View Full Version : Deadlifts & Traps
hey guys....quick question regarding deadlifts. i know deadlifts build overall thickness to the back. from top to bottom. i do deadlifts every back workout...whether it be rack pulls or from the floor ( depends on my energy levels and the order of exercises) and i ALWAYS feel it in my lower back and my lumbars up my spine but NEVER in my traps. my buddy who also does his deadlifts every back workout has effin HUGE traps and never shrugs or anything...he says its from all the deadlifting....i try to focus on squeezing my traps and shoulder blades back when i do the motion but for some reason i can never feel it in my traps. dont get me wrong, my traps are decent but thats because i do db and bb shrugs every week regardless....but does anyone have any tips or tricks i could go by to get my traps growing from these deads? THANKS!
Iron4Life
08-15-08, 11:42 am
just keeping deadn and lifitng heavy....also heavy shrugs will help if you wanna pack some size on them...and i wouldn't compare yourself too much to your buddy...remember you two have completely different genetic make ups..what develops or grows easy for him may grow diffiuclt for you
Iron4Life
08-15-08, 11:50 am
on last thing....im not sure when you hit traps, but the past few years i started doing them with shoulders and they've really responded well. With heavy deadliting your upper back/traps cans take a beating and by splitting them up you get adequate rest( its almost as your doing traps twice a week in a way)...just my opinion though...its what works well for me
i do either db or bb shrugs after back and my traps have definitely responded well to those movements, but the thing that gets me wondering is what im doing wrong when i deadlift. like i said, i feel it in the lower back but i dont even FEEEEL it in my traps. for instance, i like doing traps after back bc i feel after shoulders they are too pumped to be able to get the right squeeze, so ever since i moved them to back day they've blown up and its definitely noticeable, but for example when i do my lateral movements, my traps get pumped and i can feeeeel it in there even tho im not directly working them, but when i do deadlifts i dont even feel it in my traps and it leads me to think i am doing something wrong.
shizz702
08-15-08, 12:01 pm
Bro deadlifts hit your traps hard. They are recruited to stablilize the bar when pulling. Just keep pulling hard and heavy and they will develop over time.
LuvsThePain
08-15-08, 12:06 pm
Sometimes you have to switch things up and shock the body in order to get difficult areas to grow. Try some new intensity techniques to stimulate growth in your traps. Here are a couple ways I've found to nuke my traps.
1 - Twenty Ones. Same principle as applied to biceps. Grab some heavy dumbells to shrug and do seven reps with dumbells in front, seven holding dumbells behind you, and seven dumbells at your sides. This is done with no rest between each position. Do this 3 times through with no more than 15 seconds rest between sets and it'll burn.
2 - Alternate back and forth between barbell shrugs and dumbell shrugs with no rest.
Side Note: As said before, try not to compare yourself to your buddy. Some people just naturally have big trips. The rest of us have to bust a nut for them.
Good Luck!
LTP
Bro deadlifts hit your traps hard. They are recruited to stablilize the bar when pulling. Just keep pulling hard and heavy and they will develop over time.
ahhh so i guess even tho i dont THINK i am working them when doing deads i really am just to keep the bar level and straight...thats a good way to think of it..thanks
Sometimes you have to switch things up and shock the body in order to get difficult areas to grow. Try some new intensity techniques to stimulate growth in your traps. Here are a couple ways I've found to nuke my traps.
1 - Twenty Ones. Same principle as applied to biceps. Grab some heavy dumbells to shrug and do seven reps with dumbells in front, seven holding dumbells behind you, and seven dumbells at your sides. This is done with no rest between each position. Do this 3 times through with no more than 15 seconds rest between sets and it'll burn.
2 - Alternate back and forth between barbell shrugs and dumbell shrugs with no rest.
Side Note: As said before, try not to compare yourself to your buddy. Some people just naturally have big trips. The rest of us have to bust a nut for them.
Good Luck!
LTP
thanks mang i will def. try the 21s next back workout..it sounds killer...the week after that ill do the superset of bb and db....the 21s got me drooling though haha
pmug0000
08-15-08, 12:49 pm
Try doing a shrug at the top of every deadlift and rack pull.
LuvsThePain
08-15-08, 1:19 pm
thanks mang i will def. try the 21s next back workout..it sounds killer...the week after that ill do the superset of bb and db....the 21s got me drooling though haha
No problem brother, glad i could help.
LTP
Try doing a shrug at the top of every deadlift and rack pull.
Tiny recommends this and it works except he does a set of shrugs at the end of every set of deadlifts, its real hard going.
theharjmann
08-15-08, 8:16 pm
my traps don't grow by doing deadlifts only. i need to do various types of shrugs (front, side, rear with dumbells, barbells and machines) to hit my traps properly.
WHen i started deadlifting, i would feel it in my traps a lot, but after deadlifting a lot, the traps aren't hit properly for me.
Peace
ahhh so i guess even tho i dont THINK i am working them when doing deads i really am just to keep the bar level and straight...thats a good way to think of it..thanksBingo bro! But if you feel they are not developing like they should hit shrugs hard on shoulder day and you will see growth!
thanks for all the responses guys....ill keep pluggin away at the shrugs and ill focus on the shrug at the top of each deadlift...im sure ill feel it then concidering like said before, i dont THINK i am hittin my traps doin deads but i really am just keeping the bar level and straight...thanks guys
LiftBig315
08-15-08, 11:47 pm
I'm a lucky one when it comes to traps...
but that shrug at the top is something I have thought about before...I am definitely gonna give it a shot.
