Dumbbell Shrug

How to do dumbbell shrugs with proper form to build bigger, stronger traps and upper back

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How to perform

1. Stand tall with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your body.
2. Let your arms hang straight down by your sides with a soft elbow bend and shoulders relaxed.
3. Exhale and raise both shoulders straight up toward your ears as high as you can, without bending your elbows or leaning back.
4. Squeeze the traps at the top and hold the contraction for a full second.
5. Inhale and slowly lower your shoulders back down until the dumbbells hang freely and your traps are stretched.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps, keeping your neck long and your head still.

Muscles worked

The dumbbell shrug is a simple isolation movement that builds the upper traps, which lift the shoulder blades toward the ears, with the shoulders acting as stabilizers.

• Upper traps — raise the shoulder blades, doing almost all of the work
• Shoulders — support and stabilize the movement

Make it easier

Start with light dumbbells and do the movement slowly to learn the feel of the traps. You can also perform shrugs with no weight at all to practice the contraction pattern first.

Make it harder

Increase the weight, pause for three to five seconds at the top, or add a slow three-count lowering phase. Single-arm shrugs held one at a time also increase the load per side and help correct imbalances.

Common mistakes

Mistake: Rolling your shoulders in a circular motion. Fix: lift straight up and lower straight down in one vertical line. Mistake: Bending your elbows and turning the exercise into a deadlift row hybrid. Fix: keep the arms straight and relaxed, and move only through the shoulders. Mistake: Leaning back or using momentum to hoist the weights. Fix: keep the torso tall and let the traps generate all the movement. Mistake: Holding your breath during the lift. Fix: exhale as you shrug up and inhale as you lower.