Trapazoid Help Please

[cookieduster]

Need a little help please.

I'm begining to wonder if I am a genetic freak. For the life of me I cannot get my traps to grow. Every other muscle is growing but my damn traps. What gives?

Would someone please be so kind as to give me some pointers and/or workout routines specifically designed for rapid growth on traps.

My current routine includes the following and are performed on Back days 2 times a week:

5x10 dead lift
5x10 front shruggs
5x10 back shruggs
5x10 dumbell shruggs

I've tried 3 or 4 weeks of heavy weight low reps and I've tried 3 or 4 weeks light weight high reps....Hell...I've even tried splitting both heavy and light for 3 weeks or longer with mininal results.

[Darkhorse]

Originally Posted by cookieduster

My current routine includes the following and are performed on Back days 2 times a week:

5x10 dead lift
5x10 front shruggs
5x10 back shruggs
5x10 dumbell shruggs

I've tried 3 or 4 weeks of heavy weight low reps and I've tried 3 or 4 weeks light weight high reps....Hell...I've even tried splitting both heavy and light for 3 weeks or longer with mininal results.

Well, that's way too much volume. I know because if I was to do that, I'd be using 100 lbs for half the workout!

Big traps will happen with heavy weight and time. Lighter weight won't do a thing. You have way too much volume on those traps...Hell, I wouldn't subject my legs to that much volume, and legs happen to be one of the biggest muscles you have..

First of all, you certainly don't need back shrugs. Yes, I've seen a vid of Cutler doing them, but he doesn't count. There is no way under God you'll be able to use half the weight you do for regular shrugs. Deadlifts should be in the rep range of 3-8 reps, not 5 sets of 10. For regular shrugs, sets of 10 is fine. However, don't keep strict form cause remember, you want heavy weight.

I recommend POWER SHRUGS. Basically, the only real difference between those and regular shrugs is that power shrugs have you using momentum. You lean forward more, using the swing upwards in your lower back to drive the weight up. It is a little cheat movement, but IMO necessary since my traps only respond best to a ton of weight. I'll give you a better explanation in the next post!

Deadlifts kick ass for traps growth so you're ok there aside from the rep range. In my opinion, some ideal rep ranges for deadlifts are 5x5, 3x3, or [1x6-8, 1x3-4] Keep in mind that two or three sets don't sound like a lot, but if you add up all the warmups and the super heavy weight you'll end up using, it's more than enough!

A few other exercises to think about are:

- Cleans (hanging or regular)
- Rack Deadlifts (put bars knee level in power rack so the exercise turns deadlifts into partial deadlifts..That translates to heavier weight, more upper body, less legs)
- High Pulls (Using barbell, hand placement shoulder width, essentially a wide grip upright row)
- The incorperation of supersets w/ upright rows..An example would be a super heavy set of rack deadlifts OR power shrugs followed by a set of upright rows (10-15 reps)..

If you keep your focus on progression to heavier and heavier weight from session to session, over time your muscles can and will eventually respond..Just don't give them a choice.

[Darkhorse]

Here's a quote from Matt Reynolds (aka AnimalMass), my P.T.

Originally Posted by Matt Reynolds

Shrugs/traps best exercise for big traps are power shrugs. take a barbell, hold it in front of you, SLIGHTLY bend knees and bend VERY SLIGHTLY at the hip. now violently extend the whole body and shrug. its basically a cheat shrug. try to hold for a split second at the top... you wont be able to but try. this exercise should be done with heavy weight. personally, ive used 800+ lbs for 10 reps. use as heavy a weight as you possibly can and still get a full shrug at the top. dont load up the bar all the way the first few sessions, or youll likely die. give yourself 3 or 4 sessions to work up to max weight.

Actually the former strength coach for FSU was a fan of the power shrug (heavy high pull from the hang position). I think a lot of the positive non-technique effects of the full and even power versions of the olympic lifts transfer very nicely with this movement. Plus, almost no time goes into teaching it since it is very easy from a technique standpoint (in addition, it works very well as a developer for explosion and power in the second portion of the pull).

As far as there not being any advantage to the the olympic lifts in sports - one can likely make a nice written defense to argue but anyone who has trained them for a period will strongly disagree. I'm of the opinion that the sport improvement stems from the CNS learning to generate maximal power in as short a duration as possible, sort of like torque on a car. Non-ballistic movements teach you to be strong over a period of several seconds rather than 1 second or less (2nd pull is where it's at). Sort of like a dragster vs. a road racer. The ability to generate maximal force as quickly as possible is the difference between a great lineman, running back, or puncher. Rarely is anyone called upon to exert strong force against a consistent object over a period of multiple seconds (even clashing linemen are constantly moving and adjusting) whereas the need for immediate maximal power is prevalent in just about every strength/power sport.

