15 Effective Traps Exercises to Develop a Bigger Back

Your traps are muscles that add an instant air of dominance, power, and masculinity to your physique. And when it comes to building them, there are three key factors you need to implement in your trap workouts.

“First, it’s important to target your trap muscles from a variety of movements that include loaded carries, shrugs, Olympic lifting variations, upper back exercises, and overhead movements,” says Joel Seedman, Ph.D., strength and performance specialist and owner of Advanced Human Performance in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Second, you need to incorporate proper posture, spinal alignment, and scapular positioning on all exercises to activate your targeted muscles efficiently,” he says. “And finally, it’s critical to include the key mechanisms for inducing maximal hypertrophy, such as overload and mechanical tension, constant/continuous tension, metabolic stress, and stretch-induced micro trauma.”

Don't worry. It sounds more traumatic than it really is.

Use the following exercises, which employ all of the aforementioned components, to build a complete trap workout.

Directions

To maximize the growth of your upper back, you’ll want each of your trap workouts to include one Olympic lift variation, deadlift variation, shrug variation, overhead movement, row, pullup or pulldown, and loaded carry. 

For the best results, this type of workout should be performed twice per week with at least 3 days of rest between workouts, incorporating different movements on each of the days, Seedman says. To avoid overtraining, limit each workout to no more than 8 different exercises.

Related: 10 Best Shoulders Exercises for Beginners to Build Their Base Strength

15 Best Trap Exercises

1. Dumbbell Farmer’s Walk

Why it Works

“If you’ve ever watched the world’s strongest man events, you’ve probably noticed that every competitor has enormous traps,” Seedman says. That’s because of the sheer number of farmer’s walks and loaded carries they perform. “Besides being a highly functional movement, the farmer's walk is one of, if not the single most potent mass builders for the traps, upper back, shoulders, and neck," he adds. It’s actually an excellent exercise for strengthening the muscles along your spine, safeguarding against injury, or strengthening your back after a pre-existing one. The move is simple (and safe!) but incredibly taxing. Luckily, the tremendous growth is worth it.

How to Do It

1. Choose a total load that’s equivalent to or greater than your body weight. 
2. Hold a dumbbell in either hand and walk quickly yet smoothly with them for 50-100 yards.

Pro Tip

“Keep a tall posture, avoiding any forward shoulder rounding, and maintain a tight, rigid core throughout,” Seedman says. “Besides sending your heart rate through the roof, don’t be surprised if you experience an incredible burn throughout your entire traps, shoulders, and upper back,” he adds. 

Prescription 

Complete 2-3 rounds of 50-100 yard walks, taking 2-3 minutes of rest between sets.

2. Heavy Barbell Shrug with Maximal Isometric Contraction

Why it Works

“Barbell shrugs are undoubtedly the single most common trap exercise you’ll see performed in the gym,” Seedman says. The problem is most guys have terrible form. Instead of stimulating growth in your traps, you’ll create postural deficiencies, meaning you can mess with your spinal alignment. Technique and mechanics are crucial to creating the most tension and metabolic stress throughout your traps—both of which are needed to induce muscle hypertrophy/growth.

How to Do It

Load up a barbell with the heaviest load you can handle. Focus on staying tall and maintaining an upright posture while you hold the barbell with an overhand grip and shrug your shoulders straight up and down, not forward or back. At the top of the shrug, when you’re in the contracted position, pause for several seconds. Don’t let your shoulders round over or your head protrude forward; your head should remain rigid throughout the entire exercise.

Pro Tip

Really focus on the pause at the top of the shrug. It will help stop any momentum from breaking your good posture.

Prescription

Aim for the heaviest load you can handle for 2-3 sets of 10-12 controlled reps, taking 1-2 minutes of rest between sets.

Related: Want Better Lifts? Work on Your Shoulder Mobility

3. Barbell Farmer’s Walk

Why it Works

"Most gyms don’t have dumbbells and kettlebells that go past 100lbs, making it difficult to progress the move as you get stronger," Seedman says. "With this in mind, if you’re looking to truly overload your traps with unlimited potential for ever-increasing loads, the barbell farmer's walk is fantastic exercise." You can load up a near-limitless amount of weight, and you're really challenging your core, upper back, traps, and shoulder stabilizers since the instability of the shifting weight forces you to balance and control the load.

How to Do It

1. Load up two barbells equally, with a total load greater than your body weight. 
2. Grip your hands on the center of each barbell, brace your abs, and pick them up.
3. Walk 30-60 yards slowly, making sure the weights don't dip in one direction.

Pro Tip

Because of the instability, you’ll naturally be forced to walk in a slower, more controlled fashion anyway, but take your time.

Prescription

2-3 sets with 2-4 minutes of rest between sets; any more will leave you utterly exhausted.

