Shoulder shrugs are easy to do and are a great exercise option for strengthening your shoulders and other muscles too.
Barbell shrugs muscles worked.
Below is a breakdown of the primary muscle groups involved in this.
Learn about the benefits muscles worked and how to do the exercise safely.
Although often included in a shoulder workout barbell shrugs target the muscles of the upper back.
Barbell shrugs work the trapezius muscles and the shoulders are also involved to a pretty decent degree.
Understanding muscle function and proper execution of the exercise helps you best incorporate it into your strength training routine.
What muscles do shoulder shrugs work.
The verdict both versions of the barbell shrug are effective for building the traps as they both hit them from a slightly different angle which builds different muscle fibers.
Therefore to work your upper traps to the max the standard barbell shrug to the front is the better option as it allows you to lift much heavier weights.
Although they are often called shoulder shrugs the exercise primarily targets the trapezius muscle of the back.
The trapezius or traps for short is a superficial close to the surface of the skin muscle of the back that was named after its trapezoid shape.