12 Trap Exercises for a Jacked Upper Body

Why it’s great: Barbell shrugs are ostensibly the best exercise to isolate the trapezius. The range of motion is minimal, so it’s often added to the end of a shoulder or back workout as a great finisher.

How to do it: 

1. Load a barbell, then hold it in front of your body while standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. You want a tall torso, neutral neck, and tight core.
2. Lift your shoulders up to your ears.
3. Relax, returning to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Trap bar shrugs are very similar to your standard barbell shrug. However, the trap bar’s hexagonal shape allows you to stand inside, providing you a stronger base since you don’t have a heavy barbell pulling you forward while you get in your reps.

How to do it: 

1. Load and hold a trap bar from a standing position.
2. Raise your shoulders to your ears.
3. Relax, returning to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

RELATED: The Best Trap Bars

Why it’s great: Dumbbells make shrugs very versatile. You’re able to shrug while holding the best dumbbells in front of your body, like a regular barbell shrug, or with your arms at your sides, like a trap bar shrug.

How to do it: 

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them either in front of your body with an overhand grip (palms facing the body) or at your sides with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). You want a tall torso, neutral neck, and tight core.
2. Raise your shoulders to your ears.
3. Relax, returning to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: The upright row mostly hits your trapezius muscles and side deltoids, making it a great inclusion to this workout. The exercise can also be performed with a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell.

How to do it: 

1. Stand while holding a free weight with a narrow grip in front of your body. For our purposes, we’ll use a barbell.
2. Holding the core tight, pull the barbell up to neck height, leading with the elbows.
3. Control the bar’s descent back to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Power cleans aren’t just for stronger traps. They provide activation throughout the entire body, helping build muscle, strength, and explosive power. It’s an all-around excellent, albeit technical, compound exercise.

How to do it: 

1. Stand with a loaded barbell at your feet. 
2. Push your hips back and bend your knees to grip the barbell, maintaining a flat back and strong core.
3. Explosively drive from the heels, push the hips forward, and pull the barbell up simultaneously. As it reaches approximately chest height, bring your elbows forward and underneath the barbell to “catch” it in the front rack position.
4. Lower the barbell down from the front rack position, slowly returning it to the floor.
5. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Like the upright row or barbell high row, the high pull provides excellent activation of the trapezius and other upper back muscles. Using the snatch grip, an inherently wide grip, increases this activation big time.

How to do it: 

1. Stand while holding a barbell with a very wide grip in front of your body.
2. Holding the core tight, pull the barbell up to neck height.
3. Control the bar’s descent back to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Also called the “farmer’s walk,” this classic strongman exercise only really hits the biceps, triceps, forearms, shoulders, upper back, trapezius, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, lower back, obliques, transverse abdominis, and rectus abdominis. Just those select few muscles. That’s all.

How to do it: 

1. The farmer’s carry works with various free weights, but we’ll use dumbbells. Select your dumbbells and place one on either side of your body on the floor.
2. Bend down and deadlift the weights so you are in a standing position holding them at your sides. Keep your shoulder blades down and back, your neck neutral, your core tight, and your back flat.
3. Slowly start walking, taking deliberate steps.
4. Walk for the desired distance or duration.
5. Place down the weights and rest, then repeat as needed.

RELATED: Farmers’ Walk Benefits

Why it’s great: The bent-over barbell row is a staple in most back workouts, activating the lats, rhomboids, posterior delts, and, of course, the middle and lower trapezius muscles.

How to do it: 

1. Stand, holding a loaded barbell, and shift the hips back, lowering your chest toward the floor. Your knees should be slightly bent and your arms fully extended toward the floor.
2. Keeping the core engaged, pull the barbell to the chest and retract the shoulder blades.
3. Squeeze your traps and back muscles at the top of the movement.
4. Control the bar’s descent.
5. Repeat as needed.

RELATED: The Best Bent-Over Row Alternatives

Why it’s great: By using an incline bench to enter the prone position, you don’t need to recruit as many stabilizing muscles from adjacent muscle groups to maintain good posture. That means you can really focus on what matters: the upper body and trapezius muscle.

How to do it: 

1. Select your dumbbells, set a bench to an incline, and sit with your chest against the back support pad and a dumbbell in either hand. Let your arms dangle down towards the floor.
2. With arms mostly straight, save for a slight bend in the elbow, raise them over your head to form the letter Y with your body.
3. Squeeze your traps at the top of the movement, then return to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

RELATED: Back Workout With Dumbbells

Why it’s great: Similar to the dumbbell Y-raise, dumbbell reverse flyes hit the traps, upper back, rear delts, and rhomboids. Since you’re standing again for this one, you’ll resume using other muscle groups from your lower body and core to stabilize.

How to do it: 

1. Bend forward by bringing the hips back, keeping your core tight to protect your lower back. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and bend your elbows slightly.
2. Pull the arms up and out, pinching the shoulder blades together.
3. Slowly return to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Lateral raises are super good at isolating the shoulders, helping fuel strength increases and muscle growth in the upper traps, serratus anterior, and all three heads of the deltoid muscle.

How to do it: 

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with your arms slightly bent at your side. 
2. Raise the arms outwards until they reach shoulder height. 
3. Slowly lower them back to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Cable machines feature dynamic resistance, which will be different from the static resistance produced by the other trap exercises on our list that use free weights. If you don’t happen to have a cable machine, a resistance band makes a great substitute.

How to do it: 

1. Set the cable machine at shoulder height and fasten the rope attachment. If using a resistance band, wrap it around a sturdy anchor point also around shoulder height.
2. Grab on using an overhand grip, then back up until your arms are extended.
3. Pull the handles back toward your face, splitting the handles to either side of your face and squeezing your shoulder blades at the end of the movement.
4. Slowly return to the starting position.
5. Repeat as needed.

RELATED: The Best Cable Machines