4. Hex Bar Deadlift

Why it Works

"If you’re looking for an all-in-one move that crushes your entire body while inducing hypertrophy in your traps and upper back, the hex bar deadlift is it," Seedman says. It's also safer than a typical deadlift. Rather than having the barbell loaded in front of your body, which puts you at a greater risk of hurting your lower back and spine, the hex bar fits around your body, placing the load on the sides of your torso. Better yet, this lets you lift heavier loads, complete broader rep ranges, and create high levels of tension and stretch throughout your upper back and traps.

How to Do It

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your hips back to lower your hands and grip the bar's handles in the middle. Your lower back should be flat. 
2. Inhale and engage your abs. Stick your chest out and look in front of you, not at the ground. 
3. Drive your heels into the floor as you begin lifting the bar. 
4. Stand up, squeezing your glutes as you lock out your hips.

Pro Tip

When you lock your hips, be careful not to lean backward and hyperextend your lower back. Also, make sure your back is flat as you bend your hips back and lower the bar, dropping it if necessary.

Prescription

Work up to heavy loads incorporating 2-3 sets of 3-6 reps before finishing with 1-2 sets of 8-12 reps, taking longer rest periods of 3-5 minutes to maximize the overload effect. “Using this variety of rep ranges helps elicit even greater hypertrophy gains as all available fibers, including the fast twitch and slow twitch muscles, will be thoroughly taxed.

Related: 14 Best Lat Exercises to Widen and Strengthen Your Back

5. Hang Clean and Hang Snatch

Why it Works

“Olympic lifters are notorious not only for their ability to produce an extremely high power output but also for having incredibly developed upper back and trapezius muscles, Seedman says. “Majority of this can be attributed to the actual Olympic lifts they perform because they elicit growth and strength gains.” The hang clean and hang snatch variations are slightly more user-friendly variations of Olympic lifts since they’re performed from a partial deadlift position—just above your knees—rather than from the floor.

How to Do It

1. Starting from a tall standing position with the bar in your hands, hinge over at the hips until the barbell is just above your knees. 
2. Make sure to keep your hips set back and your back slightly arched. 
3. Extend your hips forward and shrug your shoulders forcefully, allowing the weight to ride up along your body. 
4. Catch the barbell on your shoulders for the clean or above your head for the snatch.

Pro Tip

“Although both the clean and snatch are great trap builders, the hang snatch places even greater strain on your traps since the load is caught in the overhead position,” Seedman says.

Prescription

Repeat for 3-5 sets of 2-5 reps. Be sure to use longer rest periods of 2-3 minutes since these moves require high power output and fast-twitch muscle fiber activation.

6. Power Shrug

Why it Works

"The power shrug is an explosive exercise that involves powerful hip drive followed immediately by an aggressive shrug at the top of the movement," Seedman says. "This move is exceptional for targeting the fast-twitch fibers of your upper back and traps since the high power output forces you to activate so many of them."

How to Do It

1. Begin with the same partial hinge position described for the hang cleans and hang snatches above. 
2. Assume a tall standing position with the bar in your hands, hinged at the hips so the barbell is just above your knees. 
3. From here, extend your hips forward and flex your feet as if you were going to jump; then shrug your shoulders forcefully by really engaging your trap muscles.

Pro Tip

The main difference between the hang versions of Olympic lifts and the power shrug is the bar stays below your waist, and your arms never bend, Seedman explains.

Prescription

3-5 sets of 2-5 reps with 2-3 minutes rest between sets.

Related: 10 Exercises to Make the Best Upper-Body Workout of All Time

7. Overhead Squat

Why it Works

You probably think of squats as a leg-dominant exercise, but the overhead squat is an exception. The amount of tension this variation places on your whole upper back, traps, and shoulders makes it extremely upper body-intensive. "Besides requiring greater motor control and muscle activation, this technique will accrue greater total time under tension for your upper back and shoulders, which can be highly effective for increasing size and strength gains in your traps," Seedman says.

How to Do It

Using a very wide grip, hold the bar overhead and slightly behind your head, then squat down until your thighs are about parallel to the floor. As you squat, simultaneously focus on pressing against the barbell to push you into the position and pushing the bar slightly back. This will help you maintain balance, Seedman says.

Pro Tip

If you have a hard time reaching the desired position, you need to address mobility and stability issues throughout your body. "And if you are capable of successfully performing these, don’t be surprised if your traps are screaming after just a few repetitions," Seedman says. Once you progress and you're looking to ramp up the intensity, try performing these in an eccentric isometric fashion by squatting down slowly and then pausing for several seconds in the bottom position, he adds.

Prescription

2-3 sets of 3-6 reps with 2-3 minutes rest in between sets.

8. Push Press

Why it Works

"The barbell push press is one of the single most effective strength and mass builders for the entire upper body," Seedman says. "It also does wonders for crushing your traps—particularly at the top of the movement as you drive the weight overhead."

