The Barbell Shrug is a beginner-friendly barbell strength exercise that targets the traps. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesTraps
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentBarbell
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Barbell Shrug
Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and grip the barbell at the hips with hands shoulder-width apart.
Pull your shoulders down and back to start in a neutral position with arms fully extended.
Brace your core and keep the chest up so the torso stays still through the lift.
Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears as high as you can without bending the elbows.
Pause for a second at the top, squeezing the upper traps hard.
Lower the bar slowly back to the start over 2 to 3 seconds, keeping tension on the traps.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Builds upper-trap size for a thicker neck-to-shoulder line.
Strengthens the shrug pattern that supports heavy carries and deadlifts.
Strengthens the grip as a side benefit of holding heavy loads.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Rolling the shoulders forward and back instead of shrugging straight up, which strains the joints.
Bending the elbows to help cheat the bar up, which turns the move into a partial upright row.
Using too much weight and cutting the range short with tiny shrugs that miss the contraction.
Letting the chin jut forward, which loads the neck instead of the upper traps.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Barbell Shrug, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
