How to Do the Barbell Shrugs: Form, Benefits & Muscles Worked

Barbell shrugs (Image via Unsplash/Victor Freitas)

Barbell shrugs tend to be amongst the most effective compound exercises, which will help in building muscle mass by simultaneously targeting several muscle groups.

This exercise will help in building significant strength and muscle mass in your upper torso. There are several modifications to this exercise that you can try, but the results provided by the barbell variation tend to be unbeatable.

In this article, we will discuss the correct technique and steps that are required for barbell shrugs along with muscle work and benefits.

Barbell overhead press (Image via Unsplash/Victor Freitas) Barbell exercise (Image via Unsplash/Jonathan )

How to Do the Barbell Shrugs?

Here are the steps that need to be followed to effectively perform this exercise:

Start this exercise in a tall standing position. Your feet should be apart of the hip distance with your back completely straight, and core muscles braced.
Clutch the barbell in an overhand grip with both your palms and position your hands right outside the level of your thighs.
Elevate your shoulders straight upwards while maintaining an upright posture with braced core muscles.
Hold this position for about a couple of seconds. Reverse the movement back to the starting position. Repeat.
Make sure that your shoulders are pulled back throughout the exercise along with keeping your elbows and spine straight.

Benefits of Barbell Shrugs

Here are some of the best benefits provided by this barbell exercise:

1. Improved Posture

This barbell exercise will help in developing strong trapezius muscles which will help in improving the posture of the body. This will help in counteracting the slouched shoulders.

2. Increased Strength and Muscle Mass

Barbell shrugs will help in promoting significant muscle growth in your upper body along with increasing muscle definition. This exercise will also help in increasing quite the strength in your body.

3. Better Grip Strength

Regularly practising this barbell exercise will also help you build augmented grip strength. This can be carried over to other exercises such as deadlifts.

4. Reduced Likelihood of Back Pain

Weak trapezius is often the cause of back pain, which is why it is important to strengthen your trapezius muscles with barbell shrugs. This will help in reducing the likelihood of back pain.

5. Improved Shoulder Strength

This exercise will also help in improving your shoulder health with the retraction and elevation movements of the exercise. It will help you build stronger shoulders, which will not only make them resilient along with protecting your muscles against any form of injury.

Muscles Worked with Barbell Shrugs

The primary muscle group targeted by this barbell exercise is trapezius, which is located at the base of your neck and at the top of your back muscles. The greater strength in this area will help with the internal rotations, lateral movement of the head, and better support of the spine.

You can lean slightly to the front and maximize the tension in your muscles for greater emphasis on the traps. Additionally, you can enhance muscle contraction by shrugging as high as you can during exercise.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid reaping the maximum benefits and reducing the likelihood of injuries:

Do not roll your shoulders during the movement of the exercise as it can cause unnecessary stress in your rotator cuffs and neck.
If the weight you use is too heavy, then it causes lower trap contractions along with a greater risk of injury. Therefore, you should focus more on greater form with the reduced load.
Avoid positioning your neck and head too far backwards and forwards as it can result in awkward positioning of the body along with some discomfort.

Barbell power rack exercise (Image via Unsplash/John Arano)

There are also different variations of the barbell shrugs that you can try to incorporate into your workout routine. These include behind-your-back barbell shrugs, dumbbell shrugs, and upright rows to the shrugs.

Overall, the barbell shrugs tend to be simple and effective exercises that can be easily incorporated into your workout routine along with providing extensive advantages. This exercise will primarily engage your trapezius muscles, and a heavier load of this exercise will help in enabling you to build a bigger upper back.