9 Best Trap Exercises with Dumbbells + Workout

Having big trap muscles is something that can set the tone for almost any conversation. Any 100-lb guy can sculpt abs, but it takes a lot of effort to build big ‘ol neck muscles.

So if you only have a pair of dumbbells, how do you build them? Is it even possible?

Well, yes, of course, it is. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have clicked on this article or started reading this or… read this part. So let’s get started!

9 All-Time Best Trap Dumbbell Exercises

When listing the best movements to build a certain muscle, we have to take various things into consideration — such as which are the most stable and safest exercises, which stimulate the muscle the most with the least impact on the others, and which would actually fit your biology.

When trying any of these movements, you shouldn’t use too much weight in order to lower the risk of injury while also ensuring you learn the movement pattern. If you feel pain or you simply can’t do the movement, don’t!

With that said, grab your dumbbells, and let’s start with the best exercises:

1. Dumbbell Shrug

So, we’re starting with the one that every person on the planet (that gyms) knows. The shrug is a movement that most people do wrong because they don’t understand the anatomy of the traps. The traps have fibers running over one another, all in different directions.

Trapezius muscles are quite complex and need to be trained from various angles. So we’ll start with the most basic of movements — the shrug.

Doing these with dumbbells allow for a somewhat greater range of motion compared to a barbell shrug. Doing it with dumbbells also allows you to train your forearms slightly.

Here’s how to perform the dumbbell shrug:

1. You can either do these standing or sitting. Both will work the upper traps, as long as you use enough load, of course
2. Grab two dumbbells and either stand firmly with your feet shoulder-width apart or sit down without a backrest.
3. Once you’re set, simply pull your shoulders up (like you would do to signify “I don’t know”).
4. Once you can’t raise your shoulders anymore, lower your shoulders down to their starting position.

* Note: You should take great care not to do these too fast. That means refraining from bouncing your shoulder blades, as this wouldn’t really train the muscles.

2. Incline Bench Shrugs

Sticking with shrugs, we’ll shift to using angles and a bit of Pythagoras to stimulate more muscle mass! Who knew muscle growth could be so scientific?!

So why does this movement seem to be better than a normal shrug? Well, as far as dumbbell trap exercises go, this movement is one of the best. You’ll be doing exactly the same thing as a normal shrug but, this time, on an incline bench.

You’ll also be training the entire upper back area, so this might be a good move to put in a back workout. Sure, this can be used in a trap workout, but you won’t be isolating the traps like you would with a normal shrug.

Here’s how to perform the Incline Dumbbell Shrug:

1. Set up the bench to an incline position, around 45 degrees. If you can, it might also be beneficial to lift the seat of the bench to form a 90-degree angle with the backrest.
2. Lie face down on the bench, with your arms straight (hanging perpendicular to the floor).
3. Have someone pass you two dumbbells; grip them firmly.
4. Like with exercise 1, simply raise your shoulders. You should feel your shoulder blades squeezing together, which will engage the traps.

3. Dumbbell Rear Deltoids Raise

Again, this is another movement that can be done standing or on an incline bench!

That is the beautiful thing about the gym — there are plenty of options to choose the correct movement for your structure. From personal experience, I can tell you that taller folks might find the standing variation a bit harder.

If you’re going to do the standing one, keep in mind that there’s a far greater risk of swinging the dumbbells, which would negate the movement entirely. So take great care not to swing the movement — use proper form!

Here’s how to perform the dumbbell rear deltoids raise:

1. You can either set up a bench in an incline position or use an incline bench for stability (while standing).
2. Lie face down on the bench and have someone pass you two dumbbells.
3. Instead of simply raising the shoulder blades, raise your (straight) arms up and towards the side (making a ‘T’ with your body). Once you can’t raise them anymore, slowly lower them to the starting position.
4. If you choose to stand, simply use one dumbbell at a time. Bend over slightly (at the hips), and place one hand on the bench for stability. Then, do exactly the same motion as described in point 3.