But maybe it is something you have to try to hit twice a week? Have you tried this yet?
prowrestler
08-15-08, 11:52 pm
look, im a terrible example cause if i train traps directly more then once a month, they grow outta proportion to the rest of my body.
but, heavy deads, im good at them. traps, ive got them. traps are responcible for alot of upper body power and stabilization. i would suggest shrugs with a fast tempo and full range and some power shrugs.
also, 1 arm dumbell snatches hit your traps really nicely.
ionicrod
08-16-08, 12:05 am
yeah, like sanga was saying, if you go to tiny's thread he recommends mixing sets of shrugs with sets of deadlifts. he's got some very helpful tips on training and etc. i have been doing his deadlift shrug combination since about the end of march, it has made drastic improvements in my traps, my overall back strength and in my forearms from just having to stand and hold that weight for so long.
Try doing your deads stiff-leg, and just keep hittin em heavy and hard. However just because something isn't sore doesn't mean it didn't get a decent workout. If you go up and up in weight and start pulling some real big numbers, I doubt you'll be walking around with the traps of a pencilneck.
deadliftin and traps go hand in hand.....just keep deadliftin and they'll come soon enough...also on your shoulder days, mix in some barbell shrugs and really focus on squeezing on the top of the movement. You oughta try some hang cleans or power cleans or rack shrugs...those will toast your traps!
I second the hang clean power clean advice. Some people respond to high volume trap work. Some only need 10 really heavy reps total. Heavy doubles and triples on power cleans made traps the dominant body part for me.
Deadlifts work for a lot of people, but may not hit traps for everyone.
killyouintheface
08-16-08, 6:15 pm
Another thing that I notice hits my traps pretty well is, when I do overhead barbell presses or military presses, I give it a good hard squeeze with my traps at lockout on every rep. I'm sure deadlifting hits my traps, because they're partly responsible for keeping the bar stable in it's path away from the ground, along with the lats; but I don't feel them like I do from shrugs and overhead presses.
shizz702
08-16-08, 6:18 pm
Deadlifts, power cleans, and neck curls are pretty much all I do for my traps and they have and are continuing to develop nicely.
jeff00z28
08-17-08, 2:46 am
i do at least 1 type of shrug every week. barbell shrugs with a weight i can control and hold for a long time up top, dumbells, and behind the back on a smith. doing shrugs and then some side raises on shoulder day or vice versa is a killer
excessive endorphins
08-17-08, 10:37 am
yeah, like sanga was saying, if you go to tiny's thread he recommends mixing sets of shrugs with sets of deadlifts. he's got some very helpful tips on training and etc. i have been doing his deadlift shrug combination since about the end of march, it has made drastic improvements in my traps, my overall back strength and in my forearms from just having to stand and hold that weight for so long.
Agreed this is a great routine.But i would be sure to do dual overhand and not over/under.Basically because you dont want uneven traps.Mine are a tad uneven as it is from heavy over/under grip deadlifts.But thats the world of a powerlifter =]
killyouintheface
08-17-08, 11:29 am
Agreed this is a great routine.But i would be sure to do dual overhand and not over/under.Basically because you dont want uneven traps.Mine are a tad uneven as it is from heavy over/under grip deadlifts.But thats the world of a powerlifter =]
Can't you kind of head that off by alternating your grip on every rep?
excessive endorphins
08-17-08, 11:37 am
Can't you kind of head that off by alternating your grip on every rep?
Yes but then it would take away from my strength on the pull itself.I may very well start that though once i get back to pulling.Its not a horrible difference at all,just one i notice when lookin closely.
killyouintheface
08-17-08, 12:10 pm
Yes but then it would take away from my strength on the pull itself.I may very well start that though once i get back to pulling.Its not a horrible difference at all,just one i notice when lookin closely.
I don't see how it would. The whole reason an alternated grip works is by levering the bar between the hands, by it rolling into the middle of a "V" created by the grip. Shouldn't matter (ideally) which hand is supinated and which isn't when you're gripping the bar, should it?
excessive endorphins
08-17-08, 12:12 pm
I don't see how it would. The whole reason an alternated grip works is by levering the bar between the hands, by it rolling into the middle of a "V" created by the grip. Shouldn't matter (ideally) which hand is supinated and which isn't when you're gripping the bar, should it?
What your saying makes sense.But imagine rowing like with alternate grip.Would you evenly hit the muscles? Nope.
killyouintheface
08-17-08, 2:44 pm
What your saying makes sense.But imagine rowing like with alternate grip.Would you evenly hit the muscles? Nope.
You're right, but that's why it's suggested to alternate which hand is supinated during each pull, so that it does hit the muscles on each side more evenly, right?
I mean, I could be wrong. I just use an overhand grip anyway.
i did the regular deads today....at the end of my back workout....and i did as said and did a shrug at the top of each lift and omg my traps were pumped! i love it haha....i usually also do shrugs at the end of the back workout before i hit the road and i did db 21s as also said before and god damn my traps are pushing through the roof right now! thanks guys!