Every time I do shrugs I get a headache the day after, it’s really pissing me off.
Anyone else the same? I’ve spoken to a couple people in my gym and they say the same thing.
Any thoughts or advice on the matter?
How do you perform them? Sounds like maybe you are pulling your head/neck muscles while shrugging.
Not sure if you do this or not, but you should always shrug straight up and down…none of that stupid circular shoulder rotation shrug shit.
Shrug up and down and keep your head in a neutral position (don’t jut forward). Keep a slight bend in your knees as well.
Thanks for the reply, well I keep my form good facing forward straight up and back down, my problem is more from the ache I get the next day in my traps gives me a mild headache all day and its very annoying.
Maybe some stretching will help take the tension of my muscles?
You may want to ice the back of your neck and take something like Aleve or Advil. It sounds like you are either pulling the muscles along the neck, or maybe pinching a nerve.
You could also see a chiropractor or other professional to critic your form and see if they can decipher the problem.
You could try some other shrug variations, such as dumbbell shrugs on a high incline. These would change the line of the pull alittle, but maybe just enough to not cause pain.
I don’t really have an answer to your question, but I have another variation that might help.
Try overhead shrugs.
After seeing them in CT’s Power Look article, I just had to try them. For me, they feel a lot better, and seem to work my traps harder.
Here’s CT’s description, to ensure proper form.
"Start Position: Hold the bar overhead (intermediate grip) as if you’d just completed a shoulder press. Stretch your traps by bringing your shoulders down. Keep your arms locked and the bar overhead. The trunk must be kept tight.
The Shrug: While keeping a tight posture, bring the shoulders up by contracting the traps, the shoulders must go up in a straight line. Hold the hightest position for two seconds."
Hope this variation eliminates your headache!
When you guys shrug, don’t the muscles condense against the neck? I tilt my head SLIGHTLY forward so I get the full ROM. My brother always yells at me for this (says I’m gonna develop a hunchback posture), but I have yet to feel any pains and this is the way I’ve been shrugging during the last few years. Any thoughts?
And I agree that the rotating motion for shrugs totally sucks, especially with the barbell.
Peace be with you all.
I got a “sports” deep tissue massage (it wasn’t at a spa, the place did all sorts of massage and chiropractic services, one of those) a few months ago and the massesue(sp?) mentioned my upper back was tight. My rotators and traps had knots in them bla bla. She asked me if I shrugged and did other back exercises, I said “yes.” She then said that stretching your upper back isnt just important for knots, but its also important because tight traps and neck muscles can lead to headaches. She specifically asked if my head hurt when I shrugged.
My advice to you is to stretch your upper back a lot, including your neck. Good posture always helps, too.
How about the Hise shrug(where you load up the bar as if to do heavy squats and then simply shrug). Or, if you don’t get pain from deadlifts, maybe skip the shrugs altogether. Or try high pulls.
Thanks alot for all the input guys, I think I will give my upper back and neck some good stretching and see how that goes and also maybe try some other variations to find one which might not give me the headaches.