Behind-the-Back Barbell Shrug

The bar behind you tilts your body and emphasises the upper portion of the traps with a good line of pull.

• Isolation
• Barbell
• Beginner

How to do it

• Bar behind your glutes, arms extended
• Shrug your shoulders towards your ears
• Squeeze at the top and lower under control

Sets, reps and tempo

Ranges: 10–15 reps · 0–2 RIR

Tempo: 2 s on the way down, squeeze 1 s at the peak and stay in control, no swinging

Common mistakes

• Rolling your shoulders in circles
• Using knee momentum

Muscles worked

Primary

• Traps

Alternatives

• Shrug
• Barbell Shrug