Who does them and why?
Right now I’m training for my first powerlifting meet in August and for back work I always choose deadlift, rows, pull ups, and military press. The only guys in my gym I see doing shrugs are the 150lb high school kids and one huge guy that trains for strongman competitions.
Ed Coan… Matt K… etc etc…
I do them because big traps are cool, and they help with my lockout.
I do them because i think it is a good choice to train. I try to get a little bigger for playing American Football and the neck is an important factor.
I always do them. And, for olympics lifts, trap strength is very important. Also, I play football, so I need big traps.
I understand that there are exercises that work traps, so shrugs aren’t needed; although, when trying to target traps as an area to train, shrugs provide a good exercise without working other muscles to much.
Incorporating a heavy upperback workout into my training made a big difference in deadlift (too me from 600 to 700 in abti over a year) and also helped alot for squat and bench as well. The two constants in the training have heavy BB rows pulled from the floor and heavy shrugs. Along the way, my neck and upper back got a lot bigger.
I do them because Traps grow fast. And nothing builds the Yolk region like Shrugs. Think about all the Douches you see who have 16.5 inch arms but aren’t strong or fast or anything. Now think about all the guys you’ve seen with massive traps: They’re the big, powerful ones.
All the strong people are doing them, too.
A proper yolk will help you stay tight on the bench and keep good form on the Deadlift AND Squat.
A proper yolk will also help greatly in the farmers walk and car deadlift.
A proper yolk will also increase your olympic lifts and will increase your Military Press. (That’s right, the scapula move UP in the Military Press)
A proper yolk will help keep you injury free by ensuring shoulder joint health and neck protection.
And Shrugs are pretty fun. You get to bend the Bar and you see results pretty quickly. I can’t imagine why people who regularly lift weights don’t do shrugs.
FightingScott; I think you’ll find the word is yoke (is there egg on your face now?)
See http://www.elitefts.com/documents/the_yoke.htm
a proper yolk is tasty and nutritous
i am also a competitive powerlifter and do shrugs…however, with a tweak or two: a big part of each lift is the upper back, so i use scapular retractions and inclined shrugs,…lay face down on an incline bench with arms hanging using heavy dumbbells, then shrug putting more emphasis on the rear delt and lower trap then an upright shrug
[quote]LSUPOWERDC wrote:
i am also a competitive powerlifter and do shrugs…however, with a tweak or two: a big part of each lift is the upper back, so i use scapular retractions and inclined shrugs,…lay face down on an incline bench with arms hanging using heavy dumbbells, then shrug putting more emphasis on the rear delt and lower trap then an upright shrug[/quote]
What you are describing is basically a kelso and you are right, they are very effective. You can also use a cambered bar which will clear most benches, or scoot to the top of the bench and use a regular bar.
After you have been doing these for a while your gym will not have big enough dumbbells.
These really should be a staple for most PL’s. IMO.
[quote]Pinto wrote:
Incorporating a heavy upperback workout into my training made a big difference in deadlift (too me from 600 to 700 in abti over a year) and also helped alot for squat and bench as well. The two constants in the training have heavy BB rows pulled from the floor and heavy shrugs. Along the way, my neck and upper back got a lot bigger.
[/quote]
Yup. Us too.
I like shrugs. I don’t do the regular standing upright shrugs that often. I like kelso shrugs, Hise shrugs, and other types. I feel like it contributes to stability for lifts. (And who doesn’t want jacked up traps and upper back?)
[quote]Boffin wrote:
FightingScott; I think you’ll find the word is yoke (is there egg on your face now?)
See http://www.elitefts.com/documents/the_yoke.htm
:)[/quote]
I remember reading that article when it first ran on elitefts but hadn’t read it lately.
Good Stuff!
You should definitely shrug to build your traps just for the simple reason that the bigger and thicker your traps are,it will create a wider shelf for the bar to sit further back on when you squat,thus increasing your leverages.
[quote]m.montoya wrote:
You should definitely shrug to build your traps just for the simple reason that the bigger and thicker your traps are,it will create a wider shelf for the bar to sit further back on when you squat,thus increasing your leverages.[/quote]
Very true. Along with helping with the deadlift (as many people mentioned), traps also have a lot to do with helping you bench more. Mainly with barbell control and stability.
I do shrugs. Love them. Gotta love big traps. Despite being a powerlifter the two muscle I don’t mind training like a bodybuilder or to get a pump or sheer size are calves and traps. The beautiful thing is I do them concurrently. I do my standing calf raises and right then and there switch over to some shrugs on the calf raise machine.
Once a week or so on my not ME/DE days I will go in just for some sets [as many as I want to do] of calves and traps.
[quote]Boffin wrote:
FightingScott; I think you’ll find the word is yoke (is there egg on your face now?)
See http://www.elitefts.com/documents/the_yoke.htm
:)[/quote]
I hate my life.
I can shrug 3x my bodyweight even though I only deadlift less than 2x my bodyweight. It’s a good ego stroke. Other than that, I find power snatches more useful for my traps.
[quote]Hanley wrote:
Ed Coan… Matt K… etc etc…
I do them because big traps are cool, and they help with my lockout.[/quote]
[quote]undeadlift wrote:
It’s a good ego stroke.[/quote]
I agree. I can shrug more than 1000 lbs for reps.