Yeah, elbows locked. When warming up the bar will obviously fly up with the explosion and force the elbows to flex but once sufficient weight is reached that won't be an issue. I generally prefer starting them with the bar just a bit above the knees. Some people like a higher hang but depending upon what you are going for starting from just above the knees allows you to hit just about everything in the second pull phase of the clean - nothing is in stone so one can experiment and augment according to their preferences and goals. I've also found this exercise very condusive and result producing higher rep ranges (8-15 is what I mean by this but low reps work very well too). Keep in mind anything over 5 is high reps for me so when I say something works well in the 8-15 range you can bet myself and others have had surprising results with it (higher rep range allows lighter weight which won't overload your lower back too much and potentially take away recovery from other exercises as a bonus). Obviously reps and lots of weight = straps. I don't know many who try to maintain a hookgrip for this but it is generally unsuccessful and a waste of effort and skin.

Overall effectiveness is very good for both sports, Olifting and even bodybuilding. I don't know of any exercise that can compare for upper back and trap stimulus. Even natural bodybuilders will see significant physique changes in about 4 weeks if they've never done this exercise. For sports, it is in my opinion the easiest as well as being one of the most effective ways to develop explosive power. For OLifting it helps dramatically strengthen the second pull and particularly helps full extension.

<Just another huge wordy post by me but to be honest the powershrug is a fantastic exercise and well worth it>.

[sdf42450]

nothing makes my traps grow better than heavy powercleans

[cookieduster]

Thanks fellas.

I have a problem hanging on to the bar if I put enough weight to only get 3 or 5 reps. I was trying to avoid using straps but it seems as though I might have to if I want to go heavy. Thanks again for your help.

[EricT]

Originally Posted by cookieduster

I have a problem hanging on to the bar if I put enough weight to only get 3 or 5 reps. I was trying to avoid using straps but it seems as though I might have to if I want to go heavy. Thanks again for your help.

I had a feeling when I started reading this that grip was gonna play into it. I assume you're talking about deadlifts here but even with shrugs you should be capable of pulling mega poundages (even if you're not doing power shrugs which would be even heavier) so at first it's quite common for strength to outstrip grip. You may have to use straps right now but I'd suggest you start training your grip as well or you'll dig yourself a hole. Otherwise DON'T use straps and just do your best to hold on. I'd prefer, personally, to not use straps AND to train the grip. It will come along VERY quickly.

Direct forearm work will help of course but the simplest thing to do is to make the bar harder to grip on the exercises where grip is not an issue. Like rows, pullups, upright rows...you get the picture. Just wrap something around the bar to make it thicker like a towel. I actually still do this all the time even with heavy deadlifts. You can also use things that are thinner. For instance if you do rope work with overhead pulley, instead of using the thich rope handles with a knot or catch for your hands, use a regular piece of thinner rope with no knot or catch so you have to hold on for dear life using grip alone. For direct work one of the best things is behind the back wrist curls (again with a towel on the bar). Besides of course reverse wrist curls or whatever else you feel like doing.

Traps have been covered thouroughly so the only thing I would add is that there are individual variations in how you traps look and grow. So when you might be expecting to see those high peaky traps start to show on each side of your neck you'll be dissatisfied. But you could find that a lot of your trap thickness is to the rear and/or you have a more gradual slope to the upper traps so that the growth is less apparent over the short haul.

[Dr X]

Heavy dead lifts, power cleans and shrugs period. Low volume. Straps are fine, screw the grip. You want a strong grip or big traps?

O and one more thing that is often overlooked. Eat more food.

[EricT]

Screw the grip? I can't deal with the idea of having a weak grip and tiny/weak forearms. The forearms are the seat of strength. I don't understand why anyone would want to be dependent of props such as straps. You walk around with huge traps and the next time you help a freind move his furniture you can't hold onto it and look like a big weak idiot

And btw, grip and forearm strength translates into a lot more than just how much weight you can hang. Weak tendons in the forearms will hamper such things a bench press and back work. Also the amount of force you can grip the bar with will make a difference into how much you can lock out on the bench. It's just a weak link. And weak links are exactly the kind of thing you should be prioritizing.

[sdf42450]

yeah, but if you grip is holding you back from developing a strong back then you're saying it's better to just not work back until your grip strength is there???


work your forearms, and then strap up and work that back as well

[EricT]

Originally Posted by sdf

yeah, but if you grip is holding you back from developing a strong back then you're saying it's better to just not work back until your grip strength is there???

Heck no! Did you read what I said?

Originally Posted by eric

You may have to use straps right now but I'd suggest you start training your grip as well or you'll dig yourself a hole.

Originally Posted by eric

Direct forearm work will help of course but the simplest thing to do is to make the bar harder to grip on the exercises where grip is not an issue.

It is easy and simple to strengthen your grip and imo there is no legitimate excuse for not doing it. It is as simple as making the weights that you CAN grip HARDER to grip. This won't take anything away from those exercises. I did state that I would rather (personally) not use straps at all even on heavier exercises. And the reason is because I KNOW how fast your grip strength will come if you let it instead of detraning it with straps. So it's a short term sacrifice. But no, I don't think that sacrifice is necessary at all.

At this point there is no exercise, even rack pulls for reps, that I can't grip and it was really no skin off my back to get that.