Traps - I Really Need Some Help

Training Bodybuilding
121

[quote]Oroborus wrote:
giterdone wrote:
Oroborus wrote:
I can’t stress the importance of MMC and getting a stretch.

What’s MMC? And, no offense, but you don’t have impressive traps so why are you giving advice on how to build them?

edit: I get it…mind-muscle connection. Yeah, that’s important but the main focus needs to be moving some weight. Also, the stretch at the bottom is not as important as the contraction at the top.

I think the “squeeze” had been mentioned enough to be driven in. And hey, not to send this topic veering off course again, but I don’t think my traps are that bad?[/quote]

You aren’t at a stage where squeezing the muscle at the peak should be TOP concern. You are not that big and your primary goal at this stage should be building that base of strength, not squeezing light weights for any extended amount of time as if you are intermediate or advanced. You should do the weight controlled but the benefit of squeezing the muscle truly comes when you are using enough weight while doing so to truly stimulate growth. I actually think faster reps at your stage benefit more.

I am not trying to degrade your level of training, but we used to call that beginner level of development. It is only now that so many people are so out of shape that any degree of muscle at all stands out that people built like that suddenly think they know something.

However, that is another point entirely that deserves its own thread…ie. why people with little development suddenly think they are built enough to proudly show shirtless pics on the internet.

If I saw you, i would not think you lifted weights. For some reason, it is now taboo to point that out because feelings get hurt.

122

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
SkyNett wrote:
Charged wrote:
Also if your on steroids, who gives a fuck, really? your advice is in-valid.

Jesus tapdancing Christ - I truly can’t stand this place anymore…

Agreed.

X, I think you need to go on a forum rampage just like this.

It wouldn’t do any good. Too many of these people actually seem to think like this. It is like they truly believe they could learn NOTHING from someone like Ronnie Coleman…so they act like the words of some 160lbs personal trainer are gold while anyone with any size on them clearly is too stupid to learn from…which is why they aren’t growing that much and spend so much time worrying about who is taking what.

For the record, I would think working out with and learning from some of the top pros (especially from the 90’s) would be priceless in terms of information and understanding the lifestyle…something people like that guy in that post clearly do not think can happen as if steroids erased the hard work or as if steroids means the same rules no longer apply.

123

True, Always confused…

But little of the discussion has been about the OP. Most posts have been bald assertions and re-posting others assertions. Almost like a religious war between compound vs. isolation exercises…

Prof X’s statement about eating to facilitate gains as well as question about goals seemed over shadowed by compound vs. isolated…

It maybe that he’s after apparent vs. actual size…

If his goals allow increase in size, then he can gain weight while putting traps under load…

If goals require maintaining current size, then allowing size is contrary to goals and it is a matter of re-prioritization…

124

I thought I posted this, must have hit the reset button instead.

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/the_yoke.htm

Short bit on EliteFTS about traps. Not an incredible source of info in that article but it tells you enough you need to know at this point (plus a picture of the author with monster traps, for a change).

Basicly the exercises named in this thread…

125

[quote]Null wrote:
True, Always confused…

It maybe that he’s after apparent vs. actual size…

If goals require maintaining current size, then allowing size is contrary to goals and it is a matter of re-prioritization…

[/quote]

What the hell are you talking about? The guy wants bigger traps.

126

Bigger in relation to other muscles or just bigger…

If bigger in absolute sense then the eat right/more definitely applies.

If he doesn’t want to gain weight. Some people just don’t want to gain weight in an absolute sense. If so it is a matter of growing his traps in relation to other muscles.

Example.
In my poor condition 43 yo, 6’, 255, 22.5%bf. I don’t want/need to get heavier. I am rather unbalanced, poor symmetry and proportion. I need certain lagging muscles (Pecs, lats, Bi’s, delts, and hams) to catch up. Delts and Rhomboids are just starting to exist… Tri’s take over from Pecs, so Pecs are targeted so they grow in relation to triceps. I have plenty of room to grow them with out gaining weight due to crappy body comp.

