The 10 Best Trapezius Exercises for Muscle & Strength

If you are reading this, you are probably looking for trapezius exercises to help you build and strengthen this essential muscle. You’re in the right place.

Training the trapezius muscles, which extend from the back of your neck and shoulders down to the middle of the back, is vital for several reasons: strength and function, posture, aesthetics, and injury prevention.

This article reviews ten of the best trapezius exercises you can do. Together, they cover all three parts of the traps muscle: upper, middle, and lower, and include barbell, dumbbell, and body weight exercises.

Click here to jump directly to the trapezius exercises.

Trapezius Anatomy and Function

The trapezius is a triangular-shaped, flat, and large muscle extending from the base of your neck to the middle of your back and across to your shoulders. Imagine it draped over your upper back like a kite or a cape like your favorite superhero.

This muscle plays a crucial role in moving, rotating, and stabilizing your shoulder blades (scapula), internally rotating your arm, rotating your head, and extending your neck. It’s divided into three parts: upper, middle, and lower, each with specific functions.

Let’s take a closer look at the traps and break it down into its three main parts:

Upper Trapezius

• Location: It starts at the base of your skull, at the occipital bone, and stretches down to the shoulder.
• Function: It helps lift your shoulder blade (scapular elevation), allowing you to shrug your shoulders. If you’ve ever said, “I don’t know,” with a shoulder shrug, you’ve used your upper trapezius. It also helps you tilt and turn your head.

Middle Trapezius

• Location: This part is centered on your upper back, stretching across the spine.
• Function: Its main function is to pull your shoulder blades together. Imagine holding a pencil between your shoulder blades—that squeezing action is the middle trapezius at work. That action helps you maintain good posture and is involved in movements that pull your arms back.

Lower Trapezius

• Location: The lower trapezius muscle extends from the middle of your back up to the shoulder blades.
• Function: The lower part works opposite to the upper part; it helps move your shoulder blades downward and assists in rotating them when you lift your arms above your head. For instance, reaching up to grab something off a high shelf primarily uses your lower trapezius.

Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the best traps exercises for all three parts of the muscle!

Upper Trapezius Exercises

1. Deadlift

The deadlift is an excellent exercise for your trapezius. Need proof? Look at high-level powerlifters, and you’ll see the massive traps from years of heavy deadlifting.

A deadlift workout is as close to being a full-body workout as you can get with a single exercise. Being a compound exercise, it mainly engages most muscle groups in your posterior chain, which includes your upper back muscles. While not a prime mover during a deadlift, your trapezius gets a good share of the action during the lift and lockout phases.

When you’re leaned forward during the early part of the lift, your middle traps will be hard at work, keeping your shoulders and shoulder blades in place. As you approach the upright position, your upper traps will step in to do more and more of the work.

How to Deadlift

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your toes pointing slightly outward. The barbell should be over the middle of your feet, close to your shins.
2. Bend at the hips and knees to reach the bar. Grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. You can use an overhand grip (both palms facing you) or a mixed grip (one palm facing you and the other facing away).
3. Keep your back straight and chest up. Engage your core and ensure your shoulders are slightly in front of the bar. Your hips should be higher than your knees but lower than your shoulders.
4. Pull the bar close to your body, with a straight back, until you are standing straight. Keep the bar close to your body, and your arms straight throughout the lift. The bar should travel in a straight line vertically.
5. Reverse the motion by hinging at the hips and bending the knees. Lower the bar to the starting position in a controlled manner, maintaining a straight back.
6. Reset your position if necessary.
7. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

2. Shrugs

The shrug is one of the most basic yet effective trapezius exercises and comes in several variations. It is one of the best exercises for isolating your trapezius muscle, the upper trapezius in particular.

