Friday, December 12, 2008

Weight Lifting Exercises - TRAPEZIUS

By Westy

The traps, as they are commonly called, are the Trapezius muscles. They connect your back and your neck (to put it simply). Most often they are trained when working out the shoulders or back. There are only a few exercises you can use to train these muscles. But don't let that put you off. You can achieve massive growth in this are using just a few simple movements. Often it's enough to simply do a few shrugs after your main workout exercises.

The major moves that you can use to work the traps are the shrug and the upright row.

The first exercise that is typically used is the shrug.

These are to be done with dumbells or a barbell. They can also be done using a smith machine but with less range of motion. They can also be done in front of the body or behind.

They are performed quite simply by grabbing some weight, and shrugging your shoulders! Nothing to it. Some people like to add some variation by rolling their shoulders forwards, then backwards in a circular motion when they shrug. That's why I recommend using dumbells or a barbell instead of the smith machine so you can get the best range and flexibility with the movement. You can stimulate the area more effectively this way.

Here is how the shrug is done.

1. Take your weight and hold it in front of your body with an overhand grip.

2. Lift the shoulders and try to reach your ears with your shoulders.

3. Hold the movement and then lower your shoulders, repeat.

One of the most important parts of this exercise is the amount of control that you use when you are lifting your shoulders. Avoid straining the neck and keep control over the movement. You can use a very heavy weight because of the small range of motion. There are other exercises that you can do, including the upright row. This is often used as a part of the shoulder exercise and it can work the traps and the shoulders at the same time.

Here is how the upright row is done:

1. Take a wide grip if you're intending to hit the traps with more intensity.

2. Hold the bar with a wide grip at arms length near your thighs

3. Lift the bar up until you reach your chin.

4. Hold for a moment, then lower and repeat

You should be sure that your elbows are higher than the bar when you are doing these exercises. You can use these exercises to get strong shoulder muscles and stronger traps. The results are worth the effort. - 16887

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