How to get bigger traps: shrugs, rows and raises for all three parts, and your neck

Three parts, three jobs

The upper traps shrug your shoulders, the middle traps squeeze your shoulder blades together, and the lower traps draw them down. Bigger traps means training all three, not just shrugging.

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Shrugs for the upper traps

Of the exercises compared, shrugs worked the upper traps hardest. Upright rows and lateral raises worked them almost as hard with much lighter weights, and face-down raises and rows worked the middle and lower parts.

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The growth evidence is thin

Ten weeks of five dumbbell exercises, shrugs among them, enlarged the faster trapezius fibres by about 20% in women with trapezius pain. No trial has tested shrugs alone, or in people without neck pain, and how hard a muscle works in a few reps doesn't predict how much it grows.

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Deadlifts: we don't know

No study has measured trap growth from deadlifts. In one 12-week trial of squats, deadlifts, push presses, rows and pulls, the neck muscles didn't grow on scans, but that study didn't report the traps on their own. Keep your big lifts and add direct trap work.

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About 10 hard sets a week

Count shrugs in full and rows, raises, upright rows and carries as half sets at most, over 2 sessions (our editorial counting, as our shrug guide sets out). Shrugs at 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, with a one-second pause at the top, is the shrug's move page dose.

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Your neck needs its own work

The muscles at the back of the neck sit under the traps. In one trial, neck exercises grew them by about 13% in 12 weeks while whole-body lifting didn't, and simple neck holds raised neck strength in young rugby players.

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The upper traps

From the base of your skull and the back of your neck to your outer collarbone. They lift your shoulder blades when you shrug and turn them upwards as your arms rise. They're the part most people mean by "traps", between the neck and the shoulder.

Sources 1, 2

The middle and lower traps

From the spine of your upper and middle back to your shoulder blades. The middle part squeezes your shoulder blades together, and the lower part draws them down and helps turn them up so you can reach overhead. They add thickness to your upper back from behind.

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The neck muscles

The levator scapulae at the side of your neck helps you shrug. Under the traps, deep neck muscles hold up and tilt back your head; whole-body lifting didn't grow them in a trial, but neck exercises did.

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What the research measures

Most trap research measures muscle activity, with electrodes on the skin during a few reps. That shows effort, not growth. The only training study that measured the trapezius itself growing used small samples of muscle in women with trapezius pain.

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Shrugs top the upper trapsEmerging evidence

Of 10 exercises in 30 healthy adults, the one-arm shrug drew the most upper trapezius activity, while face-down arm raises worked the middle and lower trapezius hardest.

Source 3

Raises and upright rows came closeEmerging evidence

In 12 women with neck muscle pain, the dumbbell shrug reached 102% of a maximal test contraction with 20 to 30 kg, the lateral raise 97% and the upright row 85%, with only 3 to 10 kg.

Source 4

Small changes shift the workEmerging evidence

Shrugging with the arms 30 degrees out to the sides raised upper and lower trapezius activity in 37 adults, and in the upright row, a wider grip raised trapezius and shoulder activity in 16 trained men. These are one-session studies, not training trials.

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Trap fibres grew in 10 weeksEmerging evidence

In women with long-standing trapezius pain, 10 weeks of five dumbbell exercises (lateral raises, shrugs, one-arm rows, reverse flys and upright rows; three of them each session, 3 sets of 8 to 12 hard reps, 3 times a week) enlarged the faster trapezius fibres by about 20%, measured from small muscle samples. It's the best direct evidence there is, and it wasn't in people without pain.

Source 5

The same training eased neck painEmerging evidence

In 48 women with long-standing trapezius pain, that kind of strength training cut their worst pain by about 79% in 10 weeks, while leg cycling gave only a small, short-lived drop.

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Muscle activity isn't growthStrong evidence

How hard a muscle works in a few reps hasn't been shown to predict how much it grows over months, so the activity studies help choose exercises, not rank them for size.

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Big lifts and the neckEmerging evidence

In 22 active students, 12 weeks of squats, deadlifts, push presses, bent-over rows and pulls didn't change the total area of the neck muscles on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans, though the thighs grew 7%. Adding a head extension exercise grew the neck muscles from 19.5 to 22.0 square centimetres, mostly the deep ones. The study didn't report the trapezius on its own, so it can't say whether deadlifts build your traps.

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More sets, light or heavy, any frequencyStrong evidence

More weekly sets build more muscle, with diminishing returns; light and heavy loads build similar muscle when the sets are hard; and with weekly sets matched, training a muscle once or three times a week builds about the same.

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People varyStrong evidence

Women and men grow at similar rates relative to their starting size, and men gain more in absolute terms in the upper body. On the same programme, some people barely change and others grow a lot.

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Weekly sets

Build towards about 10 hard sets a week, counting shrugs in full and rows, raises, upright rows and carries as half sets at most (our editorial counting, as our shrug guide sets out). For health alone, shrugs are optional.

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A session

Our traps workout, twice a week, at least 2 days apart: 3 sets of shrugs, 2 rounds each of upright rows with one-arm rows and lateral raises with reverse flys, and 3 farmer's carries. The trial behind it trained 3 times a week, doing three of five exercises each time.

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Reps and how hard

Shrugs of 8 to 12, raises and flys of 12 to 15. Stop most sets 2 or 3 reps short; the last set of shrugs can go to 0 to 2 reps short, as our plans allow for small moves. Use a weight you can lift to full height and hold for a second: women with neck pain reached full trapezius activity with 20 to 30 kg, which is an observation, not a target.

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Rest

60 to 90 seconds between sets of shrugs and raises, our plans' rest for small moves, or pair two moves and rest after the pair.

