Is it better to go heavy on shrugs?
They don't have to be incredibly heavy, but it should be enough weight to strain your traps. Remember that you'll be focusing on activating the traps, so don't take such heavy dumbbells that you'll need to bring in other muscles just to get the weight up.
Dumbbell shrugs are an excellent exercise to develop strong shoulders and upper trapezius muscles. There are many ways to target your trap muscles – which are the muscles that protrude up around your shoulders and neck – with back exercises, but the dumbbell shrug is straightforward and effective.
The trapezius is responsible for posture and movement. It allows you to tilt your head up and down and turn your head all around. It also helps you stand up straight, twist your torso and shrug your shoulders or pull them back.
No, the shrug exercise does not make the neck bigger. The shrugs do hit muscles near your neck like the upper trapezius and the levator scapulae, but the won't really help thicken and make your neck look more muscular.
Building Strength And Muscle
The shrug fully activates the upper traps, as well as the shoulders which can build a full and strong physique. With more strength, you'll also build more muscle mass, which can help develop more power and athletic performance.
The Shrug Hurts Your Posture
The continuous upward driving and squeezing motion of the shrug is the opposite. Not only can that lead to shoulder issues, it also adds a lot of unnecessary tension in your neck. The minimal gains are just not worth the risks.
Hand weights of 5 or 8 pounds are still heavy enough to strengthen your trapezius and upper back muscles. As you get into the habit of doing this exercise several times a week, you can increase the weight to 15, 20, 25 pounds or more.
"That's what your upper traps do [move up and down], and that's what we're trying to train, so keep it to the action of the muscle," Samuel says. "That means there's no need to roll your shoulders all over the place. If anything, all that shoulder rolling can take emphasis off your traps." Keep the shrug simple.
Hand weights of 5 or 8 pounds are still heavy enough to strengthen your trapezius and upper back muscles. As you get into the habit of doing this exercise several times a week, you can increase the weight to 15, 20, 25 pounds or more.
For dumbbell shrugs, begin by using a weight that you can control for 2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions. Choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.
How heavy should DB shrugs be?
The average Dumbbell Shrug weight for a male lifter is 101 lb (1RM). This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive lift. What is a good Dumbbell Shrug? Male beginners should aim to lift 32 lb (1RM) which is still impressive compared to the general population.
| Strength Level | Weight |
|---|---|
| Beginner | 101 lb |
| Novice | 181 lb |
| Intermediate | 288 lb |
| Advanced | 420 lb |
