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Hey all! So I am a thin-ish guying working on progressing to a semi bigger-ish guy and I am wondering if anyone has any advice on traps. I have the old standby shrugs in my plan but just curious if anyone has any other creative trap exercises they swear by. Thanks in advance for the help!

I have always just done barbell shrugs, straight up and down.. don't roll your shoulders forward like I see some guys do in the gym.

Sometimes I use the bar on a smith machine. Lean back a little, then you can get a good squeeze on the traps.
Whatever you do, keep your arms straight at all times.

I was looking and I can't seem to find it now - but I believe it may have been Larkin that posted a youtube clip for a lateral raise - maybe using dumbbells - only your tilt your shoulders forward and it works the traps more safely than shrugs.

Perhaps he will see this thread and post it again.

If I am wrong and it was someone else - maybe they will post it then???

hey thanks! these are all great points! I actually added in the lateral raise and i like that. ill also give that smith machine trick a go.

Oh shoot...I thought this was going to be a thread about something the conservaposse was setting for the Liberal Hens on RJ via some master-plan from the secret bunker

ConQuest saidI was looking and I can't seem to find it now - but I believe it may have been Larkin that posted a youtube clip for a lateral raise - maybe using dumbbells - only your tilt your shoulders forward and it works the traps more safely than shrugs.

Perhaps he will see this thread and post it again.

If I am wrong and it was someone else - maybe they will post it then???

It was these, originally posted by Eagermuscle. I've been doing them as a finishing exercise after I do my shrugs(as part of my back workout). It takes a little bit to get used to doing them right, but they're killer.

CuriousJockAZ saidOh shoot...I thought this was going to be a thread about something the conservaposse was setting for the Liberal Hens on RJ via some master-plan from the secret bunker

I thought it was going to be about catching a man.

I read that deadlifts are very helpful for putting on mass.

Oh and I was hoping the answer would involve 2d10.

Sungod17 said

ConQuest saidI was looking and I can't seem to find it now - but I believe it may have been Larkin that posted a youtube clip for a lateral raise - maybe using dumbbells - only your tilt your shoulders forward and it works the traps more safely than shrugs.

Perhaps he will see this thread and post it again.

If I am wrong and it was someone else - maybe they will post it then???

It was these, originally posted by Eagermuscle. I've been doing them as a finishing exercise after I do my shrugs(as part of my back workout). It takes a little bit to get used to doing them right, but they're killer.

Love this exercise.

And love his accent, too.

nomadfornow said

Sungod17 said

ConQuest saidI was looking and I can't seem to find it now - but I believe it may have been Larkin that posted a youtube clip for a lateral raise - maybe using dumbbells - only your tilt your shoulders forward and it works the traps more safely than shrugs.

Perhaps he will see this thread and post it again.

If I am wrong and it was someone else - maybe they will post it then???

It was these, originally posted by Eagermuscle. I've been doing them as a finishing exercise after I do my shrugs(as part of my back workout). It takes a little bit to get used to doing them right, but they're killer.

Love this exercise.

And love his accent, too.

ooooooo that is a great help. i will add those in for sure on back day. and um yea his accent is quite yummy. wait all of him is quite yummy lol. now if i could just get traps like his

UndercoverMan said

CuriousJockAZ saidOh shoot...I thought this was going to be a thread about something the conservaposse was setting for the Liberal Hens on RJ via some master-plan from the secret bunker

I thought it was going to be about catching a man.

lol i could start a thread on man getting traps...i have several. i just tell them im pregnant

CuriousJockAZ saidOh shoot...I thought this was going to be a thread about something the conservaposse was setting for the Liberal Hens on RJ via some master-plan from the secret bunker

LOL thanks Agent Mulder

The KING for Traps is Deadlifts. These babies will make them huge. Stand before a loaded weight. Squat al the way down, take the bar using a little closer that shoulder width grip. Take your normal stance feet apart. As you lift the weight, drop your ass to the ground, lift with your legs as the weight starts climbing past you knees it is all back. Slightly hyperextend. This allow you to squeeze the Camels together, those traps muscles viewed from the back. This is by far the very best. Shrugs are ok but used more for extra isolation. More on that another time. Good luck. The better the technique the bigger you get, otherwise you are just wasting energy. It is not what you do but how you do it!

After seeing that my hero, Antoine Vaillant (http://www.realjock.com/gayforums/1828208), does them, I started doing Reeves Deadlifts with a shrug at the top. These are awesome. The difference between them and a regular deadlift is that rather than grasping the bar, you are holding on to the flanges of the weight plates, so a lot more emphasis is placed on the upper back and traps. The guy in this video is doing them too fast IMO, but this shows the basic movement.

For traps I do barbell shrugs in front and in back, upright rows, dumbbell shrugs, deadlift shrugs, and also cable shrugs.

xspot21, for making the awesomest topic title ever, I hope you get everything you want in life.

Shrugs are fine for isolation, but CaseyCasey is right--best way to get em big is to get everything else big with deadlifts and rows.