Progress

Add reps before weight: when every set of shrugs reaches 12 with the pause, take the next dumbbell, as our traps workout suggests. A cable lets you add weight in smaller steps.

Keep them for the rest of you

Deadlifts, rack pulls and carries hold your shoulders down against a heavy load and train your grip, back and legs. Whether they grow the traps hasn't been measured: in the one MRI trial of whole-body lifting, neck muscle area didn't change, but the traps weren't reported separately.

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Not a shortcut

Rack pulls are for people who already have a sound barbell deadlift, as their move page says. If bigger traps are the goal, shrugs and rows are the direct route; our deadlift guide covers the lift itself.

The neck grows with neck work

In one trial, adding 3 sets of 10 head extensions to whole-body lifting grew the neck muscles by about 13% in 12 weeks, mostly the deep muscles at the back, while the lifting alone didn't. Training also changed which neck muscles did the work.

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Start with holds

Isometric neck presses are the gentle way in: their move pages give a 10-second press, 3 times in each direction, for 3 rounds, from an NHS leaflet, starting with light pressure. In 28 young rugby players, 15-second self-resisted holds in four directions, 3 times a week for 8 weeks, raised neck strength.

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Build the pressure slowly

Never push suddenly against your hand, and ease off if a press brings on a headache, as the move pages say. Our thicker neck guide covers neck training in full, including harnesses, safe loading and how long it takes.

What you need

Dumbbells or a loaded backpack for shrugs and rows, a band for face pulls and band shrugs, and the floor for face-down raises. Bands built strength like weights and machines across 8 studies.

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Without weights

Shrugs without any weight are too easy to build much, as our shrug guide says. Filled water bottles or a loaded backpack will do to start.

Weeks to months

Trapezius fibres grew within 10 weeks and neck muscles within 12 in the trials; in a thigh study, growth showed on scans from about weeks 3 to 4. Visible change takes months.

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People vary hugely

The same programme can change one person a lot and another barely at all. Track your shrug weights and reps rather than the mirror.

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No one can promise a look

Nobody can tell you how your traps will look, or when. What you can control is the habit: all three parts trained twice a week, adding reps before weight.

With a sore neck

Strength training that included shrugs eased long-standing neck muscle pain in women. During exercise, neck pain of 0 to 3 out of 10 is minimal and 4 to 5 acceptable; 6 or more is too much, and your neck should be no worse the next morning, as our neck pain guide sets out. See a GP if neck pain hasn't gone after a few weeks.

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With a sore shoulder

Leave upright rows out; shrugs keep your arms by your sides and usually suit a shoulder that complains when you raise your arm. See a GP if shoulder pain isn't improving after 2 weeks.

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High blood pressure or heart disease

Breathe out as you lift and don't hold your breath, keep the effort moderate, and get advice before maximal lifts. The American Heart Association's 2023 statement notes that studies of people with controlled high blood pressure reported no serious heart events during strength training, and that strength training can lower resting blood pressure.

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Pregnancy

You can keep up strength training if you already do it, as the NHS says. Ask your midwife before starting anything new, and leave heavy maximal lifts.

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Stop and get medical help

If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.

Call 999 (911 in the US)

For a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, for example while straining under a heavy lift: the NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Also for chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back; palpitations that don't go away or come with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint; fainting while exercising; and back pain with numbness, tingling or weakness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom, or changes in your bladder or bowels. Don't drive yourself to A&E.

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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111

For a headache brought on or made worse by exercising, coughing, sneezing or bending down: stop heavy lifting until it's checked. Also for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, or pins and needles that don't go away. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.

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Arm symptoms when you shrug

If shrugs bring on pins and needles, numbness or pain down your arm, lighten them or leave them out, and get it checked if it persists, as our shrug guide says.

See a GP

If neck pain or stiffness hasn't gone after a few weeks, painkillers haven't helped, or you have pins and needles or a cold arm.

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A new lump or bulge in your groin or tummy

See a GP if you think you have a hernia; get help from NHS 111 if a hernia hurts or comes with being sick, constipation or a high temperature. Call 999 for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh) with very bad tummy pain, sickness or being unable to poo or fart. After an inguinal hernia repair, avoid heavy lifting for at least 4 to 6 weeks.

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When training becomes a worry

Beat says a drive to be more muscular can be part of an eating disorder, especially in men, and worrying a lot about one part of your body can be body dysmorphic disorder. See a GP; Beat's helpline in England is 0808 801 0677, and our eating disorders guide has the other numbers.

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"Shrugs are the only way to grow your traps"Emerging evidence

Lateral raises and upright rows worked the trapezius almost as hard as shrugs with much lighter weights, and the trial that grew trap fibres used five exercises, shrugs among them. Shrugs are the most direct option, not the only one.

Sources 4, 5

"Shrugs train all of your traps"Emerging evidence

They work the upper part hardest; face-down raises, rows and face pulls work the middle and lower parts.

Source 3

"Deadlifts are all you need for big traps"Mixed evidence

No study has measured trap growth from deadlifts, and the one MRI trial of whole-body lifting reported the neck muscles, not the traps. Deadlift for the rest of your body, and add direct trap work if traps are the goal.

Source 7

"Go as heavy as you can on shrugs"Emerging evidence

Women with neck pain reached full trapezius activity with 20 to 30 kg, and light and heavy loads build similar muscle when the sets are hard. A weight too heavy to lift far only shortens the shrug: go to full height and hold for a second.

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"Shrugs are bad for your neck"Emerging evidence

Strength training that included shrugs eased long-standing neck muscle pain in women. Some people do get headaches or arm symptoms: lighten the load or leave them out.

Source 13

"Training your traps builds your neck"Emerging evidence

The deep neck muscles grew only with neck exercises in the one MRI trial. If a thicker neck is the goal, train the neck itself, gently.

Source 7