Muscle guide · Upper body

The Best Exercises for Traps

The best trap exercises are shrugs and carries for the upper traps and rows, reverse flies and face-pull-style pulls for the middle and lower traps. Heavy deadlifts also train them hard.

Includes: Lower Trapezius, Trapezius, Upper Trapezius · also called Lower Traps Left, Lower Traps Right, Upper Traps Left, Upper Traps Right

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Front view: muscles worked by traps training. Primary: traps.
Back view: muscles worked by traps training. Primary: traps.
Primary

What the traps do

  • Upper fibres lift the shoulder blades (shrugging).
  • Middle fibres pull the shoulder blades together.
  • Lower fibres pull the shoulder blades down and help rotate them when you reach overhead.

The trapezius is a large diamond-shaped muscle running from the base of the skull to the middle of the back. Upper, middle and lower fibres each move the shoulder blade differently, which is why it takes both shrugs and rows to train it fully.

6 best trap exercises

  1. Dumbbell shrug — Upper traps.
  2. Barbell shrug — Heavier upper-trap loading.
  3. Farmer's walk — Upper traps under a long hold.
  4. Barbell row — Middle traps.
  5. Incline shrug — Middle traps.
  6. Reverse fly — Middle traps and rear delts.

Sample traps workouts

Upper-back and trap finisher

Gym · Intermediate

Upper-back and trap finisher: exercises and sets × reps
Barbell shrug 3 × 10–15
Incline shrug 2 × 12–15
Farmer's walk 3 × 30 m

Sets × reps. Finish each set with one or two reps left in reserve, and rest 2 to 3 minutes after compound lifts and 1 to 2 minutes after isolation work.

How many sets for the traps?

Pulls and carries already work the traps. Add 4 to 10 direct sets a week if you want more size.

Muscle growth rises with weekly volume: in a meta-analysis, 10 or more hard sets per muscle per week produced more growth than fewer than 5 (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and training a muscle at least twice a week beat once a week when volume was matched (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Start near the low end and add sets while you are still recovering between sessions.

More traps exercises by equipment

Cable

Body Weight

Dumbbell

Leverage Machine

Barbell

Band

Smith Machine

Kettlebell

Rope

Resistance Band

Ez Barbell

Filter every traps exercise in the library →

Exercises that also work the traps (50)

Traps training FAQs

Do deadlifts build traps?

Yes. Holding a heavy bar trains the upper traps isometrically, and many lifters need little direct trap work because of it.

Why do my traps take over in shoulder exercises?

Use lighter weights and think about moving the arm out, not up; keep the shoulders down during raises.

Sources

  1. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.