I’m grateful to Professor X. His stress on eating more/better has helped radically. I’m eating a lot more and haven’t gained any more weight then my normal fluctuations. I’m not burning out every 4 - 6 weeks. I’ve significant progress in strength and definition, such as it is.

127

Most people do not have enough technique, and power for that matter, to get a lot of benefit from doing power cleans, power snatches etc… It’s not a hard exercise to learn but I think most people just get frustrated when learning how to do power cleans because you can obviously handle more weight in BB shrugs.

Regular BB shrugs are probably the best choice for a majority of bodybuilders and recreational lifters.

Power Shrugs or Hawaiian shrugs should be considered. Neither are hard to learn but allow you to handle more weight then BB shrugs. Incline DB shrugs are a good exercise , too.

128

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Getting Closer wrote:
X when you do shrugs do you find it best to stretch it out at the bottom and squeeze at the top cause like I said earlier i feel it more the next day when I just go heavy and don’t worry too much about the squeeze but my traps are still pretty small?

I squeeze NOW. I did not for years when I was really building them at first. I squeeze on a lot of movements now, but that is because I have maxed out most machines and I feel that squeezing the muscle at the peak of contraction helps with more growth. My Hammer Strength shrug only holds 5 plates a side. I don’t use straps and since I can handle that well, I squeeze at the top to create greater “resistance”.

In other words, bodybuilding is about progression. What some huge guy does now may not be what he did to get that big to begin with…it may simply be what he is doing to take it even further.[/quote]

Is hammer strength your main trap exercise? I generally have a balance of dumbbell and rear BB shrugs – although my trap development is far from spectacular.

129

[quote]Oroborus wrote:

I think the “squeeze” had been mentioned enough to be driven in. And hey, not to send this topic veering off course again, but I don’t think my traps are that bad?[/quote]

don’t wanna discourage but, have you even been told that you lift?

For the OP, if you’re shrugging 405 for reps and don’t see any noticeable development, ask for more help, if you can’t shrug 405, spend more time in the kitchen and in the gym than posting here.

130

[quote]Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Getting Closer wrote:
X when you do shrugs do you find it best to stretch it out at the bottom and squeeze at the top cause like I said earlier i feel it more the next day when I just go heavy and don’t worry too much about the squeeze but my traps are still pretty small?

I squeeze NOW. I did not for years when I was really building them at first. I squeeze on a lot of movements now, but that is because I have maxed out most machines and I feel that squeezing the muscle at the peak of contraction helps with more growth. My Hammer Strength shrug only holds 5 plates a side. I don’t use straps and since I can handle that well, I squeeze at the top to create greater “resistance”.

In other words, bodybuilding is about progression. What some huge guy does now may not be what he did to get that big to begin with…it may simply be what he is doing to take it even further.

Is hammer strength your main trap exercise? I generally have a balance of dumbbell and rear BB shrugs – although my trap development is far from spectacular.
[/quote]

Hammer Strength shrugs alone are why my traps look the way they do now. I started out using a barbell for them though so they gained that initial base with that. I’ve been using either the HS shrug or a variation of it for at least the last 8 years or so…and they are now possibly getting too big compared to everything else.

Do you know how hard it is to find a size 22 dress shirt?

131

[quote]Null wrote:
Funny how it turns to “what’s best”…
While people overlooked the “what’s his goals”.
[/quote]

Just in case you missed it:

[quote]I need some help building my traps to help build up/disguise my genetically pencil-like neck. I’ve shrugged the heaviest dumbbells that my back and forearms will let me pick up, but I just can’t get my traps to grow. I’m over 40 yrs. old and need to get some traps!
Any suggestions?
[/quote]

…and most of the people gave him exercises and techniques to get his traps bigger. Which included shrugs, rack pulls, and variations of cleans. If the OP listens, he’ll get bigger traps.

