Muscle group
Traps Exercises
The upper traps run from your neck to your shoulders and shrug the shoulder blade upward. They also work on every heavy carry, deadlift and overhead press, usually more than people realise.
Shrugs are the direct movement, but heavy pulling does much of the work already. Hold the top of a shrug rather than bouncing it — the range is short and speed is what wastes it.
11 traps exercises in Gym Journal
1 compound and 10 isolation, each with a default rep range and rest interval already set. Everything here is in the free app.
| Exercise | Equipment | Type | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Shrugalso Forearms | Barbell | isolation | 10–15 |
| Cable Shrugsalso Upper back | Cable | isolation | 10–15 |
| Calf-Machine Shoulder Shrugalso Upper back | Machine | isolation | 10–15 |
| Clean Shrugalso Upper back | Barbell | isolation | 10–15 |
| Dumbbell Shrugsalso Upper back | Dumbbell | isolation | 10–15 |
| Kettlebell High Pullalso Shoulders, Upper back | Kettlebell | compound | 8–12 |
| Machine Shrugalso Forearms | Machine | isolation | 10–15 |
| Plate-Loaded Shrugalso Forearms | Plate-loaded machine | isolation | 10–15 |
| Shrugsalso Upper back | Barbell | isolation | 10–15 |
| Smith Machine Shrugalso Forearms | Smith machine | isolation | 10–15 |
| Trap Bar Shrugalso Forearms | Barbell | isolation | 10–15 |
Log them, and watch the numbers move
Every exercise here is in the free app, with form instructions, its own progression chart and PR tracking. No account needed to start.