1. Barbell Shrugs: The classic. The barbell shrug allows for heavy weights, perfect for building size and strength.
2. Trap Bar Shrugs: The ergonomic advantages of the trap bar (also called the hex bar) allow for lifting heavier weights than the barbell shrug. If you don’t compromise form, more weight can lead to more gains. Also, the design of the trap bar keeps the weight centered for a more balanced lift.
3. Dumbbell Shrugs: Offer a greater range of motion than the barbell version. The downside is that, as you get stronger, you might run out of dumbbells.
4. Kettlebell Shrugs: Similar to the dumbbell shrug but with a different grip. Due to the shape of kettlebells, they can be more challenging, adding a neat grip strength component.
5. Overhead Shrugs: Performed with a barbell or dumbbells, but above your head. This rarely-seen shrug variant builds your upper traps and is also great for mobility and proper posture.
6.  Behind-the-Back Barbell Shrugs: As the name suggests, the barbell is behind you this time. It shifts the focus slightly and builds thickness in your middle trapezius, too.

Your shrugs should be up and down—no rolling your shoulders. Rolling puts unnecessary stress on your shoulder joints without any benefits. Think of elevating your shoulders straight towards your ears and lowering them back down.

Also, your focus should be on lifting and lowering the weight with your traps alone rather than how much you can bounce the weight. Go heavy, but stay in control. A controlled movement ensures maximum engagement of the traps and minimizes the risk of injury.

3. Rack Pull

The rack pull is a deadlift variation where you set the barbell on a power rack or blocks just below the knee or mid-thigh rather than lifting it from the floor.

It targets the upper part of the deadlift, focusing primarily on the muscles of the posterior chain. By starting higher, the rack pull puts less strain on your lower back and more emphasis on the upper back, including your traps.

Rack pulls allow for heavy loads, around 20% heavier than what you can deadlift from the floor, overloading the muscles involved in the lockout phase. With the reduced range of motion, you can focus more on squeezing your traps.

How to Rack Pull

1. Set up the barbell in a power or squat rack at an appropriate height. The bar should be positioned at knee level or slightly below. Adjust the safety bars or pins to ensure they are set at the desired height to prevent the weight from going too low.
2. Position yourself in front of the barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Your toes should be pointing forward or slightly outward.
3. Bend at the hips and knees to lower yourself and grip the barbell with an overhand grip (palms facing towards you) slightly wider than shoulder-width. Ensure your grip is secure and comfortable. Use lifting straps if needed.
4. With your back straight and chest lifted, engage your core muscles and brace your abs to help maintain stability throughout the movement.
5. Inhale and begin the movement by extending your hips and knees, lifting the barbell, and pulling it close to your body.
6. Keep your back straight and shoulders pulled back as you lift. Focus on engaging your hamstrings, back, and gluteal muscles to drive the movement.
7. Aim to bring your shoulder blades back and down as you lift, squeezing your back muscles at the top of the movement.
8. Lower the barbell back down to the starting position by bending at the hips and knees. Keep your back straight and control the descent of the weight.
9. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

4. Upright Row

The upright row is a great exercise for strength and mass in your shoulders, especially the middle deltoid, and for building big traps. In addition, it involves your biceps and forearms to a lesser degree.

Upright rows have a bad rep for increasing the risk of shoulder pain and impingement. The claim is not entirely without merit, but if you have healthy shoulders, you can perform it safely by avoiding raising your upper arms above shoulder height at the top of the movement.¹

To maximally target your traps, use a wider grip than usual:

You can also do upright rows using dumbbells or a handle attached to a pulley system.

How to Upright Row

1. Grip the bar with an overhand grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
2. Pull the bar straight up, until it is at the level of your chin.
3. With control, lower the bar back to the starting position.
4. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

5, Farmer’s Walk

The farmer’s walk is a loaded carry that involves walking while holding a heavy weight in each hand. Because you have to stabilize the weights against the pull of gravity, your traps, shoulders, forearms, grip, core, and leg muscles work overtime as you struggle your way forward.