* Note: This movement isn’t really the best for traps, seeing as it really overloads the rear deltoids. That said, if you train your traps on shoulder day, it might very well be one of the best movements you can use.

4. Full Range of Motion Dumbbell Raise

Might not have been the exercise you were expecting to see, right? Well, if you’re a fan of Dr. Mike Israetel, you’ve seen this movement numerous times.

As we know, the trap muscular anatomy is massively complex. Thus, we can use quite interesting methods to train them. This includes shrugging movements while also causing a massive amount of shoulder movement. Hence, a full range of motion lateral raise.

As the name suggests, these are normal dumbbell lateral raises with a little extra something… Instead of stopping at the shoulder line, you’d move your head forward slightly to allow your arms to go completely above the body.

Keep in mind this is a very “dangerous” movement if you don’t have the ability to lean forward with your head or if you can’t extend your arms straight and fully above your head. It might be the only movement where a super upright posture might not be beneficial.

Here’s how to perform the full range of motion dumbbell raise:

1. Grab two light dumbbells and stand firmly with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Without rocking your body or swinging your arms, slowly raise the arms straight to the side and then above your body.
3. Once the dumbbells touch one another above your head, slowly lower the dumbbells to the starting position.

5 (& 6). Incline Dumbbell Rows

These go hand in hand with the incline dumbbell shrug we spoke about earlier. Again, this is another movement that’ll train the entire upper back. In fact, any movement that’ll move the shoulder blades will train the upper back.

That said, this movement is the first that’ll train the mid and lower traps with extreme stability. Stability is something we want, seeing as it allows us to train the muscle(s) without really causing a lot of strain on any of the others.

You can do these while standing, like in an RDL (Romanian deadlift position), but you’d lose the extreme stability we just spoke about. This could lead to you using the lats, lower back, and various other muscles.

Here’s how to perform the incline dumbbell row:

1. Set up the bench to the incline position as you did with the incline shrug.
2. Have someone pass you a pair of dumbbells, and make sure your chest is flush with the bench. (This is crucial, and it should remain flush with the bench for the entire movement.)
3. By squeezing the shoulder blades together, row the dumbbells up towards your body. Do not keep the elbows tucked, but do not keep the elbows perpendicular to the body, either — about 45 degrees is perfect.
4. Once you can’t row the dumbbells any further, slowly lower the dumbbells to where you started.

* Note: Again, make sure you don’t raise your chest off from the bench, as this would move the stimulation from the target muscles to others.

Here’s how to perform the Incline dumbbell row while standing:

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells, and bend at the hips while bending your knees slightly (really, only slightly).
2. Brace your core and keep your back straight. Your neck should be in a neutral position.
3. By squeezing the shoulder blades together, row the dumbbells up towards your body. Do not keep the elbows tucked, but do not keep the elbows perpendicular to the body, either — about 45 degrees is perfect.
4. Once you can’t row the dumbbells any further, slowly lower the dumbbells to where you started.

7. Dumbbell Y Raises

I never quite understood the YMCA song until I Googled it. You might want to Google a video of this movement…

Regardless, this is another great movement for the entire shoulder. You can stick with the incline bench, but you can also do these with the cable machine, but that’s for another article (probably).

This is another movement that’ll require a lot of mobility. So take care when you do this movement, and make sure you’re able to do it correctly.

Here’s how to perform the dumbbell Y raise:

1. Set up the bench to the incline position as you did with the incline shrug and row.
2. Have someone pass you a pair of dumbbells, and make sure your chest is flush with the bench.
3. From here, simply raise your arms to create a ‘Y’ with your body.
4. You’ll feel your shoulder blades squeeze together, which is completely normal.
5. Once you can’t raise your arms any higher, then slowly bring the dumbbells back to where they started.

