Your trapezius muscles are one of the muscles that make you look huge. If you’ve ever seen a guy with big traps, then you know what I’m talking about, so it’s understandable that you’d want to learn how to build muscular traps. Some guys find it easier to build traps than others, but if you work hard enough, anyone can have those big muscles.
The trapezius muscle runs from the neck to the lower back. When most guys want to talk about building their traps, they usually talk about their top traps. Your upper traps are the ones that cling to your neck and are usually the ones that stick out the most.
The best exercise you can do to work your upper traps is shrugs. Shrugs can be done with a barbell or dumbbells. If you’re using a barbell, grab the weight about shoulder-width apart, palms facing back, and shrug your shoulders. You should feel those higher traps working. If you’re using dumbbells, hold the dumbbells and let your arms hang down. Place your palms behind you and hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs. Then shrug. Any of these workouts will work just fine.
You must perform 1 series of 8-12 repetitions, 3 days a week, with at least one day of rest between each one. Regarding the amount of weight. You should use a weight that allows your muscles to fail somewhere in that rep range. So if you can do 13 reps with good form, go up in weight. If you can’t do 8 reps, drop the weight.
But before doing anything…