The traps are particularly hard at work during the farmer’s walk because they are crucial for stabilizing your shoulders and upper back and keeping the weights steady as you move. The constant tension and need for stabilization throughout the walk means your traps are actively working throughout the entire exercise.

All you need to do farmer’s walks are two weights. They can be dumbbells, kettlebells, or special farmer’s walk bars. As long as you have equal weight in each hand, you’re good to go.

How to Farmer’s Walk

1. Choose a pair of dumbbells, kettlebells, or specifically designed farmer’s walk handles. Place the weights on the ground on either side of your feet, which should be about hip-width apart.
2. Bend at the hips and knees, pushing your buttocks back while keeping a straight back, to lower yourself down to the weights. Your chest should be up, and your gaze forward.
3. Grip the handles of the weights firmly with each hand. Your grip should be centered to balance the weight evenly. Engage your core, then lift the weights by straightening your legs and hips. Avoid rounding your back as you stand up. You should now be standing upright, weights at your sides, with your arms fully extended.
4. Start walking forward using short, quick steps. Keep your back straight, shoulders back, and look forward. Your core should be tight to stabilize your body, and your movements controlled to prevent the weights from swinging.
5. Throughout the walk, maintain an upright posture. Avoid leaning forward or backward. Keep your chest up and shoulders slightly back to counterbalance the weight.
6. If you need to turn around or navigate corners, do so carefully to maintain balance and avoid twisting your spine. Make wide turns to manage the weights safely.
7. Once you’ve reached your designated distance or if your grip begins to fail, carefully lower the weights back to the ground by bending at the hips and knees, maintaining a straight back.
8. Rest, then repeat the walk for the desired number of sets and distance.

Middle Trapezius Exercises

1. Rows

Rows are great for adding thickness to your entire back, including your traps. And the middle traps are where rows shine.

Some of the best row exercises for your middle traps include:

Barbell Row

The barbell row is a fantastic exercise for your entire upper back, and depending on how much you bend over, you can target different parts of your traps. To hit your middle traps, keep your upper body close to horizontal to the floor. The more upright you stand, the more you engage your upper traps.

How to Perform Barbell Rows

1. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Stand with your feet slightly wider than feet hip-width apart, bend your knees slightly, and hinge forward at your hips, maintaining a straight line from your head to your hips.
3. Brace your core and keep your back straight. Pull the barbell towards your lower chest or upper abdomen, keeping your elbows close to your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
4. Lower the barbell back to the starting position in a controlled manner.
5. Breathe out as you lift, in as you lower, like blowing out candles on a birthday cake, then inhaling the sweet smell of victory.
6. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Dumbbell Row

The unilateral nature of the dumbbell row (unilateral training is when you work one side of the body at a time) allows for a greater range of motion, meaning you can really squeeze those traps at the top of the movement.

How to Perform Dumbbell Rows

1. Place a dumbbell on the floor beside a bench or some other sturdy object. Stand facing the bench and place your left hand and the knee of your left leg on top of it.
2. Grip the dumbbell with your right hand. Hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back flat and your torso roughly parallel to the floor. 
3. Engage your core muscles and right leg to stabilize your body throughout the movement. 
4. While maintaining the position of your upper body and keeping your elbow close to your side, inhale and pull the dumbbell up towards your torso by retracting your shoulder blade. Focus on squeezing your back muscles as you lift.
5. Continue pulling the dumbbell until it reaches the side of your torso. Row it closer to your hips to target your lower lats. Squeeze your lats at the top of the movement, ensuring a strong contraction in your back muscles.
6. Lower the dumbbell back to the starting point while exhaling, maintaining control throughout the descent.
7. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions, switch sides, and perform the above steps rowing with your left hand.

Seal Row

Ever wanted to be a seal? Now’s your chance! The seal row is a great upper back and trap exercise where you row lying face down on a bench. It removes the ability to cheat with your lower body, making your middle traps work overtime and focusing the effort on the middle traps.

Go for maximal contraction at the top of the movement; since your body can’t help, your traps and back must do all the work.

