Kettlebell Shrug

A shrug with kettlebells hanging; the weight close to your body gives a clean vertical line of pull.

• Isolation
• Dumbbell
• Beginner

How to do it

• Bells at your sides, arms straight
• Shrug towards your ears, squeeze at the top
• Lower under control into the stretch

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

• Using momentum
• A short range without squeezing at the top

Muscles worked

Primary

• Traps

Alternatives

• Shrug
• Seated Dumbbell Shrug