132

Yep,
He’s already shrugging as heavy as his back and forearms will allow.
So perhaps perhaps the eat so you can grow suggestion?

We’re both about his height.

He’s 5’ 11’', at 195.

You’re 6’, well developed, with great body composition at 230.

I’m 6’, 255, 22.5% and 43 yo, at 195 I would be very thin.

133

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Getting Closer wrote:
X when you do shrugs do you find it best to stretch it out at the bottom and squeeze at the top cause like I said earlier i feel it more the next day when I just go heavy and don’t worry too much about the squeeze but my traps are still pretty small?

I squeeze NOW. I did not for years when I was really building them at first. I squeeze on a lot of movements now, but that is because I have maxed out most machines and I feel that squeezing the muscle at the peak of contraction helps with more growth. My Hammer Strength shrug only holds 5 plates a side. I don’t use straps and since I can handle that well, I squeeze at the top to create greater “resistance”.

In other words, bodybuilding is about progression. What some huge guy does now may not be what he did to get that big to begin with…it may simply be what he is doing to take it even further.

Is hammer strength your main trap exercise? I generally have a balance of dumbbell and rear BB shrugs – although my trap development is far from spectacular.

Hammer Strength shrugs alone are why my traps look the way they do now. I started out using a barbell for them though so they gained that initial base with that. I’ve been using either the HS shrug or a variation of it for at least the last 8 years or so…and they are now possibly getting too big compared to everything else.

Do you know how hard it is to find a size 22 dress shirt?[/quote]

Haha, I don’t think I would mind too much if I had that problem. I need to start hitting my traps twice a week like the rest of my bodyparts!

134

[quote]Null wrote:
Yep,
He’s already shrugging as heavy as his back and forearms will allow.
So perhaps perhaps the eat so you can grow suggestion?

We’re both about his height.

He’s 5’ 11’', at 195.

You’re 6’, well developed, with great body composition at 230.

I’m 6’, 255, 22.5% and 43 yo, at 195 I would be very thin.[/quote]

Nope,
He’s not shrugging as heavy as he could be but he may think he is. He is shrugging DBs and not using straps (if forearms are a limiting factor).

You over-think this stuff and lack experience. But you are just getting started so it is a common problem. It will come in time.

DBs are OK but they don’t compare to barbell, machine (HS or other), Smith shrugs, Haney shrugs (I find these put the most strain on my lower back so I don’t do them much).

Strap up, put a weight belt on if you need to and go heavy. They don’t need to be slow and controlled, you don’t need to hold for a count of whatever on the contraction (unless you are strong enough that the barbell or machine can’t hold any more weight and you need to find other ways to increase intensity) and you can cheat if means moving more weight.

135

since it has already been mentioned that u do have to gain overall muscular weight to build target muscle, i would just like to throw out that i built traps (in my early days with conventional deads, Romanian deads and snatch grip deads, they all seemed to have different affects on the traps. Clean and jerks did an excellent job of building up me and my wifes medial traps (there small and feminine on her though) and as far as the great superior traps (upper traps) builder i favor the heavy dumbell shrugs and a strongman shrug i do with a transport trailer, equipped neutral grip handles, Behind the back “haney shrugs” are great too.

as far as the barbell shrugs. they just arent ideal for my Range of motion. I pull shoulders hard and high behind the neck (head slightly forward). this ROM is not possible with a bar that “wrecks” against my torso when i pull rearward. They work for sum great, but from what ive seen training many, not as well as dumbell.

136

This is from today’s great article from Jim Wendler:

"TMUSCLE: My winter project is to build a yoke so intimidating that it will scare the guys I grapple with. Any tips on growing the traps/upper back/neck? Any benefits to a big yoke?

Jim Wendler: There are many benefits of a well-endowed yoke. First, it is actually a sign that you lift weights, a calling card that most are afraid to get or don’t work hard enough to ever earn. Second, it looks awesome. Third, it gets you out of wearing ties and having to button your shirts’ top button (Why the fuck are you wearing a button down shirt anyway?).

