The trapezius muscle is a large muscle located across the upper back. This muscle have several functions within the body. There are three different area of the trapezius muscle, but most people dont focus on training one of these areas; all three areas must be trained for the trapezius muscle to function correctly.
The upper trapezius muscle lift the shoulder towards the ears, the middle trapezius pulls the shoulder blade together, and the lower trapezius pulls the shoulder blades downward. If only the upper trapezius is trained, the shoulders may droop or neck pain may develop due to the inability of the other two regions of the trapezius to provide the strength necessary to maintain proper posture. A trap workout chart can help to show which exercise target each of the three regions of the trapezius muscle.
Train Your Upper, Middle, and Lower Traps
For instance, shrugs will target the upper trap, face pulls and band pulls will target the middle trap, and prone raises will target the lower trap. A trap workout chart will ensure that you are training your traps in a deliberate manner, as it will show you which exercises to perform to target each region of the trapezius muscle. The upper region of the trapezius is the most developed in most individuals due to the fact that exercises like shrugs allow individuals to lift heavy weights with this region of the muscle.
However, focusing only on developing the upper region of the trapezius can create imbalance in the upper body. The upper region of the trapezius is meant to balance the other two regions of the muscle. While it is important for individuals to continue to perform exercises like shrugs to develop the upper trap, it is also important to develop the middle and lower traps so that the entire trapezius muscle is develop evenly.
Some of the compound movement that can be used to train the trapezius muscle include deadlifts, rack pulls, and farmer’s walks. These type of exercises require the trapezius muscle to exert an isometric muscle contraction to hold the prescribed loads. Additionally, exercises like power cleans also work the trapezius muscle, but in an explosive manner.
While compound movements may not provide the best targeted development of the trapezius muscle, they can still be used in conjunction with isolation exercises to provide the trapezius muscle with a strong foundation of strength. A productive training session for the trapezius muscle will include both compound and isolation exercises. For instance, a session may include a heavy rack pull to build strength, followed by a session of face pulls to target the middle region of the trapezius muscle.
Additionally, performing the lower region of the trapezius muscle exercises first will improve the control of the shoulder blades. Better control of the shoulder blades will allow individuals to perform their shrugs with more better form, reducing the amount of effort that they must place into their neck muscles to perform those shrugs. Some of the mistake that individuals may make when performing shrugs is rolling the shoulders in a circular motion.
While rolling the shoulders can improve the mobility of the shoulder joint, it does little for the development of the trapezius muscle. Additionally, excessive rolling of the shoulders can lead to stress on that joint. Shoulders should move in a vertical manner to develop the trapezius muscle, and there should be a pause at the top of the shrugs to ensure that the trapezius muscle is perform the exercise correctly.
Finally, it is necessary for individuals to warm up their trapezius muscle prior to performing exercise. If individuals perform heavy shrugs without first warming up the trapezius muscle, that upper trap may take over the movement of the shrugs. Warm-ups like band pulls and wall angels will help to warm up the shoulder blades, allowing them to better perform during the prescribed exercise session.
Training the middle and lower traps will have positive effect upon an individual’s posture. When the middle and lower traps are developed, the shoulders will not droop as much, leading to more better posture. For instance, individuals who sit at desks for long periods may experience less neck tension after performing corrective exercises for their trapezius muscles.
Because the trapezius muscle has three different regions, it is important for individuals to include variety in the exercises that they perform to target each of these regions.