* Note: This might be another movement requiring you not to use momentum. This movement should be done purely with your shoulders and traps. Refrain from swinging…

8. Dumbbell Upright Row

The first movement that might cause some debate among us all! The upright row has become a hot topic of discussion in the fitness world because of concerns related to shoulder health and joint issues.

That said… there is little evidence of this.

Sure, for some people, this might not be the best movement due to poor shoulders. That said, if your shoulders are in tip-top shape, you should be fine. This exercise will target the upper traps — like a regular shrug would — but also the front and side delts.

Here’s how to perform the dumbbell upright row:

1. Grab dumbbells and stand straight, with your feet firmly planted on the ground.
2. Now, simply raise the dumbbells towards your shoulders, but keep your elbows above your wrists.
3. This will work the rotator cuff muscles, so your shoulders should be moving around. If you hear a “pop” or (lord forbid) a “bang,” STOP!

* Note: If you’ve ever had shoulder issues, you’ll need to avoid this movement at all costs.

9. Dumbbell Deadlifts

Ronnie was always a big believer in doing deadlifts to build big ‘ol traps. When weights hang from your arms, guess where the strain goes? Your shoulders!

And your traps, of course. This movement will also target… well, every other muscle in the body as well.

Here’s how to perform the dumbbell deadlift:

1. With your feet shoulder-width apart, grab two dumbbells and grip them tightly.
2. Bend your knees and hips at the same time to set the dumbbells down on the floor.
3. With your back straight and your neck in a neutral position, simply stand up.
4. You might find it beneficial to squeeze your stomach to build pressure around the core.

Trap Workouts

You may have noticed that we didn’t give any indication regarding sets and reps. This was done intentionally because you shouldn’t be doing all 9 exercises in one workout.

You should choose the options that work best for you. So the best trap workout is the one you design.

That said, here are some ideas to take into account:

• Training the traps can be done while training the back or while training the shoulders. Most of the rowing motions would be used on a back day, anyway. Thus, you can split the movements between the two days.
• You should be training between 6 – 15 reps and getting within 2 to 3 reps shy of failure. This combination seems to be the best for growing muscle tissue.
• Rest time should be dictated by how tired you get. Remember, the limiting factor in a set should never be your oxygen capacity.

Anatomy of the Traps

As we discussed earlier, the traps are massively complex. They’re constructed of various different muscle fibers, all running in different directions.

The traps consist of the following different fibers:

• Superior fibers
• Middle fibers
• Inferior fibers

The traps go from the neck all the way down to the middle of the spine. This is why the movements to train them are so massively different from one another.

The traps work in two general directions, horizontal and vertical (duh). When you move your shoulders in any direction, there’s a huge chance your traps are working to make it happen.

Vertical movements will require the upper traps. Meanwhile, horizontal movements will require the mid and lower trap muscles. Keep in mind that these types of activities will also train the entire upper back.

5 Traps Training Benefits

1. The reduced risk of general injuries is one of the biggest benefits of training your traps. The traps (as we just mentioned) run from the base of your neck all the way to the mid back. By training these muscles, you can reduce the risk of injury along your entire back. Seeing as everything you do with your back will involve the traps, you’re far better off training them.
2. Women find you attractive… No jokes. Studies have reported that women like men with larger shoulders and backs. This might be a moot point, but it does have to be mentioned.
3. Better posture might not seem like the greatest benefit you’ve ever heard of, but studies have proven that poor posture can worsen the quality of muscle contractions. This can, therefore, increase the risk of injuries, something that none of us want.
4. Better health is a benefit of all exercise. When we exercise, we see benefits in almost every part of our health. Cardiovascular capacity improves, and muscle mass can help fight aging. Furthermore, there are added benefits, such as reducing the risk of diabetes and most other cardiovascular diseases.
5. Stronger bones are yet another benefit of all resistance training. Training causes a release of growth hormones, including IGF-1. IGF-1 not only leads to more muscle growth but can also lead to greater bone density.