Barbell shrugs: how to do it
Main muscles: Upper traps. Helpers: Neck muscles, Forearm flexors. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Barbell
Reps
10–15
Rest
75 s
Muscle group
Back
How to do it
- Bar in front of the thighs or behind the back, arms straight, shoulders relaxed.
- Raise the shoulders straight up, hold for a second at the top.
- Lower slowly to a full stretch of the traps.
Common mistakes
Rolling the shoulders, helping with the biceps, nodding the head.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Upper traps
- Secondary
- Neck muscles, Forearm flexors
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Alternatives: similar exercises
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
Free forever for the first 500