How to Perform Seal Rows

1. Lie on your stomach on a bench, with a barbell placed on the floor below you.
2. Grip the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width.
3. Inhale and pull the bar towards you.
4. Pull the bar as high as you can, so that it touches the underside of the bench if possible.
5. With control, lower the bar back to the starting position.
6. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Cable Wide Grip Seated Row

The cable row can target various parts of the traps by adjusting angles. Use a wider grip and let your elbows flare out to focus on the middle traps. Use a full range of motion, and, when pulling back, lead with your elbows and squeeze your shoulder blades together.

How to Perform Cable Rows

1. Sit on the seated row bench, facing the cable machine. Your feet should be flat on the footrest, knees slightly bent, and your torso upright with your chest out, shoulders back, and core engaged.
2. Grab a wide-grip handle with your palms facing together and ensure your arms are fully extended and your back straight in the starting position.
3. Pull the handle towards your abdomen by retracting your shoulder blades (squeezing them together). Focus on driving your elbows backward and keeping them close to your body.
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and contract your lats before extending your arms and leaning forward again. Maintain a controlled motion throughout the movement and avoid using excessive momentum.
5. Stretch your lats out without letting your shoulders slump forward, then repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

2. Reverse Dumbbell Fly

The reverse dumbbell fly is an essential movement for the rear deltoids and the muscles around the upper back, including your rhomboids, rotator cuffs, and middle trapezius.

It’s one of the best trap exercises for isolating the middle trapezius more than you can with rows. It contributes to better shoulder health and gives you that nice, rounded look to your shoulders.

Use relatively light weights for this one to really feel the middle traps and rear delts working. Focus on proper form without momentum.

How to Perform Dumbbell Reverse Flyes

1. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and your arms by your sides, palms facing each other.
2. Bend forward at the waist, keeping your back straight until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor. Let your arms hang down towards the ground.
3. Lift both arms out to the sides, with a slight bend in the elbows, until they reach shoulder level. Keep your shoulder blades retracted and focus on squeezing your rear deltoid at the top of the movement.
4. Reverse the movement and lower the dumbbells back towards the ground, maintaining control throughout.
5. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Feel free to replace the dumbbell version of the exercise with reverse cable flyes or reverse machine flyes if you prefer.

3. Face Pull

The face pull is highly regarded for its ability to promote good posture, shoulder health, and to strengthen muscles that typically get underused in today’s desk-dwelling lifestyle.

Face pulls strengthen the rotator cuff and the surrounding muscles and supports your shoulder joint. They also help balance out your physique, giving your shoulders that coveted 3D look.

As for your trapezius, face pulls are a great exercise for the mid and lower parts of it. In addition, they strengthen your rear delts, side delts, and the external rotators, the infraspinatus and the teres minor and major.

Perform the exercise with a controlled tempo, avoiding momentum. Focus on the muscle contraction at the end of the pull and control the weight or resistance band back to the starting position.

The face pull is not an exercise where you want to use heavy weights. Select a load that allows you to perform the exercise with proper form for 10–15 repetitions. Your goal is muscle engagement and control rather than lifting heavy.

How to Perform Face Pulls

1. Fasten a rope handle in a high position on a cable pulley. Grip the ropes with an overhand grip, and take a step or two back.
2. With elbows held high, pull the rope towards you by letting your upper arms move straight out towards your sides, while simultaneously rotating your forearms up.
3. Return with control to the starting position, by letting your arms move forward again.
4. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Lower Trapezius Exercises

1. Scapular Pull-Up

The scapular pull-up (sometimes called reverse shrugs) is an underutilized exercise for scapular strength and stability, both of which are crucial for shoulder health and the performance of more complex upper-body exercises.

The scapular pull-up is particularly effective for activating and strengthening the muscles around your shoulder blades, including the lower trap muscles. It involves both scapular depression and scapular retraction in one controlled movement.

It’s also a great warm-up for a back workout or any exercise where you hang from a bar.

