Traps - T NATION

Tip: The Overhead Shrug

Paul Carter — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Proper scapula elevation is required to do an efficient overhead press, but the overhead press doesn't actually train that patterning. And most guys suffer from being too internally rotated while also having excessive scap depression. That's bad juju. Do 3 to 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

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Tip: Face Pulls to Forehead

Paul Carter — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Face pulls do an excellent job of bringing everything up top together. The rear delts get smoked, along with the upper traps, and they're a must-do movement for keeping the shoulders healthy. The important part of face pull execution is that you get into external rotation. And make sure you're pulling to the face and

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Tip: 70-Degree Smith Machine Row

Paul Carter — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 11:00:00 +0000

This was the torso angle that Dorian Yates liked to use for his curl-grip rows, but I've found that rows done in the Smith machine hit the upper back a little better than barbell rows. They really allow you to contract the upper back hard. The Smith machine automatically keeps the bar in a very

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Tip: The Rogue Shrug

Paul Carter — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 11:00:00 +0000

You'll need the Rogue Landmine Handle (the angled one), but it's absolutely worth the purchase if you're trying to smash the yoke. This exercise is sort of a pairing of mini-rows and shrugs. They really smash the middle and upper traps while also bringing in the rhomboids. Shrug and row together, lifting the shoulders up

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Tip: Top to Bottom Trap Building

Paul Carter — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Shrugs are a great option to build the upper traps, but the traps actually run from the cervical spine all the way down to the lower thoracic vertebrae. They also insert on the clavicle, acromion, and scapula. Your traps are everywhere! To really build the traps from top to bottom, you need a variety of

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Building the Complete Yoke

Paul Carter — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 13:00:00 +0000

King Yoke A few years ago, I was in Vegas at the Mr. Olympia Expo. The place was filled with exceptional physiques, so much so that I got numb to it all. But at the end of the day, as I was leaving the hall with Ed Coan, he tapped me on the shoulder and

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Tip: 3 Guaranteed Ways to Build Bigger Traps

Thoren Bradley — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 17:00:00 +0000

Don't ask the guy with big traps what exercises he did to build them. In all honesty, there's a 50/50 chance he was just born with awesome trap-building genes. Instead, learn how the muscles work and learn what it takes to transform your non-mutant traps into great traps. 1 Train Traps After Legs Testosterone, growth

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Tip: How NOT to Do Shrugs

Clay Hyght, DC — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 15:00:00 +0000

Stop Doing Shrugs with a Shoulder Roll! Back when Michael J. Fox was joyriding in a DeLorean in Back to The Future, it seemed that everyone who did shrugs did them with a roll, either rolling their shoulders forward or backward after each vertical shrug. Sadly, I still see some people doing this, so let's

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Tip: Scap Rows

Paul Carter — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 17:15:00 +0000

You can do these with virtually any row set up. Ideally you'd do it with a chest-supported row so that your focus can be on what the scapula are doing without using energy to hold the torso in position. Start by retracting the scapula and holding that isometric position for a few seconds, then finish

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Tip: Prone Trap Raise

Paul Carter — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 17:15:00 +0000

Do the prone trap raise two or even three times a week. At first you may not even be able to feel your lower traps doing the work because you're upper trap dominant and you may go right into scapular retraction. The fix here is to think about driving your shoulders down into your pockets,

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