Fourth, because, once again, it looks fucking awesome.

The first thing you must do is what you should already be doing â?? training heavy and deadlifting. Do this consistently and never take days off (unless they’re scheduled). Repeat for about 5 years.

The second thing is to do power cleans. Pick up the bar and put it on your shoulders. Do this once a week.

The third thing is to do some kind of rowing movement: barbell or dumbbell. Don’t turn this into a Quasimodo power clean, though. Do this once a week for 5 sets of 10 reps.

The fourth thing is to get your hands on a neck harness and start nodding your way to a bigger neck. For novices, I recommend 30-50 reps three times per week. Build this up until you’re doing 100 reps per day.

Round this out with some balancing of your shoulder girdle â?? face pulls, rear laterals, the Joe DeFranco Scarecrow, etc. These should be done WITHOUT emphasis on weight, but rather on the movement. Do this twice a week for 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps.

Now, before anyone asks, the reason I didn’t include shrugs for the yoke (although they are a very good movement) is: 1) To piss you all off and make you cry, 2) 100% of people would be better off if they just concentrated their efforts on deadlifting and power cleaning correctly, 3) I have rarely seen anyone do a shrug correctly, and 4) I have bigger traps than 99% of people and I never do them.

137

some wickedness right here

use at your own risk muhuhahaha

idk though, does anyone else think its too late in the game for him?

138

[quote]Professor X wrote:
kylec72 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
kylec72 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
When posts like this come up…it should be a requirement to post pics of the body part you are recommending exercises for…so we can see how well that worked for you.

I see everything from cleans to rack pulls handed out but haven’t seen that many people on the board with HUGE traps as a result of this.

Ha, you’re kidding I hope. How many people on the board can rack pull 8 plates per side for reps? Sure, shrugs will strictly emphasize the traps moreso than rack pulls, which will of course target other areas, but if you can deadlift or rack pull a significant amount of weight, while retracting your shoulders or shrugging backwards, for reps, your traps will grow.

The comment was made in jest, anyways.

I don’t deadlift. I also do NOT see people here who do deadlift with really large traps. Why the hell is it that so few people here have HUGE traps if these exercises work so damn well?

No, I’m not kidding at all. I want to see BIG people talking about HOW TO GET BIG. I do not want to see small people telling me what SHOULD work for big muscles.

You responded to my question with another question.

Here is something I quoted recently in the DC thread…

DoggCrapp wrote:
Traps arent up to snuff? Gee what does that mean? Ill tell you what that means to me…that means your three rotated back thickness exercises are floor deadlifts, rack deadlifts, sumo rack deadlifts, or hammer machine deadlifts. What is that going to give you? huge traps and a back that is as thick as a brick.

Man, if your traps haven’t grown from working up to a 765lb rack pull for reps, you got some serious genetic issues.

Why would someone worry about rack pulls if shrugs have built some of the biggest traps on the planet?

Does Ronnie Coleman do rack pulls? I know he does deadlifts and shrugs.

You seem to be missing the point here. It is IRRITATING seeing people who never got big quoting articles and random sayings as they tell others how to get big…in spite of really big guys telling them that something else worked for them.

It is GREAT that you can quote people. It is NOT great that you don’t have your own hiuge traps to show off and tell about how you built them.[/quote]

not hugging your nuts at all, but this was awesome, X

139

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
some wickedness right here

use at your own risk muhuhahaha

idk though, does anyone else think its too late in the game for him?[/quote]

awww look at how cute and cuddly thibs was back then! lol

140

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Ct. Rockula wrote:
some wickedness right here

use at your own risk muhuhahaha

idk though, does anyone else think its too late in the game for him?

awww look at how cute and cuddly thibs was back then! lol[/quote]

Good lord…I always thought he came straight out of the womb looking jacked…