What exercises, protocols or training gave your traps the best growth stimulus?? Unequivocally… not anecdotally. We can get lost in interpretation at times.
1 Like
You’re asking for people’s personal experiences. Wouldn’t those be anecdotal by nature?
2 Likes
Unequivocally .
1 Like
Power hang cleans, no doubt, for me.
Rack pulls are number two.
DB Shrugs with a hold are a distant third.
I’m sure farmers walks are awesome, but I’ve never put any real time into them to know.
4 Likes
It seems like developing the “yoked” look is a thing now. Big traps are a part of that look. I don’t think many, if any, of the examples of dudes with big traps actually trained to grow their traps; it was a side effect of their training not the goal.
Apparently I have relatively big traps as people have commented on them and it affects how shirts fit. I objectively have a big neck, close to 19 inches, which also affects shirt fit.
I wasn’t a wrestler in HS or college, and I didn’t experience trap and neck growth until I started doing deadlifts, cleans, rows and neck work using a harness and wrestler bridges. I should also add in BJJ training. So I can’t really isolate one or more things as being responsible for trap growth as it’s possible the neck work I did and do contribute to trap development.
IMO, shrugs don’t build traps. It’s like the guy with no bicep development doing curls. If you have some trap development you might feel them working but it’s the things that gave you the initial development that will continue to affect future growth. Finally, you can still train many lifts with sore biceps. You can train with sore legs. Sore traps are another matter.
Cleans in general are good but I found this version to be the best.
1 Like
My best/fastest growth (after 35) came from a heavy trap workout and a light trap workout every week.
Heavy work came on “back” day. After some pulldowns and rows I did a double drop set of shrugs. Work up to a top set of 6-8 reps, real close to failure. Rest about 30 seconds then drop 20-30 pounds and hit 8-10 reps, real close to failure. Then rest about 30 seconds, drop 20-30 pounds and do another 10-12 reps, real close to failure. Failure was “task failure,” like stopping the set when technique fell apart.
That was straight from Thibaudeau and his effort based, high threshold motor unit, hypertrophy focused philosophy.
Light work was a few days later, at the end of “Push” day. I used a superset from Joe Bennet, the “Hypertrophy Coach.” None of those sets are to failure, the whole thing is just a long slog to get the intermediate, harder to fatigue fibers.
A1 incline bench rows - 15 reps
A2 incline bench shrugs - 15 reps
A3 bent over rows - 15 reps
A4 shrugs - 15 reps
A5 deadlifts - 15 reps
A6 suck thumb in fetal position
2-3 rounds, 60 seconds between rounds
2 Likes
I recall deciding to compete in a tested drug free bodybuilding contest. The rule was no steroids for at least one year prior to the contest. They used a lie detector test.
I quit all AAS. What changed most dramatically about my physique was loss of size in my delts and traps. So much so, that when I happen to cross paths with my ex wife, she asked if I quit lifting weights.
From those experiences, I would say the best “exercises” are AAS.
4 Likes
Alot of deadlifting
1 Like
Not necessarily… if they were very meticulous about growing their traps
Hit 205 in each for Farmers for 85 feet. Just feels good overall.
1 Like
Ty for sharing… im just not a fan at all of Dana. Genetics, drugs, and seems to know little about how muscle gain actually works. I will take your experience far more seriously
Traps perform scapular retraction… so I agree with you there
Oddly… I asked Paul Carter about SGHP and he basically said No empathically. But Thibs is a big believer in them.
The “Trapydia” superset from “The Hypertrophy Coach” is the good part. Dude apparently did a social media cross-over with Bailey, where she tried out his stuff. It was the first video of “Trapydia,” that makes your traps burn like Chlamydia, that popped up.
If it helps, follow this harder to dig up post from insta, with zero DLB.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJ7qpBF6YX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&img_index=1
Paul is on gear, not that I have a problem with it, but I have never used. Take that for whatever it’s worth.
Think he’s been clean for quite some time. him and Beardlsey are putting out some really good stuff hypertrophy related.
Thnx buddy
1 Like
I have nothing against him and even bought one of his books. But from what I understand, traps do respond well to chemical assistance so it can affect how one judges how they respond to certain exercises. I know some use traps as part of the smell test for drug use, but I only think that applies, if it applies at all, when you see someone go from no traps to big traps in a short space of time.
Highest amount of androgen receptors around there
2 Likes
Upright Rows
1 Like