbell shrugs supersetted with seated db shrugs, 4x10-12.
> 
> Oh dear the pump was immense and the doms the following days were super painful, will be using this method everytime now on! Loved it.


Barbell or dumbell shrugs superset with reverse flyes are killers !!!!!


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## Fatstuff

Dunno?


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## Barker

Replicator said:


> your traps are actually on your back so it just makes sense to hold the bar at the back of you


your lats are on your back but i dont think theres many exercises where you hold the bar behind you... Its a more natural movement fr the traps to go diagonally back, giving them a full range of motion, they dont move vertically.


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## digitalis

Madly enough I use shrugs as much to give my medial delts a workout as much as traps (traps too big = narrower appearance) but I usuall do a smith machine shrug, db's or bastardise the hammer shoulder press to do a behind the back version.


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## pea head

Dumbbells from the side of the legs for me...and none of that rolling bullsh1t either :thumbup1:


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## big_jim_87

Bar to front, seated or standing db.

As pea head said none of that rolling shyt! Lol oh and heavy ass weight!


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## ianm2585

face down on a 45 degree bench with either bar or dumbells


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## MattGriff

flinty90 said:


> it is at top of movement mate X


Who the fek taught you to deadlift :lol:

Power shrugs are king of the shrugs

Best excercises however are:

Partial Deadlifts

Power cleans

Push Press

Eating pussy

Deadlifts provide massive static pressure, power cleans provide a huge dynamic effort, push press provides both static and dynamic effort with the arm extended and eating pussy makes you more Alpha meaning you insantly become better at the other things - fact!


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## shane278

Smith machine in front.


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## Rick89

never ever do shrugs, wouldnt waste my time tbh when other things buid bigger thicker traps quicker


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## SneakyCarrot

I never train traps directly. They get done when I do shoulders with a movement Ive no idea what its called so I call it "pouring the milk" and reverse flys


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## hackskii

Biggest traps I ever saw was from a dude that did dead lifts and heavy.

I noticed the most development from dead lifts.

Look at it this way, the range of motion is very good, when you bend over to pick up the bar your hands are more in front of you, as you stand they come back some, this puts lots of tension on the rhomboids, and the lower trap will get hammered.

Way better range than a shrug.

I never really noticed much from the shrug anyway.

If you are doing dead lifts, you really dont need to do shrugs anyway.


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## bboypredator

I like doing dumbell shrugs with a heavy enough weight (so that my forearms are in agony) but i can still hold onto it, and as an advanced method, I shrug in two seperate stages of movement instead of one, its more controlled and I get a deeper burn from it. Traps are such a responsive muscle id say working them 2wice a week would be sufficient (or even once, when uve got a decent amount of size on them)


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## dtlv

My favourite shrug method isn't this:






Well maybe it is, but for amusement and nothing else!


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## Steuk

I do smith machine front shrug and dumbbell shrugs. Both in alternate motions.


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## dtlv

Regular barbell shrugs (front of thighs, straight up-down, no shoulder rotation) for upper traps, prone incline db shrugs for the lower and mid traps.

For an interesting variation (and trap DOMS from hell) try overhead shrugs... ouch.


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## Dananaman

Wide grip on a barbell.

But shrugs are shiiite. I think lat raises and wide grip upright row hits the traps better.

But deadlifts will really make them grow.


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## broch316

bb behind hits it best for me


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## eezy1

barbell front always for me


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## Trevor McDonald

What do you guys find has developed the rear delts the most? I've got boulders for front but lacking the back.


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## Guest

Mey said:


> What do you guys find has developed the rear delts the most? I've got boulders for front but lacking the back.


Face pulls or Rear db raises work well


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## expletive

Facepulls FTW


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## jed

barbell front shrugs. I prefer dumbell but dumbells don't go heavy enough in my gym


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## bigdazz

i feel i get the most from upright rows really gets my traps working


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## biglbs

Roll em roll em roll em!Front to rear


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## biglbs

Mey said:


> What do you guys find has developed the rear delts the most? I've got boulders for front but lacking the back.


Bent over lat raise dumbell


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## biglbs

Dtlv74 said:


> My favourite shrug method isn't this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well maybe it is, but for amusement and nothing else!


LIKE A MONKEY MATING


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## retro-mental

hise shrug and overhead shrug


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## mark22

Heavy barbell (120kg for me) 10-12 reps 2 sets then dropsets down to 100 and 90. Hold for 2 seconds at top of each shrug, no rolling back, working a treat fro me lately.


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## Ricky12345

Defently dumbells for me straight after shoulder press with no rest


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## Jalapa

My Favorite method is to stand around the squat rack with about 4 of my mates. Put much more weight on the bar than I can handle and have my mates do most of the lifting for me. We like to take in in turns doing this for about half an hour. It works even better if someone is waiting to use the squat rack, for squats.


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## scotty64

I use a shrug bar I bought of ebay for £25, also use it for some deadlifts and bent over rows.

Technique with the shrug bar I use is heavy sets- 3x8x100kg - 2 seconds tensed at the top of movement and 5 seconds hold at bottom of movement, normally fail on last set depending if I'm upping wieght. normally chuck some 60% weight high rep shrugs in at end of shoulder day.


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## 1990

dumbell high rep with 2 second hold at the top


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## irish_2003

for my traps i like rack deads and also seated bentover rear delt flye/shrug combo movement...i learned those from a flex wheeler video and they've improved my lower traps tremendously


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## justin case

two bags of heavy shopping when the car is parked half a mile away...lol


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## 2H3ENCH4U

Low reps, heavy with BB.

High Reps light with DB.


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## Big_Idiot

Other: When someone asks me a question i dont know.


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## liam0810

4 or 5 heavy sets of 6-8 reps on BB curls with a drop sets at the end.


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## mojo-jojo

Front barbell with straps


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## Guest

dumbells , to the side, shoulders engaged and hey ho away we go.


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## HJL

I just pick up the heaviest weight i can, go stand in teh squat rack and just flap a bit untill i drop the weights.


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## JaneN40

flinty90 said:


> you forgot to add heavy a$$ deadlifts !!!


I voted barbell but I deadlift too.


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## MattGriff

I can't be ****d to do shrugs


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## Mackerel

I do barbell front 'til it burns, then I do barbell behind 'til it burns more.

At that stage if i'm in front of a mirror I have to put the weight down as i'm laughing too much at my own twisted tortured 'shrug-face'.


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## dan_mk

Did behind the back barbell shrugs today for the first time. WHY did I not know about this lift before!!! Love it!


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## durhamlad

Barbell Shrugs to the front for me....the dumbbells at my gym arnt big enough to get nice and heavy


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## Dezw

I like doing shrugs with the farmers handles, can shrug higher than with a barbell to front or back and get crazy weights on as well.


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## brandon91

For traps usually heavy bb shrugs, but I feel as though my traps have developed the most since I started doing cleans and lots of them, also clean pulls and snatch pulls


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