How to Perform Scapular Pull-Ups

1. Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. 
2. Begin by standing on a box or bench to reach the bar. Grasp it firmly and then step off the box to hang with your arms straight and body in a long line.
3. Without pulling yourself up, initiate the movement by squeezing your shoulder blades back and down towards your spine. Imagine pinching a pencil between them.
4. Keep your arms straight throughout the movement. Don’t bend at the elbows to lift yourself higher.
5. Only move your shoulder blades, not your entire upper body. Aim for a small, controlled retraction and depression of the shoulder blades.
6. Slowly release the squeeze on your shoulder blades, allowing them to return to their starting position.
7. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

You can also do this exercise seated in a lat pulldown machine.

2. Pull-Up

For many lifters, the classic pull-up is the exercise for building a broader back, as it is a supremely effective exercise for the lats.

However, it’s also one of the best lower trapezius exercises as long as you use a full range of motion and move your shoulder blades; pull them down and back as you start pulling yourself up and let them slide upwards as you reach the bottom position.

You want to do pull-ups, not chin-ups, to maximize the effect on your lower traps.² That means using an overhand grip with your palms facing forward.

How to Perform Pull-Ups

1. Stand beneath a pull-up bar and reach up to grasp it with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you), slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Ensure your grip is secure and comfortable.
2. Hang freely from the bar, fully extending your arms. Your feet should be off the ground.
3. Engage your core muscles by squeezing your abs and glutes.
4. Inhale and initiate the movement by pulling yourself up towards the bar by bending your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Focus on using your back muscles rather than relying on your upper arms.
5. Continue pulling yourself up until your chin reaches or clears the bar. Keep your torso upright and avoid excessive swinging or kicking with your legs.
6. Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position while maintaining control and stability, fully extending your arms.
7. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Feel free to do lat pulldowns instead if you struggle to complete enough reps in the pull-up.

Trapezius Workouts for Strength and Muscle Growth

With these trapezius exercises at your fingertips, you’re all set to blast your traps and force them to grow stronger and bigger.

If you train your back with a comprehensive back workout, you already halfway there. Back exercises like rows and pulldowns work your traps to a significant degree.

For some people, that is enough for well-developed traps.

An example of an excellent back workout is StrengthLog’s Back Workout. If you need extra trap work, adding an exercise like dumbbell shrugs at the end of your back workout can be enough to trick them into growth.

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Deadlift	3	5
Pull-Up (or Lat Pulldown)	3	8
Dumbbell Row	3	10
Back Extension	3	12
Reverse Dumbbell Fly	3	15

You can switch the exercises around and implement barbell rows and shrugs to focus more on your traps. Case in point: StrengthLog’s Trapezius Workout:

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Deadlift	3	5
Barbell Row	3	8
Pull-Up (or Lat Pulldown)	3	10
Dumbbell Shrug	3	12
Reverse Dumbbell Fly	3	15

This workout hits the muscle fibers in all three parts of your traps: upper, middle, and lower.

You’ll find both workouts available for free in our workout tracker.

StrengthLog is 100 % free, but our premium version offers additional benefits.

Want to give premium a shot? We offer all new users a free 14-day premium trial, which you can activate in the app.

Download StrengthLog for free with the buttons below:

Final Words

You have reached the end of this guide to the best trapezius exercises. Thank you for reading!

Now it’s time to hit the weights and build some muscle! Good luck with your training!

• Click here to return to our list of strength training programs and workouts.
• Click here to return to our full list of strength training exercises.
• Do you want to read more of our muscle group training guides? You find them all here.

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References

1. Strength and Conditioning Journal 33(5):p 25-28, October 2011. The Upright Row: Implications for Preventing Subacromial Impingement.
2. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(12):p 3404-3414, December 2010. Surface Electromyographic Activation Patterns and Elbow Joint Motion During a Pull-Up, Chin-Up, or Perfect-Pullup Rotational Exercise.