The Difference Between Traps and Shoulders
Author: Anthony Myers | Filed under: big shouldersI’ve got several friends and a few buddies on facebook who have told me how much they like Dwight Howard’s Shoulders.
In fact, this post was inspired by one of my facebook friends A.J. who wanted to know the answer to that exact question… but before we
get into big shoulders, let’s take a look at what guys really want.
When someone tells me “I want big shoulders” they usually don’t want big shoulders at all. They want big traps (trapezius)
Traps are one of those impressive muscles like your chest, arms, or abs that demand attention. A guy with big traps looks like some sort of intimidating not-to-be-messed-with football player.
So how do you get them? We’ll get into that… but first, what are traps?
Traps (trapezius), are not apart of your shoulder. In fact, your traps are apart of your BACK. However, many guys, including myself include their trap workout as apart of their shoulder training. For me, it’s just a comfort thing. I try to hit back pretty hard and by the time I’m done with a hard back workout doing shrugs is the last thing I want to do. Your back is a big muscle, your traps are not so big. By working my traps and back out on separate days I allow myself to concentrate more on my back workout. Shoulders are also a relatively small muscle. It doesn’t take much to get an effective shoulder workout, so when I am done training shoulders there is plenty of time and energy available to workout traps.
Yes, I know that is not a football player and not the professional basketball player Dwight Howard. However, Terrel Owens has one of the best male bodies in my opinion and a killer set of traps. This was the perfect picture to use to get you guys to understand the difference between traps and shoulders.
Highly Effective Trap Exercises
Barbell Shrug -
1. Load the barbell with a moderate amount of weight
2. Approach the barbell and stand with at shoulder width
3. Grip the barbell with a medium, shoulder width grip
4. Raise your shoulders towards your ears as if you were a
young child in kindergarten saying “I dunno” 
Dumbbell Shrug -
Same procedure as the barbell shrug, but holding dumbbells.
Barbell Upright Row –
1. Load barbell with light to medium amount of weight. This isn’t something
you’ll be able to do with a large amount of weight, but it’s very effective.
2. Approach the barbell and stand with a shoulder width stance.
3. Grasp the barbell with a medium, shoulder width grip.
4. Pull the bar up towards your neck with your elbows leading. Allow your wrists
to flex as the bar raises.
Dwight Howard definitely does have big shoulders, but when someone tells me I want big shoulders… I really think it’s traps they’re looking for. And I just needed to make it clear that traps and shoulders should not get confused. One is apart apart of your back, a completely different area of your body than the other. What do you think? Do you have any tricks or tips that helped you get big shoulders or traps? Let’s hear it… Leave a comment!
Tags: big shoulders, build traps, building traps, dwight howard, get big shoulders, shoulder training, terrel owens
another exercise you could do if you are training your traps on shoulder days, is the Dumbell Side Laterals. but instead of just bringing them parallel to the floor, raise them slightly higher to engage the traps. it’s a quick way to hit the traps while also hitting the medial head of the deltoids.
Nice tip KP.
I always bring my raises slightly above parallel for the same exact reason.
Some guys can’t do it because they go to heavy (they’ve got some sort of complex where they NEED to be lifting heavy at all times)
going light with proper form is the way to go
Nice read Anthony. As far as traps (or is it a shoulder workout, hmmm. I see it being both actually, but you tell me)I like the (upright) bar raises. I’m on this high rep kick (that I really need to get off of), but it keeps me lean to get to that ultimate T.O. bod.
(tru, he kinda does set the bar).
So on a 45 lb bar, I usually do 5-7.5lbs on each side for 4 sets of 20.
out.,
Jai
p.s. keep up the good work. visit me at huemanlife.com later this fall. I also post motivational blogs to my FB page from time to time.
Hey Jai.
The upright row does target shoulders as well, yes.
It isn’t exactly a “more is better” exercise though. It would be a different story if we were talking about something like Squats, bench press, deadlift, etc.
The upright row is best executed with a moderate amount of weight that you can lift with good form… I guess that’s the case with any exercise though.. quality over quantity.
Nonetheless, you’re not going to be able to go super heavy on an upright row, they’re still very effective though. I myself only use about 15lbs on each side and I can tell you
with absolute honesty even when I do light upright rows I know for a fact that I get a much better trap workout than the days I skipped out on upright rows.
P.S – I like the direction you’re heading in with huemanlife. If you need any help or advice with that contact me on facebook. Let me know when it’s ready to go, I look forward to seeing what post… and you can count on me as a regular visitor.
Hi Anthony. I might be genetically blessed with big traps, but I find I never have to train them directly. Hitting heavy deadlifts seems to give them all the stimulation they need. That and power cleans. At the moment my delts are lagging relative to my trap development, but I don’t have the time to make bodypart split type workouts. My priorities are athletic performance, so its no biggie – my point is that compound lifts can provide plenty of trap stimulation. YMMV.
-JW
John. Big compounds lifts should target your entire body, however some people do have lacking parts and direct stimulation of those areas is necessary. Deadlifts are king, by the way
. Deadlifts will give you a nice back, legs and pretty much everything else…
You may not have time to do a body part specific routine, however at the end of each full body you could spend a little bit of extra time isolating your lagging parts. It wouldn’t take more than 5 or 10 extra minutes. That’s the method I was using recently to further target my chest.