Hulk Hogan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Clay Matthews—what do these three men have in common? Athletic prowess—sure. Celebrity status—true. But what is it that makes these three men stick out? These men have built their bodies in a way that screams strength, and that message just may come most loud and clear from the traps. To build bigger traps takes some time, it doesn’t just come easy. Finally achieving “The Rock” style traps is the shiny trophy earned from the dedication and hard work you’ve put into earning them.
The trapezius muscles, or traps for short, are the strip of muscles that stretch along the top of the shoulders, just at the base of the neck. Traps are a signature of any bodybuilder.
The best way to do this is by going old-school and working with traditional weight lifting moves that target the upper back, neck, and shoulder.
Build Bigger Traps with These 5 Exercises:
1. Deadlift:
To complete a deadlift you use your hips and legs to lift the bar from the ground, but you are just as equally using your trapezius muscles, which contract to help you keep your back straight as you lift.
2. Rack Pull Shrug:
This is another old-school lifting technique. Starting at the squat level on the rack and lifting up with the bar as heavy as you can take it (safety first, of course), this is a lift that puts a lot of pressure on your traps.
3. Barbell Shrug:
You should see a trend here. Another lifting technique that uses a bar with heavy weights and pressure on your neck/shoulders. Except here you don’t put the bar on your neck like you do with the rack pull shrugs. Instead keep the bar in front of you and pull it up in small reps as you shrug your shoulders.
4. Face Pulls:
For best results you want to diversify your workout as much as possible, so alternating in face pulls will help. To do this, use resistance bands and pull your elbows behind your back so the bands reach your shoulders.
5. Upright Row:
This final exercise can also be done with resistance bands but more traditionally is done with weights. Here you want to pull the bar from your waist up to your neck, getting your elbows up to ear-level in the process.
