Trapezius Overdevelopment

[mmis29]

Hi All,

I'm getting a bulkier look than I'd like in the trap area. Months ago, this started and I stopped doing upright rows and shrugs altogether. I haven't been doing them, but now I'm bulking again so I'm wondering if there are any other exercises that Cathe regularly uses in her stregth workouts that would contribute to this?

I'd love to find a link to a site that explains what specific muscle exercises target as well. If anyone has one, please post it!

Thanks,

 

[Aquajock]

Hi, Marianne! Boy, great minds think alike: I've been contemplating my own trap overdevelopment for some time now, and because I'm bald it's even more noticeable (don't really want to look like Mr. Clean!).

I personally don't do upright rows or shrugs, but what I do do - a lot - is overhead presses with palms in turnout. And as I come to the end of each set (1 set of 16 Tues. - Fri., and three descending sets on Sundays) I really feel the traps kicking in as the middle delt becomes fatigued. I wonder if, as the delt becomes fatigued because of the duration of each set, the traps don't leap into the fray to help out.

An erstwhile Cathe-ite, Maribeth Salge, is my guru in all things strength-related, and I was gonna e-mail her about that very question. What I think might work is to keep the number of reps the same per workout, but do them in smaller sets so that the traps don't get pulled in. I'll run it by her and tell people here what she says.

A-Jock

 

[icklemoley]

Reps 1-5 (pure strength, little muscle growth)
Reps 5-8 (strength + muscle growth)
Reps 8-12 (muscle growth + strength)
Reps 12-18 (endurance - little growth).

Why not do the same workout but rather than less sets use a heavier weight and less reps 5 max.

just a thought.

 

[Maximus]

I think also exercises that target the rear delts could contribute to trap development--i.e. incline flies. You might want to stay away from them & focus on military presses/front raises for shoulders.

My trap workout consists of supersetting shrugs & upright rows at a low weight, 3 sets 10 reps--the entire workout takes me about 5 minutes. I'm naturally petite & tend to not bulk up regardless of whether I go heavy or light (other than my waist, which is a topic for another thread), but this has worked really well for me over the years.

 

[trevor]

When you say trap overdevelopment I am assuming you mean upper traps. Therefore you'd want to cut back somehow on doing so much work with the upper trap.
I think it was a good move to eliminate the shrugs because they target the upper traps directly.
Upper traps are stabilizers in dumbbell shoulder presses, dumbbell front raises, upright rows, and dumbbell lateral raises. Upper traps are not involved in dumbbell reverse lateral raises(reverse flyes). The lower and middle traps are involved in that one as synergists.
I imagine that you are doing all, or at least a few, of these shoulder exercises so it seems as though your traps are getting all the work they require(and more) when you do your shoulder work. Are you doing all of these shoulder exercises is one question I have? If so, you may be able to cut them back a bit, thus stimulating your traps less. Of course, your shoulders would get less work too but they may still respond positively to that.
Or you could attempt to target your smaller type 1 fibers(your upper traps are about 55% slow twitch) by only doing lighter weight higher rep stuff. You may be going too heavy and working in a range that is stimulating your type 2 trap fibers. Those are the ones that will show the bulk the most.
It's tricky because shoulder exercises and traps kind of go hand in hand. Give us a better idea of what you are doing and how much.
T.

 

[shellnc]

Hi,

This happened to me in college--I didn't really notice it until my husband (now not then) commented on my traps. We lifted weights every morning together--but I wasn't doing any trap work. After the comment, I paid close attention to how I was working out. I found that I wasn't relaxing my shoulders during bicep curls or any kind of exercise. So, I had constant tension in my trap area.

shellnc

 

[trevor]

That's a great point Shellnc. I was thinking of that myself last night. I see plenty of people incorrectly lifting whereby they have their shoulders "in their ears" with everything they do. This does keep tension on the traps. It also can cheat the work you are trying to give another muscle. And I see this with people in spin class. I'd say half the people ride with unrelaxed shoulders. They don't even realize it.
T.

 

[mmis29]

Well, for example, I'll do overhead presses with 12's, Arnold presses with 8's, and I forget what they're called...where your arms are bent and you bring the weights up sideways..with 8's(all usually 3 sets of 10), and giant sets (as in CTX) of rear delt flies, long lever side lateral raises, and front raises with 5's.

Good point about the tension in the shoulders during other exercises. I tend to catch myself doing this doing crazy 8's (which I've been doing alot of lately). Thanks for the great advice, by the way

Are there other exercises that don't target them at all?

 

[trevor]

I found this on one site I frequent. This very question was asked by someone else. This woman does only one set of lat pulldowns and no shrugs or upright rows, yet still has large traps. This guy seems to think the levator scapula, a muscle below the traps which is stimulated by pulldown movements, could be the source of the overdeveloped trap look. Read below........
I also recommend this site highly for muscle illustrations, workouts, exercises, etc.
www.exrx.net
Also www.abcbodybuilding.com
Best I can do with my 4 yr old hanging off of me!....LOL!!!
Good luck! Keep us updated!
T.

Q: My trapezius muscle easily gets overdeveloped giving me a thick-neck/round-shouldered look, yet I don't do shrugs or upright rows. Could my one set of lat-pulldowns be causing this?

When most people mention the trapezius they are commonly referring to the upper trapezius. I assume this is your problem area. Incidentally, the middle and lower trapezius rotate the scapula upward when the arm is raised as in the shoulder presses, upright rows, lateral and front raises. The Upper trapezius will act a stabilizer during these motions and other exercises that require holding a heavy weight. This may include exercises from any type of deadlift, Olympic type lift to even heavy arm curls. Pulldowns involve opposite muscles (levator scapulae, rhomboids, pectoralis minor) since the scapula downward rotates as the shoulder adducts or extends. It is possible the levator scapula beneath the trapezius can be developed from pulldowns.

If your shoulder width is narrow, you may attempt to further the develop the lateral deltoid within minimum stimulation of the upper trapezius. This may require you to perform side delt exercises like lying lateral raise and lever lateral raise. Front deltoid movements that involve minimal amount of upper trapezeus stabilization include cable front raises, triceps dips, or bench or chest press movements with the bar to the lower chest (Like powerlifter style bench presses with a slightly narrower grip and your elbows closer to the sides). Usually most get a sufficient front delt stimulation from basic chest work already so those movements would be optional or incidental.

If you have protracted shoulders, which is often associated with the rounded shoulder look, you may need to strengthen the rhomboids, middle and lower trapezius and stretch the pectoralis minor and major. You should be performing approximately equal volume of exercise for the chest as back, particular balancing your general chest (ie: chest and bench press work) with general back work (ie rows).