Easy Trapezius Stretching Exercises to Loosen Tight Traps

Trapezius stretching exercises are necessary to relieve any tension or tightness in the upper back. While you may not always pay attention to the trapezius muscles, it’s important to turn your attention towards the muscle group during stretches.

It’s an important part of the upper back and plays a role in quite a few compound movements. In fact, the muscle group keeps the shoulder girdle attached to the body. Hence, it’s rather important to ensure that you add trapezius stretching exercises to your workout routine.

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Trapezius stretching exercises for traps

Trapezius stretching exercises (Photo via Unsplash/LOGAN WEAVER @LGNWVR)

The traps are a large muscle in the back, extending from the neck to the middle of the back. It's an important part of the shoulder muscles.

When focusing on trapezius stretching exercises, the goal is to be as gentle as possible. You must not force the stretch beyond its level of comfort. Here are some trapezius stretching exercises you should add to your workout routine:

Shoulder roll

To do it:

• Sit with your back straight. Keep your arms on your sides.
• Gently roll your shoulders in a circular motion.
• Repeat at least 10-15 times before reversing the motion.

Neck stretch

It's done as follows:

• Stand with your back straight. Keep your head straight.
• Tilt your head towards the right. Bring your right ear towards your right shoulder.
• Place your right hand on your head.
• Gently pull your head further towards your shoulder till you feel a stretch on your left side
• Hold the stretch for ten seconds before steadily bringing your head back to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.

The upper part of the trapezius muscles will often feel tight due to stress or poor posture. Hence, you should add the neck stretch to your daily routine.

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Wall stretch

It's done as follows:

• Stand facing a wall. Keep your feet hip-width apart
• Place your palms on the wall with fingers pointing upwards.
• Move back till the arms are extended
• You feel a stretch on your upper back when the arms are properly extended while pressed against the wall
• Hold the position for 15 seconds before relaxing

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Upper back stretch

To do it:

• Sit on the floor with your back straight. Keep your legs extended in front of you.
• Bend forward to bring your forehead down.
• Keep your arms forward when you’re bringing your forehead down.
• Take your hands towards the right, and hold the stretch for 15 seconds.
• Repeat on the left side.

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Trapezius muscle stretches need not only be a part of your workout routine as a post-workout stretch. You can add stretches as a part of your daily routine and perform them at a suitable time during the day.

The traps are in use throughout the day, as they play a role in your overall posture. Given the stress in them for a considerable period. It’s important to stretch and relax them as much as you possibly can.

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Benefits of trapezius exercises

Benefits of traps (Photo via Unsplash/GRAHAM MANSFIELD)

It’s strongly believed that knowing the benefits of anything will encourage you to implement it in your daily routine. Similarly, if you know the benefits of trapezius muscles, you are more likely to add trapezius stretching exercises to your routine.

They are as follows:

Promotes Good posture

A strong, well-developed set of trap muscles can help keep the shoulders back down, preventing slouching, and prevent various posture problems.

Boosts Upper body strength

The traps are involved in various compound movements, especially upper body compound exercises.

When you have strong traps, it can help with exercises that involve shoulder blade retraction, shoulder elevation, and neck extensions, which are often movements found in exercises like overhead presses, pull-ups, and others.

Provides Shoulder pain relief

One of the primary reasons for trapezius stretching exercises is pain relief. As they’re involved in maintaining posture, the muscle group can become sore due to overuse.

In such cases, it's important to implement some of the trapezius stretches to relieve tension and pain from the shoulders and neck.

Improves athletic performance

Athletic movements such as throwing, swimming, and others require involvement of the trapezius muscles. Therefore, strengthening and conditioning the muscle group is a must if you want to continually improve your athletic performance.