How to Do It

1. To perform this movement effectively, Seedman says you’ll either start by cleaning the weight to your upper chest and shoulders, or you can unrack the barbell from a power rack. 
2. Move into a partial squat by slightly dipping at the knees, then forcefully driving the weight overhead in one swift motion. 
3. Once you lock the weight out overhead, pause in the top position for several seconds to gain complete control of the weight.

Pro Tip

Emphasize the pause at the top of the motion. This will create the most tension throughout your traps and upper back since you'll have to fight to stabilize the heavy load overhead.

Prescription

Because there's a lot of skill and coordination involved, a higher total number of sets (4-7 sets) with fewer reps per set (1-5) is ideal for maximizing your power output. And since this is one of the more physically demanding exercises you’ll do, be sure to take 2-5 minutes of rest between sets.

Related: These 10 Compound Exercises Save Time in the Gym Without Sacrificing Gains

9. Heavy Barbell Squats

Why it Works

Besides maximizing recruitment of your upper back and traps, this squeeze and pull technique helps to create more tension and spinal rigidity, which lets you lift heavier loads more safely, Seedman explains. "Although barbell squats are an obvious lower-body dominant movement, most trainees are unaware heavy barbell squats are a highly effective trap builder," Seedman adds. Your traps and upper back are forced to hold a very intense isometric contraction to keep the bar racked on your upper back and shoulders instead of resting on your spine.

How to Do It

1. Load the bar with as much weight as you're comfortable with, and assume a stance that matches your frame. 
2. Wide guys should assume a wide stance, and those with smaller frames should assume a narrower stance. (Though both should keep feet pointed out to prevent knees from buckling under the weight.) 
3. As you drive your hips back during the descent, focus on squeezing and pulling the bar into your body rather than simply having the bar rest on your back.

Pro Tip

Rather than tilting your head up, which can cause hyperextension and neck impingements, keep your head neutral and your shoulder blades pulled down, he adds.

Prescription

A combination of heavy weight and higher volume using 4-5 sets of 3-8 reps and finishing with a high rep set of 10-15 reps will do wonders not only for your legs but for the musculature of your neck, traps, upper back, and shoulders. Take 3-5 minutes rest for the heavier sets and 1-2 minutes rest for the higher rep sets.

10. Rack Pulls

Why it Works

Although the movement is produced through your hips, your upper back has to stay tense to support the heavy load. This combination of tension and stretch makes the rack pull a great exercise to stimulate muscle growth in your traps.

How to Do It

1. Set the barbell in a power rack at a height that's just above your knees. 
2. While keeping your hips set back and your spine neutrally arched, grip the barbell tightly and initiate the movement. 
3. Drive your hips forward and stand with the barbell. Hold this position for several seconds.

Pro Tip

"You want to actually feel the load pulling and creating micro-trauma throughout the entire musculature of your upper back and traps," Seedman says.

Prescription

Perform several sets (3-4) of lower reps (2-6) with a heavier load, then finish with a higher rep set of 10-12 reps with a substantially lighter load. Take 3-5 minutes rest for heavier sets and 2 minutes rest for lighter sets.

Related: Dust Off Your Deadlift: 3 Variations to Take to the Gym Tonight

11. Snatch-Grip Deadlifts

Why it Works

"This wider hand placement not only creates more tension on the upper back and traps, but it also creates a larger range of motion as you're forced to achieve a deeper starting position in order to lift the load," Seedman says. You'll stimulate strength and size throughout your entire body, as well as muscularity and hypertrophy in the trapezius muscles, which few exercises can match, he adds.

How to Do It

1. Bend over at the hips and knees, and grip the barbell with your hands at least twice as wide as shoulder-width apart. 
2. Set your back and spine in a neutral arched position, then initiate the movement by driving through your legs and hips.

Pro Tip

As with all deadlifts, you want to avoid rounding your back and flexing your spine.

Prescription

3-5 sets of 3-8 reps with 2-4 minutes rest between sets.

12. Eccentric Isometric Deficit Deadlifts

Why it Works

"Combining deficit deadlifts with eccentric isometrics (slow negatives with a pause in the stretched position) is a unique but highly effective technique for producing muscle mass throughout the entire body, but especially the traps and upper back," Seedman says. "Because the weight is held continuously in your hands and never on the floor, the constant tension and loaded stretching make this eccentric variation a must for upper back and trap growth."

How to Do It

1. Elevate yourself on a 2-3 inch platform, set your spine into a moderately arched position with your chest tall and hips back, then drive the weight up by activating your legs and hips. 
2. Pause at the top, then slowly lower the load. 
3. Pause again for several seconds at the bottom just before the weight touches the floor, then forcefully drive the weight back to the top.

