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Big traps are the result of countless hours of exercise and dedication. The trapezius, commonly known as traps, is one of the most important muscles in your body and also one of the most underrated.
They help keep your shoulders healthy, support your neck and back and also protect your spine. However, if you want traps that are visible from across the room, you'll have to work on them at least twice a week.
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Best Dumbbell Exercises for Traps
Here's a look at the six best dumbbell exercises for traps:
1) Dumbbell Upright Row
The upright row requires a neutral grip, which means you're not going to be holding one end of the dumbbell closer to the handle than the other. Instead, keep both sides even, and let your arms hang down in front of you while keeping your elbows at a 90-degree angle.
To execute this movement properly, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and do not use your back or triceps to lift any weight. It's also important not to raise or lower the bar behind your head. That could cause injury if done improperly. Pull the weight up to your neck level.
2) Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise
To do this exercise, sit while holding a pair of dumbbells in each hand. Bend forward till your chest touches your knees. Your palms should be facing inward, with your elbows slightly bent.
Raise the weights straight out to your sides till they're parallel to the ground and arms are fully extended. Lower the weights back down to the starting position, and repeat for the desired reps (usually 8-12).
3) Prone Trap Raise
To do a prone trap raise, lie with your stomach facing an incline bench, with arms bent and perpendicular to your body. Lift the weights up at a 45-degree angle, keeping them close to your body. Lower them, and repeat for 10 to 12 reps on each side (each arm). As you get stronger, try adding weight to increase the challenge.
If you start getting stiff traps from this exercise, it could mean your form is off. Try lifting less weight or another variation of the move that focuses more on trap activation without straining yourself.
4) Bent-Over Dumbbell Shrug
The bent-over dumbbell shrug is a great exercise to add to your trap workout. To execute, stand up straight, with your feet set slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Hold one dumbbell in each hand on the sides of your body. Keeping your back flat, head up and shoulders back, bend forward slowly till you feel a stretch in the area of your traps.
Bend over as far as you can go without rounding or hunching your back. Lift the weights by bending at the waist till they reach just above abdomen level. Pause for a second before lowering them back to their starting position. Repeat till failure, or fatigue stops you from completing another rep without compromising form. Keep good posture throughout the exercise.
5) Front and Lateral Raise Combo
This exercise is a good way to get your traps to grow as well as your shoulders. You can also do it with a neutral grip or supinated grip.
Try doing one set of ten reps on each side (ten total) if you're just starting out. Once you've mastered the movement and have built up strength, try two sets of 8-12 reps per side for more growth.
6) Alternating Shoulder Press
It's done as follows:
- Grab one dumbbell, and sit on an incline or flat bench.
- Keep your back straight, and raise the dumbbell to chest level.
- Lift the dumbbell over your head with just one arm, keeping the other one idle to ensure you don't use momentum.
- You can also perform an isometric version of this exercise, where you equip both arms with dumbbells, but only one arm performs reps while the other is suspended mid-air. Once you're done with the reps of one side, you can switch over to the other.
- Perform ten reps of this movement.
- Repeat for three sets, resting for 90 seconds between each set or till you feel ready to continue.
- At the end of the third set, increase your weight by 5%, and perform another four sets.
7) Dumbbell High Pull
The dumbbell high pull is a simple exercise that can be performed with a single or double dumbbell. It’s also one of the best exercises for developing your traps and upper back muscles.
To perform this exercise, start by grabbing the dumbbells and standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Keeping your core tight and back straight, lift the weights up to just above eye level so that they're over each shoulder (not all the way overhead).
Forcefully squeeze your shoulder blades together as you lower them down till they reach chest level again. Make sure you don't let go of these movements at any point in time. Instead, focus on controlling them throughout their entire range of motion.
Takeaway
We hope you enjoyed the aformentioned exercises, and good luck getting those traps popping.
It takes hard work, dedication and consistency to see results. Just remember one thing: slow down on the weights for your first few weeks. You don’t want to injure yourself before you even get started.
