Barbell Shrug Behind The BackMuscles Worked
The behind-the-back barbell shrug works your traps, with your forearms gripping the bar and your upper back helping hold your shoulders in place. Holding the bar behind you pulls your shoulders slightly back, which lifters use to shift some of the work toward the middle traps.
PrimaryTraps
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Beginner
- Type
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
How to do it
- Set a barbell in a rack at about mid-thigh height, stand with your back to it and grip it behind you with your palms facing back, hands just outside your hips.
- Lift the bar off the hooks, step forward a little and stand tall with your arms straight.
- Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears, letting them drift slightly back as they rise.
- Hold the top for a second and squeeze.
- Lower slowly to a full stretch, and when the set is done, return the bar to the rack.
Form tips
- Keep the bar close to the back of your legs so it travels straight up and down.
- Your range is shorter than with a front shrug, so focus on a hard squeeze rather than adding more weight.
- Keep your arms straight, because bending your elbows behind you turns the lift into a pull.
Why it made the list
No. 3 of 12
Best Trap Exercises
Shifts emphasis slightly to the mid/lower traps compared to front shrugs. Variation for complete trap development.
More trap exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Barbell Shrug Behind The Back sets in KasMaker and watch your traps, forearms, and upper back fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
