Barbell Shoulder Shrugs
- Place your feet shoulder width apart and using an overhand grip at a little more than shoulder width, hold a barbell in front of you.
- Your arms should be fully extended towards the floor, palms facing in towards your thighs. This is the start position.
- Exhale and raise or shrug your shoulders up in a slow controlled movement. Do not use your biceps to assist in lifting the barbell.
- Continue as high as possible then hold for a count of one.
- Return to the start position in a smooth movement, inhaling as you do so.
- Pause then repeat.
You can rotate your shoulders when performing this exercise. However this is not recommended for people with shoulder problems.
Related exercises to discover
Barbell shoulder shrugs is a gym work out exercise that targets neck & upper traps and also involves shoulders and upper back & lower traps. Refer to the illustration diagram and instructions above for how to perform this exercise correctly. Cable shrugs, seated bent over rear delt raises and neck stretch are related exercise that target the same muscle groups as barbell shoulder shrugs. Visit our free illustrated exercise directory for more exercises to try in your workouts.
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