Beauty

Benefit exercises

Barbell shrugs are a traditional bodybuilding and fitness exercise used to add volume to the upper back and neck, as well as emphasize the border between the trapezius and deltoid muscles. The main impact of shrugs is on the trapezium, but other muscles of the upper back, deltas and forearms also take part.

Shrugs will improve performance and skill in many sports such as wrestling, gymnastics, tennis, volleyball, baseball and many more.

Barbell Shrug Technique

Correct exercise technique:

1. Stand in front of the barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart. If the bar is on the floor, then raise it as if doing a deadlift. Hold the barbell with your arms fully extended with an overhand grip so that the distance between your palms is slightly wider than your shoulders. Fully straighten up, straighten your chest and shoulders, slightly arch your lower back, keep your chin parallel to the floor and look straight ahead. This is the starting position.

2. Inhale, hold your breath and pull your shoulders straight up. At the top of the movement, pause for 1-2 seconds, feeling the tension of the trapezium, and then slowly return to the starting position as you exhale.

3. Perform the intended number of repetitions.

It is important:

Performing the exercise, keep the torso in a fixed position: do not lean forward; keep your back straight and your shoulders back.

Do not perform any circular movements with your shoulders while lifting the weight — this is fraught with injury to the shoulder joints. Your task is to raise your shoulders as high as possible strictly in a vertical plane.

Try to raise your shoulders as high as possible — in this way you reduce the trapezium as much as possible.

Do not bend your arms, this takes some of the load off the trapezium.

Do not chase weights in this exercise. Too heavy a bar will not allow you to raise your shoulders as high as possible, which will reduce the effectiveness of the exercise. And the heavy weight of the bar as you lower it will force you to roll your shoulders forward, which can lead to a rounded back.

For the same reason, do not tilt your chin down, this can lead to a rounding of the back, which is traumatic.

Options exercises

Shrugs with a barbell behind your back

Working muscles when performing barbell shrugs

• trapeze
• upper back
• forearms

Alternative exercises

• Shrugs with dumbbells
• Shrugs on an incline bench

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