SHRUG WITH BAR AND DUMBBELLS

In other articles of the guide to back exercises, we have seen the rowing to the neck and the horizontal rowing, exercises that served us to develop the trapezius. Today it’s time to analyze the shrug.

But if you just start training with weights or if you want to complement the previous exercises, I present the shrug, another exercise to develop the trapeze which has two variants:

One with dumbbells that serves for an integral work of the entire trapeze as a whole and another with a bar to focus on the top of it.

The shrug is an ideal exercise for men looking to develop the deltoid and trapezius and thus obtain a more virile appearance.

Obviously, women can also do it, although if you are not looking for a bodybuilder body do it with little weight in order to tone and not lose certain feminine features.

HOW TO PERFORM BAR SHRINKAGE?

1. We stand facing the bar and with our legs shoulder-width apart.
2. We take the bar with a grip in pronation and a little more open than the width of shoulders in this case.
3. Now we inspire and perform the shrug of the shoulders paying attention to keep the arms relaxed, the back straight and the abs contracted.
4. To finish we exhale and return to the initial step to perform a new repetition.
5. As we said before, the bar shrinkage is an ideal exercise for the upper portion of the trapezius, but we must take into account to maintain the basic precautions for this type of exercise such as: straight back and avoid sudden movements, once the technique is mastered this exercise allows us to work with important loads.

Variant of the exercise with the bar behind the back

• This exercise takes the same concepts and tips as the traditional bar shrink; we just have to be careful with the weight we lift as it may be less than the version with bar in front.
• In turn, if they do it correctly and with the right weight you will notice a greater effect on the trapezius.

HOW TO PERFORM THE SHRUG WITH DUMBBELLS?

1. This variant also runs the same as the previous one in terms of the position of the body, feet and legs. But in this case, we will take the dumbbells by placing them on the sides of the hip, and with the arms slightly flexed we proceed to make a total shrinkage of the shoulders.
2. This exercise requests not only the upper portion of the trapezoids but also the middle, angular portion of the shoulder blades and rhomboids.
3. Like the previous one we must have the same precautions, and once we master the technique, we can increase the weight.

TIPS TO PROPERLY PERFORM THE SHRUG

1. Let’s see some training tips that will allow us to achieve the greatest possible benefit with this back training technique.
2. Raise your shoulders as high as possible to request the upper trapezius as much as possible.
3. Don’t exhale before reaching the highest portion of the movement. Blocking breathing helps stabilize the torso to keep the spine in proper alignment and prevent injury to the spine or intervertebral discs.
4. The use of heavy loads reduces the range of motion and tends to cause us to put the shoulders down during the exercise, which can affect our posture and could even lead to problems in the lumbar spine. To perform proper alignment technique, try to keep your shoulders back as much as possible when elevating them.
5. At the time of barbell shrugging, make a bottom-up motion but without rotation, rotation does not improve efficiency and can put the shoulders in a biomechanically uncomfortable position.
6. The full range of motion not only ensures better muscle development, but also helps maintain the flexibility of the shoulder girdle. Loss of flexibility can lead to poor execution of some exercises and raises the risk of pinching and other shoulder problems.
7. Keep your head up and look straight ahead throughout the exercise. If the head is tilted to one side, muscle development may be uneven on one side or the other.
8. If you’re having trouble keeping your shoulders back, just do the dumbbell shrug.