# Traps: You Are Probably Only Training a Third of Them

> The trapezius has three portions and shrugs only train one. The exercises for the middle and lower fibres, and why they change your shoulders.

- Source: [Musku](https://musku.app/), free strength training tracker for iPhone and Android
- Canonical URL: https://musku.app/blog/how-to-train-your-traps
- Published: 2026-09-25
- Updated: 2026-09-25
- Level: Beginner, Intermediate
- Language: English
- French version: https://musku.app/fr/blog/muscler-ses-trapezes
- Author: Musku (Julien Legrand)

_Informational content: this is not a substitute for medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting a training program, especially if you have a health issue or any pain._

Ask someone how they train their traps and the answer will be shrugs. That fits the mental image most people have: the ridge between neck and shoulder. But that ridge is only the top of a muscle that runs down to the middle of your back, and two of its three portions do a completely different job.

## One muscle, three portions

The trapezius is a large diamond-shaped muscle running from the base of the skull, across the neck, down to the twelfth thoracic vertebra. Its fibres run in different directions depending on height, so they do different things.

| Portion | What it does | Typical exercises |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upper | Elevates the shoulder blade and assists its upward rotation | Shrugs, heavy carries |
| Middle | Pulls the shoulder blades towards the spine | Face pulls, flared-elbow rows |
| Lower | Depresses the shoulder blade and assists its upward rotation | Y raises, straight-arm pulldowns |

Two things stand out. First, shrugs only address the upper portion. Second, the upper and lower portions work together to rotate the shoulder blade upwards, which is what lets your arm travel overhead. Despite pulling in opposite directions, they are not antagonists.

## Why almost everyone only trains the top

Three reasons stack up. The upper portion is the only one visible from the front, so the only one associated with a visual result. It can be loaded very heavily, which is satisfying. And above all, it has one obvious exercise, while the other two portions have no signature movement.

The classic outcome: someone who has shrugged for three years, done plenty of pulldowns, and almost nothing that asks their shoulder blades to retract or depress under load.

## What the middle and lower portions change

They are invisible from the front, but they do three useful things.

- **They thicken the upper back.** That is what creates the relief between the shoulder blades, visible from behind and in profile.
- **They contribute to shoulder health.** A shoulder blade that rotates and depresses properly leaves more room for the structures of the shoulder as the arm travels up.
- **They stabilise you under the bar.** On bench press and deadlift alike, your ability to keep the shoulder blades set depends directly on them.

This is also the area that suffers most from long days seated, covered in our article on [offsetting desk sitting](https://musku.app/blog/offsetting-desk-sitting).

## The exercises that work

**The shrug, for the upper portion.** Dumbbells or barbell, the movement is a simple vertical elevation. Go as high as you can, hold for a second at the top, lower under control over two seconds.

**Heavy carries, for the same portion isometrically.** A farmer's walk with heavy loads works the upper trap hard as it stops the shoulder blade being dragged down.

**The face pull, for the middle portion.** High cable, rope attachment, pulling towards your face with the elbows flared and finishing with the shoulder blades squeezed. Moderate load, 12 to 20 reps; this is a control exercise, not a strength one.

**Flared-elbow rows, also for the middle portion.** The difference from a standard row is the path: elbows at 45 or 90 degrees from the body rather than tucked along the ribs. That shifts work from the lats to the upper back. Technique cues are in our article on the [barbell row](https://musku.app/blog/barbell-row-technique-mistakes).

**The Y raise, for the lower portion.** Lying face down on an incline bench, arms extended in a Y shape, you raise them overhead with very little weight. Two to five kilos is plenty, and that is normal.

## Common mistakes

**Rolling the shoulders during shrugs.** The upper trap elevates the shoulder blade, it does not circle it. The rotation adds nothing and forces an awkward path on the joint under heavy load.

**Loading until nothing moves.** Shrugs with three centimetres of range are no longer shrugs. Twenty kilos less with a full elevation is the better trade.

**Confusing middle traps with rear delts.** Both work on flared-elbow pulls, but the rear delt draws the arm backwards while the middle trap pulls the shoulder blade towards the spine. In practice you should finish the movement by squeezing the shoulder blades, not just by pulling the elbows back. Our article on [shoulder exercises](https://musku.app/blog/shoulder-exercises-delts) covers the distinction.

**Forgetting they already work elsewhere.** Deadlifts, carries, rows and pulldowns all involve the traps to varying degrees. Adding six dedicated sets on top of a pulling-heavy programme is not always useful.

## How to programme them

A simple framework, spread across two sessions:

- **Upper portion**: 3 to 6 sets per week, 8 to 15 reps, or heavy carries
- **Middle portion**: 4 to 8 sets, 12 to 20 reps
- **Lower portion**: 3 to 6 sets, 12 to 20 reps, light loads

The simplest approach is to put face pulls and Y raises at the end of a back or shoulder session, where a light load causes no problem. Shrugs slot in after heavy work, or at the end of a pulling day. To know whether you are doing enough or too much, look at your [muscle distribution](https://musku.app/blog/muscle-distribution-imbalances) rather than going on feel.

## The genetic part

The shape of your traps depends partly on the length of your neck, the width of your shoulders and where the fibres attach. Two people with the same amount of muscle will therefore not look the same: on one the traps will look massive, on the other they will blend into the line of the shoulder.

What stays entirely within your control is how much muscle there is, and that is most of what matters.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are shrugs enough for traps?

No, they only work the upper portion. The middle and lower fibres require retraction and depression of the shoulder blade, which shrugs do not produce. A face pull and a Y raise complete the picture in a few minutes.

### Should traps go on back day or shoulder day?

Either works, and the choice depends mostly on your schedule. The middle trap fits naturally into a back session since it works on every horizontal pull, while the upper portion sits just as well after shoulders. Consistency matters more than the day.

### Do big traps make your shoulders look narrower?

Visually, very developed upper traps can soften the break between neck and shoulder and create that impression. If it bothers you, steer your volume towards the middle and lower portions and towards the side delt rather than towards shrugs.

### Why do my traps feel tight after a day at a desk?

Prolonged sitting holds the shoulder girdle in a static posture, and the resulting sense of tightness is extremely common. It does not mean the muscle is too strong or too short. Moving regularly and strengthening the upper back usually helps more than stretching alone. Tightness that persists, or comes with headaches or pins and needles in the arm, deserves medical advice.

Traps are a good example of a muscle people believe they train while only touching part of it, and that is exactly the kind of blind spot tracking reveals. In Musku, muscle distribution counts your sets per group, with the option to count secondary muscles at half weight, which makes a real difference for a muscle so often involved in a supporting role. You then see whether your traps genuinely receive work, or whether they live entirely on the scraps of your pulling.