Trap Workouts: 9 Best Trap Exercises for Bigger Traps

By Alex Lawrence · Updated 30 October 2026

The best trap workouts combine heavy shrugs or carries for the upper traps with rows, face pulls and raises for the middle and lower traps. Below are 9 trap exercises with form cues, a sample workout and how often to train them.

Trap anatomy: upper, middle and lower fibres

Your trapezius is a large, flat, diamond-shaped muscle that runs from the base of your skull down to your mid-back and out to each shoulder blade. It has three groups of fibres that do different jobs:

Fibres	Where they are	Main job
Upper traps	Neck to the top of the shoulder	Lift (elevate) the shoulder blades and help rotate them upwards
Middle traps	Between the shoulder blades	Pull the shoulder blades together (retraction)
Lower traps	From the mid-back up to the shoulder blades	Pull the shoulder blades down and help rotate them upwards

The upper traps are what most people mean by “bigger traps”, the slope between neck and shoulder. But a balanced trap workout trains all three, because the middle and lower fibres give your upper back thickness and help control your shoulder blades.

Which trap exercises work best?

Different exercises bias different fibres. One EMG study in 30 healthy adults found that a one-arm shrug produced the most upper-trap activity, while lying face-down raising the arms overhead in a “Y” produced the most lower-trap activity. For the middle traps, a face-down raise out to the sides with the thumbs turned up, and the same “Y” raise, scored highest.

EMG measures muscle activity, not growth, so treat it as a guide to which exercise targets which fibres. Pick at least one exercise for each group.

The 9 best trap exercises

The nine best trap exercises are three shrug variations, the rack pull and farmer’s carry for the upper traps, the face pull and chest-supported row for the middle traps, the upright row for upper traps and shoulders, and the Y-raise for the lower traps.

1. Barbell shrug

The barbell shrug is the classic upper-trap builder because it lets you go heavy.

Stand tall with the bar at arm’s length, hands just outside your thighs.
Shrug your shoulders straight up towards your ears. Don’t roll them.
Pause for a second at the top, then lower slowly to a full stretch.
Keep your arms straight: this is a shoulder movement, not a curl.

2. Dumbbell shrug

Dumbbell shrugs let your hands sit at your sides, which many people find more comfortable on the shoulders.

Hold the dumbbells at your sides, palms facing in.
Shrug straight up, pause, and lower all the way.
Try them one arm at a time to focus on each side.

3. Trap bar shrug

A trap (hex) bar puts the load in line with your body, so you can shrug heavy without the bar dragging on your thighs.

Stand in the middle of the bar and grip the high or low handles.
Brace, stand up, then shrug straight up and hold briefly.
Use straps if your grip gives out before your traps do.

4. Rack pull

The rack pull is a partial deadlift from pins set around knee height. It trains the upper back, traps and grip with heavy weight.

Set the bar on the pins or blocks just below or above your knees.
Hinge, grip just outside your legs, and push your hips forward to stand up.
Finish tall with your shoulders back. Don’t lean back or shrug at the top unless you’re doing it on purpose.
Keep your back flat throughout.

5. Farmer’s carry

The farmer’s carry trains the upper traps by holding heavy weight while your traps work to keep your shoulders from being pulled down.

Pick up heavy dumbbells or farmer’s handles.
Stand tall, shoulders slightly up and back, and walk with short, controlled steps.
Go for distance (for example 20-40 metres) or time (20-40 seconds).

6. Face pull

The face pull trains the middle traps and rear shoulders, which balance out all your pressing.

Set a rope on a cable at about face height.
Pull the rope towards your forehead, splitting the ends apart.
Finish with your elbows high and hands beside your ears, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Use a light weight and control it: this is not an ego lift.

7. Upright row or high pull

The upright row trains the upper traps and side shoulders together.

Hold a barbell, EZ bar or cable bar with a grip about shoulder-width.
Pull up along your body, leading with your elbows.
Stop with your elbows around shoulder height. If you feel a pinch in the front of the shoulder, shorten the range or swap to a different exercise.
A wider grip or a cable often feels easier on the shoulders.

