Shrugs: How to Do Them, Muscles Worked and Benefits

The shrug is about as simple as strength training gets: hold a weight in each hand or a barbell in front of you, and lift your shoulders straight up towards your ears. That small movement is the most direct way to build the upper trapezius, the muscle that gives your shoulders their thickness and frames your neck. Shrugs are easy to learn, hard to do badly once you know one key rule, and they need almost no kit. Here is how to do them, the muscles they work, and how to get thick traps without wrecking your neck.

How to do a shrug

You can shrug with dumbbells, a barbell, a kettlebell in each hand or a cable. Dumbbells are the easiest place to start.

1. Pick up the weight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing your body, or grip a barbell in front of your thighs with an overhand grip a little wider than your hips. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
2. Set your posture. Chest up, arms straight, chin gently tucked. Let your shoulders relax down to the bottom position so the traps are on a slight stretch.
3. Shrug up. Lift both shoulders straight up towards your ears as high as you can. Keep your arms straight; this is not a bicep curl, so do not bend your elbows to help.
4. Squeeze at the top. Pause for a second at the top and squeeze your traps hard. That top squeeze is where most of the work happens.
5. Lower fully. Bring your shoulders back down under control to a full stretch at the bottom. Do not just drop the weight; lower it slowly and repeat.

Muscles worked

The shrug is a single-joint move focused almost entirely on the upper back and neck region.

• Upper trapezius. The main target by a mile. This large muscle runs from the base of the skull and neck out across the tops of the shoulders, and shrugging is one of the strongest ways to load it. A dynamic shrug has been recorded producing upper trapezius activation of around 119% of a maximal voluntary contraction (EMG study of trapezius activation).
• Levator scapulae. A smaller muscle running up the side of the neck that helps lift the shoulder blade, working alongside the upper traps.
• Forearms and grip. Holding the weight, especially with heavy dumbbells or a loaded bar, gives your forearms and grip a serious workout as secondary movers.
• Middle trapezius and rhomboids. These assist a little in stabilising the shoulder blades, though the upper traps do the lion's share.

Benefits

• Bigger, thicker traps. Shrugs are the most direct trap builder there is, filling out the area between your neck and shoulders that makes your upper body look powerful from every angle.
• A stronger deadlift and carry. Strong traps help you hold heavy loads without your shoulders rounding forward, which supports your deadlift, rows and farmer's carries.
• Better posture and neck support. Well-trained upper traps help hold the shoulder girdle in place, and building strength across all the major muscle groups is exactly what the NHS advises for general health on at least two days a week.
• Dead simple and low risk. The movement is easy to learn and, done straight up and down, is gentle on the joints, making it a safe way to add upper-back size.
• Trains your grip for free. Heavy shrugs double as grip work, which carries over to every pulling exercise you do.

Common mistakes

Rolling the shoulders. The number one error. Circling the shoulders forwards or backwards adds joint strain and no extra trap work. Move straight up and down.

Bending the elbows. Pulling with bent arms turns the shrug into an upright-row-cum-curl and takes the load off the traps. Keep your arms straight and lift only with your shoulders.

Not using a full range. Half-shrugging with a huge weight looks impressive but barely moves the muscle. Lift all the way up to your ears and lower all the way down to a stretch on every rep.

Going too heavy. When the weight is too much, the range shrinks and the reps turn into a bounce. Drop the load until you can pause at the top and control the descent.

Craning the neck. Jutting your chin forward or throwing your head back to help is hard on the neck. Keep your chin lightly tucked and your head still.

Variations

• Dumbbell shrug. The most comfortable version for most people, with the weights at your sides letting your shoulders move freely. A pair of adjustable dumbbells makes loading easy at home.
• Barbell shrug. Lets you load the most weight. The bar sits in front of your thighs, so it biases the traps slightly forward. Wrist straps help once the bar gets heavy.
• Behind-the-back barbell shrug. Holding the bar behind your legs shifts the emphasis and encourages a taller posture, which some lifters prefer for the upper traps.
• Trap bar shrug. Using a trap bar puts the load right at your sides like dumbbells but lets you go very heavy, making it a great option for strong lifters.
• Cable or kettlebell shrug. A cable machine gives constant tension, while a kettlebell in each hand is a simple home alternative.

Sets and reps

The traps respond well to moderate-to-high reps with a hard squeeze:

• Size and strength: 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps, resting 60 to 90 seconds, with a one-second squeeze at the top.
• Heavy trap day: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps with a barbell or trap bar and wrist straps.
• Finisher: 2 sets of 20 to 25 controlled reps at the end of a pull or shoulder session.

Add weight only once you can hit the top of your rep range with a full range and a clean top squeeze. Once or twice a week is plenty, since your traps already work hard on deadlifts, rows and carries.

Recommended reads

1. Deadlift: how to do it and muscles worked
2. Farmer's carry guide
3. Upright row: how to do it and muscles worked
4. The best adjustable dumbbells in the UK
5. The best trap bar in the UK