One thing that makes bodybuilders, athletes, and action heroes look tough is big traps. These are the muscles that run from the sides of your neck out to your shoulders.

And the best way to build bigger traps is by doing barbell shrugs. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen guys (and gals) doing this exercise wrong at the gym.

So I’m going to teach you how to do barbell shrugs the right way to build impressive shoulders. As well as several variations you can do without dumbbells or other equipment.

What Are Barbell Shrugs?

Barbell shrugs are an exercise where you shrug your shoulders while holding a weight bar in front of you. There are other versions of the exercise using different kinds of resistance, as I’ll explain below.

The movement is similar to the way you shrug your shoulders when you tell someone “I don’t know.” Except when you do shrugs with weight, you train the shoulder muscles to grow bigger and stronger.

Barbell Shrugs Muscles Worked

Barbell shrugs primarily work the trapezius muscles or traps. This is a large diamond-shaped muscle running from the back of your neck, out to the top of your shoulders, and down to your mid-back.

However, the shrug movement specifically targets the upper part of the traps. As well as the muscles in your neck and shoulder blades.

How To Do Barbell Shrugs

Before you do a barbell shrug, load the bar with the amount of weight you need. You may also want to have the bar on a rack just above knee level. Otherwise, you will need to pick up the bar from the floor.

Approach the bar and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Then grab the bar with an overhand grip so your hands are just outside your thighs.

With the bar firmly in your hands, stand up straight so the bar is resting on the front of your thighs. Now shrug your shoulders up towards your ears while keeping your arms straight.

Then lower the weight back down to the starting position to complete one rep. Repeat this for the desired number of reps and set the bar back down. To recap here is the step-by-step guide and a video.

Step-By-Step Directions:

1. Use an overhand grip just outside your thighs
2. Stand up with the bar at arm’s length
3. Shrug your shoulders up towards your ears
4. Let the bar back down until your traps stretch
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps

My YouTube channel has dozens of videos showing you how to do a variety of bodybuilding exercises. You’ll learn how to target and build specific muscle groups in 90 seconds or less. Click HERE to subscribe or click on the button below!

Barbell Shrugs Form

The barbell shrug is a pretty straightforward exercise. Yet, I see a lot of people at the gym throwing around heavy weight without actually engaging their traps.

Some of the most common mistakes are using momentum and “bouncing” the weight up and down. This happens when you initiate the movement with your legs, then pull by bending your arms.

But when you use sloppy form, your traps barely do any work! And that means they won’t respond as much as they could if you perform the exercise with strict form.

Do not do the following:

In contrast, good form involves keeping your arms and legs as straight as possible throughout the movement. This means you don’t use momentum and do lift the weight using only your traps.

Think of your arms as ropes with one end tied to the bar and the other to your shoulder. A rope under tension can’t bend, it can only pull. In the same way, your arms shouldn’t bend, they should only pull.

Barbell Shrugs Form For Neck Building

As I mentioned earlier, many of the smaller muscles in your neck will activate during barbell shrugs. And you can target the front or back depending on the position of your head.

When you look down slightly, you will work more of the rear neck muscles. Whereas looking straight ahead engages the front of the neck more. Just make sure you don’t turn your head to the side to avoid straining your neck.

Personally, I like to look straight ahead to work the front of my neck. Since these muscles are most often weaker in weight lifters and bodybuilders.

Moreover, working the front of your neck can help alleviate symptoms of upper cross syndrome. And helps prevent muscle imbalances while improving your posture.

Custom Nutrition & Workout Plan

Get a personalized meal plan designed to fit your body and lifestyle. Including a custom workout routine built around your schedule and fitness goals.

All this for just $19.99! Click here to choose your plan.

Barbell Shrugs Variations

It’s important to realize that you don’t need a barbell to do the shoulder shrug exercise. There are variations you can do using whatever gym equipment you have available.

Even if you have a barbell, these shrug variations will add variety to your shrugs workout. And help you hit your traps from all different angles.

Smith Machine Shrugs

The Smith machine shrug is virtually identical to a barbell shrug except that the bar moves up and down in a fixed path. One thing this does is reduce the need to balance the bar, so you can focus on squeezing your traps.

Sometimes I’ll do Smith machine shrugs if there isn’t a barbell available. But other times I like to do it just to isolate my traps. You’ll definitely be sore after doing strict, heavy Smith machine shrugs.

Trap Bar Shrugs

A trap bar is a hexagon-shaped barbell with handles on either side. During trap bar shrugs (or hex bar shrugs), this bar keeps your hands in a more neutral position at your sides. Which is great for targeting your traps.

One thing I don’t like about trap bars is that the handles are sometimes too far apart. Which can put unnecessary stress on your arms, especially if you’re shorter or have narrower shoulders.

Kettlebell Shrugs

If you prefer, you can also do shrugs with kettlebells. This variation has the same benefits as dumbbell shrugs. However, you’ll quickly advance to the point where the kettlebells aren’t heavy enough.

Plate Shrugs

Another option is to hold a weight plate in each hand while doing shrugs. Again, you won’t be able to do as much weight. But the benefit of this variation is that you also improve your grip strength at the same time.

Behind The Back Barbell Shrugs

With traditional barbell shrugs, you hold the bar in front of you. The disadvantage here is that it’s hard to roll your shoulders back as you pull them up.

But with behind the back barbell shrugs, the bar is on the rear part of your legs. This automatically pulls your shoulder blades back. Although it’s trickier to balance and you won’t be able to go as heavy.

Kelso Shrugs

Lastly is a variation called Kelso shrugs. For this exercise, you lean forward face down on an incline bench. Performing shrugs in this position changes the angle of your arm relative to your body and works more of the lower traps and mid-back.

In addition, Kelso shrugs completely eliminate momentum so you can’t cheat. And you don’t need as much weight to overload your traps.

Hypertrophy Training Program

Barbell shrugs are a great exercise to build your traps and strengthen your neck. But if you really want to reach your fitness goals, you need a complete resistance training plan designed for muscle gain.

In order to maximize muscle growth (aka hypertrophy), you should adjust 10 specific training variables. Check out my free hypertrophy training program to see how to optimize your workouts.

With this information, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your fitness goals. And if you found this exercise tutorial helpful, click on the articles below for more workout tips!