8. Prone Y-raise

The Y-raise is one of the best lower-trap exercises. Lie face-down on an incline bench and raise your arms in a “Y”.

Set a bench to about 30-45 degrees and lie chest-down.
Hold light dumbbells (or no weight to start), thumbs pointing up.
Raise your arms up and out at a 45-degree angle to make a “Y”.
Draw your shoulder blades down and back as you lift. Pause, then lower.

9. Chest-supported row

The chest-supported row trains the middle traps and the rest of the upper back without loading your lower back.

Lie chest-down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
Row the weights towards your lower ribs.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top and lower under control.

Sample trap workout

This sample trap workout trains upper, middle and lower traps in about 30-40 minutes. Do it once or twice a week, either on its own or added to the end of a back or pull day.

Exercise	Fibres	Sets × reps	Rest
Barbell or trap bar shrug	Upper	4 × 8-12	90 s-2 min
Chest-supported row	Middle	3 × 8-12	90 s
Face pull	Middle, rear shoulder	3 × 12-15	60 s
Prone Y-raise	Lower	3 × 10-15	60 s
Farmer’s carry	Upper, grip	3 × 30 m (about 100 ft)	90 s

Weight guide: pick a shrug weight you can pause at the top for a full second on every rep, and start Y-raises very light, for example 2-4 kg (4-9 lb) dumbbells or no weight at all. Finish each set with 1-3 good reps in reserve. The ACSM recommends adding 2-10% to the load once you can do one or two reps more than your target. Use the plate calculator to load the bar.

Already on a split? Add shrugs and face pulls to the pull days of push pull legs, or to the upper days of an upper lower split.

Common trap training mistakes

Most trap mistakes come from going too heavy and cutting the range of motion short.

Rolling your shoulders. Shrug straight up and down. Rolling adds nothing and can irritate the shoulder.
Tiny half-reps. Lower fully so you feel a stretch, then lift as high as you can.
Bending your elbows. Turning a shrug into a curl takes load off the traps.
Only training upper traps. Skipping face pulls, rows and Y-raises leaves your middle and lower traps undertrained.
Going so heavy that you use momentum. Bouncing the weight with your legs makes the set easier for your traps, not harder.
Letting grip limit you. If your hands give out first, use straps on shrugs and rack pulls.

How often should you train traps?

Train your traps about twice a week for the best growth. A 2016 meta-analysis found that training a muscle twice a week built more muscle than once a week when volume was matched.

Total sets matter too. A 2017 meta-analysis found more weekly sets were linked to more growth. Many lifters do well with roughly 6-12 hard trap sets a week, split across two sessions.

Remember your traps already work hard during deadlifts, rows and carries. If your back sessions are heavy, you may need fewer direct trap sets.

Tracking your trap progress

Your traps grow when the weight or reps go up over time, so log every set. You can build your trap workout as a routine in Get Gains (the free tier allows up to 3 routines), and it flags new personal bests on shrugs, rack pulls and rows. To check how heavy your rack pull really is, put a recent set into the 1RM calculator.

FAQ

Can you grow traps without shrugs?

Yes. Heavy deadlifts, rack pulls, farmer’s carries and upright rows all train the upper traps. Shrugs are simply the most direct option.

Are upright rows bad for your shoulders?

Not for everyone, but some people feel discomfort at the top. Stop with your elbows around shoulder height, use a wider grip, or swap to a different exercise if it hurts.

How long does it take to build bigger traps?

It varies a lot from person to person. Expect visible change over months of steady training, not weeks.

Should I train traps on back day or shoulder day?

Either works. Shrugs and carries fit well after deadlifts or rows; face pulls and Y-raises also fit on a shoulder day.

How we wrote this: drafted with AI assistance, then fact-checked against the sources below and edited by Alex Lawrence. Read our editorial policy.