Pro Tip

You want to produce constant and continuous levels of high-intensity tension as you reach the various positions, Seedman explains. The angle of your torso will gradually change from the bottom to the top phases, which will create three-dimensional trap muscles. "The bottom position will engage your lower and middle traps more forcefully while the top position will crush your upper traps," Seedman explains. To make these more user-friendly on your lower back and spine, assume a squat stance and use a deadlift technique.

Prescription

Complete 3 sets of 4-6 repetitions with 2-3 minutes rest between sets.

Related: The Ultimate Training Plan to Double Your Max Pullups

13. Rows, Pullups, Chinups, and Pulldowns

Why it Works

"Rows, pullups, and pulldowns are typically considered variations of lat-dominant movements, which isn't wrong, but the lower and middle traps also play a pivotal role in any upper body pulling movement. Because many lifters are upper-trap dominant—as a result of performing an excessive amount of upper-trap movements or from faulty form—horizontal and vertical pulling motions are essential for addressing this imbalance," Seedman says. These moves will efficiently target your lower and upper trap muscles.

How to Do It

1. Include both a row and a pullup/pulldown movement in all of your trap workouts to target the various upper back muscles from different angles and positions. 
2. For all of these moves, pause in both the stretched and contracted positions.

Pro Tip

For all of these, incorporate a pause in both the stretched and contracted positions. You want to squeeze and engage all the muscles of your upper back, lats, and traps, as well as maintain proper form. Make sure you always have retracted and depressed shoulder blades and lower spinal extension in the contracted positions of all upper-body pulling motions. Without these mechanics, you'll fail to target the often-neglected lower and middle trap muscles and strain your anterior shoulders and upper traps.

Prescription

A large variety of sets and rep ranges can tax your fast- intermediate- and slow-twitch fibers, Seedman says. A good starting point is 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps with 2-3 minutes rest between sets.

14. Suspension Trainer Y-Raise

Why it Works

"Due to the nature of the muscles, most trap exercises involve some form of heavy barbell or dumbbell loading," Seedman says. "But this effective variation targets the lower, middle, and upper traps as well as the shoulders without any external loading (other than your body weight)." You'll challenge your muscles through a large range of motion while engaging stability, balance, and motor control from head to toe.

How to Do It

1. Start by setting a suspension system such as Olympic rings or TRX straps to their longest lengths. 
2. At the beginning of the movement, your feet should be in front of the handles, and the straps should have no slack in them. 
3. Lean your body away from the anchor point as you hold the handles in front of your chest. 
4. Complete overhead front raises with your arms angled somewhat diagonally in a "Y"-shaped position.

Pro Tip

Keep your elbows straight and move only at the shoulder joint. Your core and spine should remain rigid as you feel your traps, shoulders, and upper back continuously engaged throughout the movement.

Prescription

Perform 2-3 sets of 10-12 with 45-60 seconds rest between sets.

Related: Not Getting Bigger? Try These Brutal Bodyweight Supersets

15. Giant Strip Set Barbell Shrug

Why it Works

Ending your workout with a giant strip set of strict barbell shrugs will really amp up the hypertrophy stimulus of your trap workout," Seedman says. "The burn will be almost unbearable, but if you’re able to handle it, the growth in your traps will far outweigh any level of discomfort."

How to Do It

1. Like a regular shrug, load up a barbell with the heaviest load you can handle.
2. Focus on staying tall and maintaining an upright posture while you hold the barbell with an overhand grip and shrug your shoulders straight up and down.

Pro Tip

Pay special attention to your form; don't move your shoulders forward or back as you shrug.

Prescription

Start with the heaviest weight you can shrug for 6-8 perfect reps—for example, 405lbs. Once you’ve completed your target reps, strip a plate off each side and crank out as many reps as possible with 315lbs. Perform the same protocol with 2 plates on each side for 225lbs. Keep this going until you’ve stripped all but one plate off the bar, blasting out as many reps as you can with 135lb. Because of the devastatingly high intensity, Seedman says one set of this will more than suffice. Don't take any rest between each strip phase.

What are Trap Muscles?

Trapezius muscles, or trap muscles for short, are a large, paired muscle group that help stabilize the shoulder blades during arm movements and control shoulder girdle movement and positioning. These functions make the traps an important muscle group for maintaining good posture. The traps expand from the base of your skull (at the occipital bone) down to the lower part of your upper back (thoracic vertebrae) and as wide as your shoulder blades. It has two sides, the right and left, that create a trapezoid shape.

Traps have upper, middle, and lower parts that have separate functions. The upper traps help with scapulae (shoulder blade) elevation and upward rotation and extension, lateral flexion, and contralateral rotation of the head and neck. The mid traps assist scapular retraction—pulling your shoulder blades together, and the lower traps assist with lowering and upwardly rotating your scapulae.